Four mooring winches for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel

Branche: Infra, Marine, Offshore, Specials

DROMEC supplies four mooring winches to FLC Denmark

FLC (Femern Link Contractors) is responsible for the design and construction of the world’s longest immersed tunnel: the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel. This tunnel connects Rødbyhavn in Denmark with the island of Fehmarn in Germany. The 18-kilometre-long structure includes not only the immersed tunnel itself, but also extensive onshore facilities on both the Danish and German sides.

Background: Fehmarnbelt fixed link (Wikipedia)

Fehmarnbelt Tunnel

At the plant in Rødbyhavn, Denmark, a gigantic factory has been built specifically for this project. Here, the concrete tunnel elements are cast and prepared for transport. From the plant, the tunnel elements are floated through a lock into a bay.

DROMEC Winches developed four mooring winches to moor these enormous tunnel elements until clearance is given for transport and connection to the tunnel. This ‘buffer’ creates flexibility, allowing the project to maintain progress and efficiency.

Mooring winches

The mooring winches enable the tunnel elements to be moored using two winches, both to the quay and to each other. The winches are designed to be installed with hold-back points. Each winch system has a pulling capacity of up to 30 tonnes. Thanks to Constant Tension, the winches can withstand tidal movements and extreme weather conditions, with a holding capacity of 60 tonnes. The gearbox is heavy-duty and robustly designed to guarantee this holding force.

Related product: EPV-30000-OPfY-2

Independent control

During the testing phase, the setup was also tested on the hold-back points, as extremely high forces can occur on the tunnel elements. These masses and weather conditions were tested with load read-out.

The winch systems can be controlled independently via a wireless remote control—per winch, or two or four winches simultaneously. With a cable storage capacity of 450 metres, the system is highly multifunctional. FLC selected this solution because it also allows the use of alternative cables, which can be programmed accordingly. This enables the winches to be used for other purposes in the future, contributing to sustainability.

Infrastructure

Cees Drost, CEO of DROMEC: “These compact winches with enormous pulling power are strong winch systems for FLC. Our cooperation with Pieter Hotke of FLC is excellent. He personally visits during the construction of the machines, and together we can effectively exchange ideas on the development of such a complex project for improved infrastructure.”

Frequently asked questions

Does DROMEC develop winches that allow large floating objects to be moored safely and reliably, even under severe weather conditions?

Yes. DROMEC designs and supplies powerful electric mooring winches specifically developed for the safe and reliable mooring of large floating objects. Thanks to the Constant Tension system, high holding capacity and heavy-duty gearboxes, the winches can withstand extreme weather conditions, tidal movements and high loads.

Is it possible to control the winches both individually and in combinations (two or four at a time), depending on the situation and operational requirements?

Yes. The winch systems can be flexibly controlled via a wireless remote control. They can be operated per individual winch or simultaneously in groups of two or four, allowing the system to be easily adapted to different operational situations.