How Did Federal Regulators Overlook The F/V Mistress

Following the loss of the vessel F/V Mistress on January 1, 2019, BOEM funded an environmental monitoring program at the nearby Block Island Wind Farm. During the final day of a biological dive survey later in 2019, field researchers documented anomalous debris on the seafloor.
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The individuals explicitly tied to managing, authoring, and reviewing these specific 2019 findings for BOEM include: Lead Field Researchers from Rhode Island and HDR Engineering. See link 
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On page 184 of their subsequently published report, above Figure 79, they explicitly noted that "partial boat debris (e.g., paneling from a small boat hull) was observed around Turbine 1, but no footage was obtained."
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BOEM Office of Renewable Energy Programs Staff: The final data and project reports from this 2019 monitoring cycle were submitted directly to BOEM's Office of Renewable Energy Programs under OCS Study BOEM 2020-044. 
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Because the 2019 survey report labeled the finding as "partial boat debris" without cross-referencing Coast Guard active distress logs, BOEM didn't officially link the debris to the missing F/V Mistress at the time, but later approved spacing requirements for ocean turbines. 
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The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S. Coast Guard ultimately approved a 1-nautical-mile (NM) uniform grid layout for major offshore wind energy areas along the East Coast. This decision came despite persistent requests from the commercial fishing industry for a wider 2-nautical-mile spacing to mitigate maritime safety risks, search-and-rescue limitations, and radar interference.
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Official Coast Guard logs and subsequent investigations of the M/F Misress show that the MH-60 all-weather helicopter was forced to abort the search after just 37 minutes due to  weather and massive radar clutter created by the wind turbines. 
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The connection became public record in September 2026, when a private maritime investigation group (Green Oceans) deployed "targeted" side-scan sonar and a dive to Turbine 1. They located the intact wreckage of the F/V Mistress and human remains sitting just 50 feet from the turbine base, sparking ongoing scrutiny over why federal regulators originally overlooked the 2019 BOEM-sponsored survey observations. 
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The fishing boat may have hit Block Island wind turbine # 1, rolled over, and sank.  
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Green Oceans, a non-partisan, grassroots group of community members dedicated to preserving the health of the ocean, has asked to reopen the Coast Guard investigation.
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Coast Guard Investigation Activity Report
F/V MISTRESS
 
Activity Start Date:
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
                     MISLE Activity Number:
6618087

                                  Vessel Name: MISTRESS
                                               VIN: 672568





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Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

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(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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