F/V Mistress Incident Radar Rescue Failure Reports (2019) Offshore Wind

#CoastGuard 
 
The specific U.S. Coast Guard documentation linking spinning wind turbine blades and radar interference to an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter stems from the official Coast Guard Incident Investigation Report and Search-and-Rescue (SAR) Case Records for the January 1, 2019 sinking of the commercial fishing vessel F/V Mistress near the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island
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Offshore wind turbines create significant marine radar clutter that can obscure vessel targets, shadow smaller boats, and complicate search-and-rescue (SAR) missions.
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The U.S. Coast Guard and National Academies report that spinning turbine blades reflect radar energy and generate Doppler interference, making target tracking and vessel identification difficult during adverse maritime conditions.
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Search and Rescue (SAR) Impacts: Internal Coast Guard assessments and subsequent Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports note that radar clutter and blind spots degrade low-altitude search-and-rescue operations (such as those conducted by MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters) during adverse weather and low-visibility conditions
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The incident records and broader federal evaluations detail how wind turbines affect MH-60T radar systems across several key areas:
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1. The F/V Mistress Incident Reports (2019)
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Aborted Aerial Search: According to the Coast Guard's chronological SAR logs and official incident investigation report, an all-weather MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter dispatched to search for the F/V Mistress had to call off its sector and parallel search patterns after just 37 minutes. 
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Severe Radar Clutter: The flight crew documented that the Block Island wind turbines' physical structures generated heavy electromagnetic "radar clutter" on the helicopter's radar systems. Combined with low visibility, high winds, and the physical hazard of spinning rotor blades extending into low-altitude search airspace, the crew could not safely continue the radar or visual search. 
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Renewed Scrutiny: The wreck of the F/V Mistress was located roughly 50 feet from Block Island Turbine #1—well within the horizontal sweep of the turbine's 240-foot blades—bringing renewed focus to the Coast Guard's 2019 radar logs.      Time to reopen the investigation 

 

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Comment by Frank Haggerty 6 hours ago
The Rhode Island nonprofit Green Oceans announced in September 2026 that its dive team located wreckage believed to be the F/V Mistress, and they used the original U.S. Coast Guard coordinates alongside contractor tips to find it. While federal authorities must still conduct a formal forensic confirmation, Green Oceans president Michael Lombardi stated the group is "100%" confident in the match.
Divers found the wreckage on August 30, 2026, resting in 92 feet of water roughly 50 feet from the base of Turbine No. 1 at the Block Island Wind Farm. 
 Scientific divers photographed several hallmarks matching original Coast Guard files, including the vessel's propeller, shaft, fuel tanks, deck hatch, processing equipment, and a custom net drum confirmed by survivor Tim Diaz.
Divers also observed apparent human remains at the site, prompting Green Oceans to ask federal authorities to secure the area and reopen the 2019 investigation. 
The group initially launched its search after receiving tips from two offshore wind contractors who had previously worked near Turbine No. 1 and reported rumors or sightings of underwater wreckage. 
Investigators then reviewed the U.S. Coast Guard's original January 1, 2019 accident report and plotted the GPS coordinates from the vessel's Mayday distress calls.
Plotting those original distress coordinates alongside the boat's northward path toward Point Judith pointed directly to Turbine No. 1, allowing a July 27 side-scan sonar survey and subsequent dive to pinpoint the hull

 

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CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

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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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