A Rhode Island group says it found the long-lost F/V Mistress wreckage 50 feet from a wind turbine, and apparent remains of the two fishermen who died in 2019.
Fox News Digital reported that Green Oceans, a Rhode Island-based environmental organization, announced in September the discovery of what it believes is the fishing vessel F/V Mistress off Block Island.
The wreckage sits about 92 feet underwater, just 50 feet from the base of turbine No. 1 at the Block Island Wind Farm. The group also reported apparent human remains at the site. Two fishermen died when the Mistress sank on Jan. 1, 2019. The U.S. Coast Guard searched after the sinking and never located the boat.
That gap, a fatal wreck unfound for more than seven years, then reported steps from an offshore wind turbine, is what Green Oceans wants federal authorities to reopen and examine.
Michael Lombardi, president of Green Oceans, said the hunt began after tips from two contractors who had worked near the turbine. One reported hearing rumors of underwater wreckage. Another claimed to have personally spotted wreckage while doing survey work near turbine No. 1.
Lombardi said he then reviewed the Coast Guard’s original accident report and plotted GPS coordinates linked to distress calls and other key details. On a map, the path lined up with the turbine.
Lombardi told Fox News Digital:
"Once plotted on a map, it became obvious where the search area should be focused, and it coincided perfectly with turbine 1,"
Asked how sure he is that the wreck is the Mistress, Lombardi answered, “100%.”
The dive team studied images of the vessel before going down and looked for unique hardware. One standout piece was the net drum.
Lombardi described the approach:
"The dive team studied images of the vessel prior to diving the site and were focused on finding key identifying features.... One striking item was the net drum. It has several unique features."
Tim Diaz survived the 2019 sinking and had built that net drum equipment himself. According to Lombardi, Diaz confirmed the drum on the wreck belonged to the Mistress.
The names of the two fishermen who died were not included in the reporting. No independent forensic match beyond the group’s identification work and Diaz’s confirmation was described. The Coast Guard was not quoted confirming the wreck identity, the remains, or any new finding.
Lombardi said the way the wreckage sits on the bottom leaves open a hard question about the boat’s final minutes. He argued investigators should look at whether the crew tried a starboard turn to dodge the turbine.
He put it this way:
"Based on the orientation of the wreckage on the bottom, there is reason to investigate whether an avoidance maneuver to starboard was made in an attempt to avoid a collision with the turbine,"
And he added:
"With the hull full of water, this maneuver could have ultimately caused the vessel to roll and then sink."
That is Green Oceans’ theory, not a Coast Guard determination. The original accident report’s full findings and coordinates were not published in the Fox News account. Whether the turbine was a factor, and whether any avoidance turn contributed to the roll, remains unproven in the available record.
Lombardi said he hopes federal authorities will reopen the investigation. The group wants answers on whether the two fishermen remain inside the wreckage or were swept out to sea, and whether a last-second maneuver played any role in the sinking.
He praised the agencies that work the water every day:
"The USCG and all agencies involved do tremendous work to protect mariners out on the water,"
Then he drew a direct line from the missing wreck to offshore wind policy. Lombardi argued that a full 2019 investigation with the vessel in hand would have changed how safety gets weighed in permitting along the continental shelf.
In his words:
"Had this accident been fully investigated in 2019, while having the vessel wreckage, the offshore wind permitting landscape would have been quite different with regard to safety considerations along the continental shelf,"
Green Oceans focuses on environmental and maritime safety impacts of offshore wind development. No formal reopening, new Coast Guard finding, or operator response was reported alongside the September announcement. The farm’s operator was not named in the account.
What is on the record is simpler and starker. A working boat sank on New Year’s Day 2019. Two men died. The Coast Guard searched and found nothing. More than seven years later, a private dive team following contractor tips and old coordinates says the wreck lies about 50 feet from a wind turbine base, with apparent human remains still there, and a survivor’s net drum matching the gear.
Families, mariners, and taxpayers deserve a finished investigation when a fatal wreck turns up beside industrial hardware the government helped put in the water, not another shrug and another delayed safety lesson.
