Experienced seamen from both Germany and Denmark are taking part in a number of exercises in the simulator, which is built like a traditional ship's bridge. On large 360 degree screens, they see a computer-animated representation of the Fehmarnbelt with other vessels and a bridge which slowly appears on the horizon.

The exercises are being done with both a cable-stayed bridge and a suspension bridge, each with different-sized navigational spans.

As well as the different types of bridge, the computer model can also be fed with other different parameters which affect navigation such as wind and current. The task for captains, pilots and ships’ officers in the simulator is to navigate under the bridge and then give comments about what they felt about the trip. Along the way, the computer logs all their actions and thus the ship’s progress through the belt and under the bridge.

Every year, around 46,000 ships pass through the Fehmarnbelt, and 38,000 ferries cross between Puttgarden and Rødby. According to a prognosis, the overall shipping traffic will increase to nearly 100,000 ships by 2030.

The initial simulations, which Femern A/S has undertaken, will first and foremost show whether it is possible to build a bridge and still maintain an acceptable level of safety for ships passing under it. The simulations will also give an indication of the optimal navigational span for the bridge's main span and thus contribute to determining the overall layout for the bridge.

The simulations are done at the FORCE Technology Institute north of Copenhagen, where equivalent exercises were previously held prior to the final design of the bridges across the Great Belt and the Øresund.

‘Our ambition is for it to be at least as safe to sail through the Fehmarnbelt with a bridge there as it is today. In both the Great Belt and the Øresund, navigation safety was actually improved, partly because the fixed links led to more precise navigational routes and because a vessel traffic surveillance  system (VTS-system) was introduced. It monitors ship traffic’, says Project Manager Finn Ennemark of Femern A/S.