The National Society for Sea Rescue (SNSM), an association of volunteers helping ships in danger, will receive a share of the tax on wind farms at sea, according to a decree published on Saturday in the Official Journal.
The SNSM, the only rescue and rescue organization at sea approved by the authorities, carried out 4,593 rescue operations in 2021, it is indicated in the text.
The judgment published on Saturday was signed on February 23 by Secretary of State for the Sea Herv Berville during a trip to Calvados.
The SNSM will collect a share of 5% of the tax allocated to offshore wind turbines, according to a press release issued at the time by the State Secretariat.
Up to 400,000 euros in 2023
This tax could represent from 2023 up to 400,000 euros in resources for the association, the same source indicated.
In the future, the coffers of the SNSM could be topped up, via this tax, to the tune of several million euros per year as and when the commissioning of offshore wind farms scheduled on the various French maritime facades.
The association, which also benefits from an annual state subsidy of six million euros, will thus be able to depend less on private donations, underlined Herv Berville.
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SNSM piggy banks in the shape of lifeboats are often fixed around French ports to collect donations.
According to its website, the association has more than 5,000 volunteer on-board rescuers who, at the request of the regional operational surveillance and rescue center (CROSS), carry out search operations at sea, assist ships in difficulty, assess the state of rescue people, give them first aid and bring the wounded and shipwrecked back to shore.
Half of the tax on offshore wind turbines is donated to the coastal communities from where the installations are visible, 35% goes to the fisheries committees, 10% to the French Office for Biodiversity and 5%, therefore, to the SNSM.