The special-purpose vessel IVY is leaving Rødbyhavn with the fourth element for the Fehmarn Belt tunnel.
The vessel will lower the 217-metre concrete element into the tunnel trench and connect it to the three elements already resting on the seabed.
- The aim is to have the element in place on the seabed late on Sunday. The weather looks calm, but currents can still affect the immersion, says Andrew Crone-Langkjær, press officer at Sund & Bælt.
The element has been ready in the construction harbour since the beginning of August, but once it is finally in place, the first approximately 900 metres of the 18-kilometre tunnel between Denmark and Germany will have been immersed.
The time in the harbour has also been used to prepare IVY for what comes next. By adding 1,600 tonnes of extra weight to the fourth element, the contractor has tested the load IVY will face during the next immersion.
That will involve handling the tunnel’s first special element, which is shorter than the standard elements but includes a basement for technical installations. During transport, it must be lifted higher out of the water, reducing buoyancy and increasing the load on IVY.
