Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet 1115-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- usns-abiqua-pkt-1115-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Abiqua' entry (formerly history.navy.mil/danfs/a1/abiqua.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full entry text (single page); archived copy - the current history.navy.mil DANFS tree returns 404 for this and other Suamico-class sister entries (checked: lone-jack.html also 404), consistent with standing NHHC link rot noted in prior batches
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Abiqua (T-AO-158: t. 10,536; l. 504'0"; b. 68'2"; dph. 39'2"; T. T2-SE-A1): 'Abiqua (MC hull 548) was laid down on 18 June 1943 by the Alabama Dryclock [sic, Drydock] and Shipbuilding Co., Mobile, Ala.; launched on 22 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs. George Bliss Jones; and delivered to the Cities Service Company for operation on 31 October 1943.' DANFS further states Abiqua 'was among the ships transferred by the Maritime Administration to the Navy in response to the Suez crisis of 1956,' was 'accepted by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) on 21 December 1956 but operated for MSTS by a civilian crew under contract with a commercial firm listed as Matra-lines, but not further identified,' and 'was returned to the Maritime Administration and struck from the Navy list on 30 September 1957.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1957
- Limitations
- Authoritative for construction, operator, and MSTS-period dates. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material information; supports no asbestos claim. Live canonical NHHC URL could not be located as of 2026-10-03 - citation uses an Internet Archive Wayback Machine capture of the retired URL, labeled here as archived, not live.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-abiqua-01
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ABIQUA, Ship History Detail 16 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 16, 'Milestones' table (server-rendered HTML, verified by direct page fetch)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for ABIQUA (Official Number 244,412; T-AO-158; T2-SE-A1; built 1943, Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co.). Typed milestone table shows: sold to Cities Service Oil Co. for commercial operation 1946-09-21; entered Wilmington Reserve Fleet 1954-12-15; withdrawn for US Navy operation 1956-11-10; transferred to US Navy 1956-12-14; MARAD reacquired title from the Navy 1957-09-30; transferred to Winco Tankers, Inc. (vessel-exchange program, contract MA-45-13, for Pocono) 1968-04-12/1968-04-22, 'later converted to a bulk carrier'; sold to Mercury Steamship Co., Inc. 1972-03-01; transferred to Cypriot flag 1973-12-07; scrapped 1978-09-01.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1978
- Limitations
- Authoritative MARAD custody/disposition chain. This typed summary's 1956 dates (withdrawal 11/10, transfer to Navy 12/14) disagree with the digitized original status card on the same page (which shows an intermediate GAA operator, T. J. Stevenson & Co., and dates of 11/19/56 and 12/20/56 respectively) - see the correction row ev-usns-abiqua-03. Neither date set is dismissed; both are carried, and the discrepancy is logged in gaps. No asbestos, materials-condition, or survey information; supports no asbestos claim. The 1972-1978 entries (Mercury Steamship, Cypriot flag, scrapping) are sourced only to this typed summary, not to a second independent source - carried as MARAD-sourced but not cross-verified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-abiqua-02
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, digitized vessel status card for ABIQUA, O.N. 244,412 (ShipHistory Detail 16 attachment) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status card image, read directly (2-page PDF; page 1 is the ledger card, page 2 is a largely blank verso with routing-slip index numbers)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The digitized original MARAD vessel status card for ABIQUA (O/N 244,412), on the same ShipHistory page, shows a handwritten custody chain differing in detail from MARAD's own typed milestone summary: Alabama Drydock & S.B. Co. to U.S. Maritime Commission to War Shipping Admin. to Cities Service Oil Co. (GAA), all dated 1943-10-31, Mobile, Ala.; Cities Service Oil Co. to U.S. Maritime Commission (title) 1946-09-21, Jersey City, N.J.; U.S. Maritime Commission to Cities Service Oil Co. (layup/trade-in), same date; Cities Service Oil Co. to Reserve Fleet 1954-12-15 3:15PM EST, Wilmington, N.C.; Reserve Fleet to T. J. Stevenson & Co. 1956-11-19 11AM EST, Wilmington; T. J. Stevenson & Co. to MSTS 1956-12-20 'Mid EST,' Savannah, GA; MSTS to Reserve Fleet 1957-09-30 11:10AM, Beaumont, TX; Maritime Admin. to Winco Tankers, Inc. 1968-04-12 Noon EST, Washington, D.C., and again 1968-04-22 11:15AM CST, Beaumont (physical delivery).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1968
- Limitations
- This is the primary handwritten source underlying MARAD's typed summary; it names T. J. Stevenson & Co. as the GAA operator immediately preceding MSTS custody - information DANFS says it could not identify ('listed as Matra-lines, but not further identified'). It does not resolve which 1956 date set (status card vs. typed summary, vs. DANFS's 21 December) is most precise; carried as a documented discrepancy, not harmonized. Handwriting is clear but some abbreviations (GAA, LU, Cus., Ex. Prog., MA/PRIV., Phy. Del.) are standard MARAD shorthand, not independently glossed on this card. No asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-abiqua-03
-
[5]NavSource Naval History, USNS Abiqua (T-AO-158) reference and photo page [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications table and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource photo/reference page for USNS Abiqua (T-AO-158), Suamico-class fleet oiler: corroborates ADDSCO construction and dates, MSTS acceptance 21 December 1956, and the 1957 'cut into four sections' disposition into SS Windsor, SS Bear Paw, and tank barge Tide-Mar XIX. A photo caption independently documents continued commercial life: 'SS Abiqua under way while in service with Winco Tankers Inc., New York (Windsor Navigation Co.) between 1968-1972' - corroborating the MARAD ShipHistory record's 1968 Winco Tankers transfer from a second, independent source.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Limitations
- Enthusiast reference site, used here only for identity/operational corroboration already independently documented by DANFS and MARAD, not as a sole source. Its displacement/draft figures differ somewhat from DANFS's (e.g., draft given as 30'10" vs. DANFS's 39'2" depth - likely different measurement conventions, not reconciled here - see gaps). No asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-abiqua-04
-
[6]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the era and emergency program under which this T2-SE-A1 tanker was built (ADDSCO, Mobile, AL, 1943), and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type and auxiliary hulls generally.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class/era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, this builder, or the T2-SE-A1 type specifically, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-abiqua-05
-
[7]Batch-9501 search ledger (this record): DANFS (archived), MARAD ShipHistory 16 + status card, NavSource; CourtListener attempted but blocked (see search_ledger) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-usns-abiqua-01 through sl-usns-abiqua-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located under any name this hull carried (Abiqua, Windsor, Bear Paw, Tide Mar XIX): no asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, or hull-specific finding was located in DANFS, the MARAD ShipHistory record and status card, or NavSource. CourtListener name-search results for this hull were not obtainable this session (fleet-wide API pacing limiter remained spent on every attempt - see search_ledger); no opinion or docket search was completed as a result, so this negative finding is based on the non-CourtListener sources only and does not represent a completed litigation-record search.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard a 1943-built T2-SE-A1 hull - era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. The CourtListener leg of the standard four-query protocol could not be executed this session due to the shared fleet-wide pacing limiter never clearing across repeated attempts spaced through the session; this is logged as an access gap, not a completed 'no result' finding, and should be re-run before this record is treated as final on litigation coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-abiqua-06
-
[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 313 (Naval Operating Forces, MSTS/MSC deck logs); RG 178 (US Maritime Commission); RG 248 (War Shipping Administration) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 313 logbook guidance page; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/248.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved - requires research-room visit or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA Record Group 313 (Records of Naval Operating Forces) holds deck logs of MSTS vessels after 1948 at Archives II (College Park, MD), described as 'not a complete collection' - may hold Abiqua's December 1956-September 1957 MSTS deck log. RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) and RG 248 (War Shipping Administration) may hold 1943 construction/outfitting and wartime operating records for MC hull 548 under ADDSCO.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1957 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull or its 1956-57 MSTS charter is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-abiqua-07