Statement on the draft Federal Council initiative to amend the Offshore Wind Energy Act with regard to offshore rescue

The Federal Office for Offshore Wind Energy (BWO) welcomes the federal states' commitment to offshore rescue in light of the continued expansion of offshore wind energy. Well-organized, efficient air rescue at sea is an essential component of safe and sustainable power generation from offshore wind energy. However, the BWO believes that the draft law, in its current form, goes beyond what is reasonable and could thereby cause unnecessary uncertainty and administrative burden. We request that the federal states limit the proposed legislation to the offshore wind farms northwest of shipping route SN 10.

From the BWO's perspective, the organization of rescue operations should generally be the responsibility of the state. The current draft law takes a different approach, placing responsibility for rescue operations solely in the hands of a rescue infrastructure association, which would consist of the infrastructure operators in the EEZ. However, an expansion of state air rescue capacities is not planned. Since helicopters designated for offshore rescue operations are already being used by the states, this approach is viewed critically because it limits the availability of rescue infrastructure for the industry.

Read the full statement here: