Evidence
16 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-16).
-
[1]research packet 370-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USNS New Bedford (IX-308); Camano-class cargo ship (light cargo)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- usns-new-bedford-ix308-pkt-370-packet-md
-
[2]Shipscribe, USNS AKL 17 (T-AKL 17, FS Design 381 Part 2) Class - U.S. Navy auxiliary ships data sheets (Stephen S. Roberts, compiled 8 Aug 2021) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction/disposition tables and ship note row for AKL 17 (ex-FS 289)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary register (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy registers) documents this hull end-to-end: T-AKL 17 (NEW BEDFORD), ex-FS 289, Wheeler SB, contract 24 Apr 1943; acquired 1 Mar 1950 among the CONUS-port Army ships (names/hull numbers approved 21 Feb 1950); admin control MSTS Balboa to MSTS Atlantic Area 19 Apr 1957; resupplied three Air Force Texas Towers out of New Bedford; named NEW BEDFORD 23 Oct 1961 (ceremony aboard 20 Nov 1961); CNO 29 Jul 1963 directed transfer to Naval Torpedo Station Keyport; arrived/transferred by MSTS 26 Aug 1963 with name cancelled and ship designated equipment; converted to torpedo-retriever mother ship by Western Boat Building Co., Tacoma, Nov 1963; struck 26 Nov 1963; 'activity craft' 4 Feb 1964; reinstated Feb 1969 as IX 308 NEW BEDFORD torpedo test firing vessel; out of service 28 Oct 1994; stricken 4 Apr 1995; sold by DRMS for further use 11 Jun 1996; later merc. GHOST, then tuna longliner SEA BIRD out of San Diego by May 2007.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-2007
- Limitations
- Scholarly compilation transcribing official Navy register, CNO message, and MSTS records - not the register entries themselves; strongest available source for this hull (no DANFS entry exists). Contains no asbestos information. Internal discrepancy: construction table shows completed 'ca Mar 1945' while ship note says 'compl. 1944' - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - New Bedford (IX-308), file 09/14/1417 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Main chronology block, specification block, and photo captions (page last updated 5 Apr 2024)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive documents: laid down (date unknown) for the U.S. Army as FS-289 at Wheeler Shipbuilding, Whitestone N.Y.; delivered to the Army 1944; the Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-289 operated in Hawaii during the war; acquired by the Navy 1 Jul 1950; placed in service as USNS New Bedford (T-AKL-17) 1961; out of service 1963; reclassified Miscellaneous Unclassified IX-308; served as Torpedo Test Firing Vessel in the Puget Sound area; struck 4 Apr 1995; sold by DRMS for commercial service 11 Jun 1996; current disposition tuna longliner F/V Sea Bird out of San Diego. Archive photos include T-AKL-17 supplying Texas Tower No. 2 (captioned circa May 1956-Jan 1963) and IX-308 firing a torpedo in Puget Sound. NavSource explicitly notes: 'There is no DANFS history available for New Bedford (T-AKL-17).'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-2007
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation using official Navy photos and records - detailed but non-official; corroborated by Shipscribe. Acquisition date conflicts with Shipscribe (1 Jul 1950 vs 1 Mar 1950) - carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-02
-
[4]Naval Vessel Register (NAVSEA), US Navy hulls in 'Non Active' status, NEW BEDFORD IX 308 row - Wayback capture 2016-09-27 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Inactive-ship index, NEW BEDFORD / IX 308 line entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Naval Vessel Register's inactive-ships index lists: NEW BEDFORD, IX 308, disposed 06/11/1996 - 'Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for reuse/conversion.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1996
- Limitations
- Official NAVSEA register - the disposal line only; no detail page for IX 308 exists on the live NVR (URL pattern returns the main page). Contains no asbestos or hazmat information; a DRMS sale file would carry any hazmat disclosure but is not public.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-03
-
[5]Lisa Poole with Dianne Robinson, 'Torpedo Town U.S.A.: A History of the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station 1914-1989' (Diamond Anniversary Publishing for NUWES Keyport, WA) - maritime.org mirror, ch. 8 'Range and Service Craft at NUWES' section [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chapter Eight (1970-1979), 'Range and Service Craft at NUWES' section, p. 84
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official history of the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station, Keyport (1914-1989) describes IX-308 among the Station's range and service craft: 'The queen of the fleet is the USNV New Bedford (IX-308). She was built in Whitestone, N.Y. in 1945 by Wheeler Shipbuilding Company. Originally built for the Army and designated FS-289, she was transferred to the Navy in 1950, and designated as USS New Bedford (AKL-17). The ship was subsequently converted for torpedo testing, redesignated as the IX-308, and assigned Service Craft status (in-service active).' Listed length 176 ft 6 in, beam 32 ft 6 in.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1963-1989 (station-era description)
- Population
- NUWES Keyport service-craft crew and range personnel
- Limitations
- Official station history - authoritative for the Keyport service-craft era. The live chapter page returned HTTP 404 at access time; quoted text verified via search-index excerpt of the mirrored page. The same passage carries the 'Mister Roberts' film claim that is a documented misattribution (see correction row ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-08). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-04
-
[6]Will Stemberg, 'USNS New Bedford has new life thanks to experimental propulsion,' The Standard-Times / southcoasttoday.com, New Bedford, MA, 2008-08-10 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Full article text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The New Bedford Standard-Times documents from its own home-city reporting: Capt. Sixto Mangual commanded AKL-17/USNS New Bedford 1957-63 out of State Pier; the ship delivered supplies and stood by Texas Tower No. 4 through its final night, remaining nearby after the order to back away on 14 Jan 1961 until the tower collapsed 15 Jan 1961 killing all 28 aboard; the AKL-17/USNS New Bedford received the MSTS Smart Ship Award for 'excellence and reliability' three consecutive years (1960-62), and Mangual received the MSTS Employee of the Year Award and the key to the city of New Bedford. Post-Navy: sold by DRMS for commercial use; purchased 2006 by San Diego entrepreneur Kris Land for fish processing; as Sea Bird it was the subject of an experimental waste-oil propulsion retrofit intended to replace its diesel engines.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1957-1963; 2006-2008
- Population
- MSTS civil-service crew under Capt. Mangual (1957-63); 2006-08 retrofit personnel
- Limitations
- Reputable local journalism interviewing the master's grandson and the new owner - ship-specific and consistent with Shipscribe/NVR dates. Contains no asbestos information; the 2008 engine-replacement retrofit is a documented disturbance event whose asbestos scope (if any) is not reported.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-05
-
[7]U.S. Senate, Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee, Committee on Armed Services, 'Inquiry into the collapse of Texas tower no. 4,' S. Hrg. 87, 87th Cong. 1st sess. (GPO 1961) - govinfo CHRG-87shrg70733 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hearing package record, govinfo
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Senate Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee conducted the official inquiry into the collapse of Texas Tower No. 4 (hearings 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 May 1961, S. Hrg. 87) - the casualty in which T-AKL-17 participated as the tower's supply ship, delivering supplies 14 Jan 1961 and standing by through the abandonment attempt; the tower was lost with 28 men (14 Air Force, 14 civilian) on 15 Jan 1961.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1961
- Population
- Texas Tower No. 4 personnel (28 lost); this ship's MSTS crew stood by
- Limitations
- The hearing investigates the tower's design/construction/collapse - the vessel is the supply ship present at the casualty, not a subject of the inquiry. Documents the operational context of the ship's Texas Towers duty; contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-06
-
[8]Consolidated registry-derived data: NavSource commercial-service photo record (F/V Sea Bird, San Diego, Aug 2003 and May 2007) + vessel-registry particulars compiled at shipspotting.com (IMO 8644981; USCG Doc. 1047746) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource file 09/14/1417 commercial-service section; shipspotting photo page particulars block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-Navy commercial registry data report the hull extant: sold 11 Jun 1996; merc. GHOST; then F/V Sea Bird - USCG Doc. 1047746, IMO 8644981, ADF&G No. 76482, hailing port Seattle, owner Sea Bird Ventures LLC - described in 2020s photo records as a tender-packer supporting Alaskan fisheries at Fishermen's Terminal, Seattle, year of build 1944, builder Wheeler Shipbuilding Whitestone NY, yard no. 103.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1996-2020s
- Population
- Contemporary commercial fishing crew
- Limitations
- Registry particulars are secondary compilations, not the official USCG Certificate of Documentation; the NOAA-hosted copy of the USCG documented-vessel database was unreachable at access time (query application migrated). Establishes survival/continued service, not any hazmat content; an 82-year-old hull in active service is consistent with retained or replaced era material - unknown either way.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-07
-
[9]DANFS, 'Hewell (AG-145)' entry (hazegray transcription of the official entry); Shipscribe AKL-17 ship note (this hull's 1957 admin transfer); Wikipedia Mister Roberts (1955 film) documenting the 1994 Keyport newsletter controversy [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Hewell entry, 1954 filming passage
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Correction: the Keyport station history and the ship's 1994 out-of-service ceremony record the torpedo-station assumption that THIS hull was the ship filmed as the USS Reluctant in 'Mister Roberts' (1955). The Navy's official DANFS history attributes the filming to sister ship USS Hewell (AG-145/AKL-14, ex FS-391, same Army FS type), which departed Hawaii for Midway 28 Aug 1954 and was filmed off Midway Harbor 1-16 Sep and off Kaneohe Bay 30 Sep-7 Oct 1954. In 1954 this hull was operating under MSTS Atlantic (admin control Balboa to Atlantic 19 Apr 1957 per Shipscribe), so it could not have been the film ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1954; 1994 (misattribution)
- Limitations
- The IX-308 film claim survives in the official station history and ceremony materials but contradicts DANFS and the documented 1954 location of each ship. Not asbestos-relevant; kept to prevent the error propagating into the hull record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-08
-
[10]Consolidated era/design inference - Shipscribe AKL-17 class page (Design 381 machinery: geared diesel, 2 screws, 1,000 hp) + NavSource specification block; era documentation per Fleischer et al. 1946 and Corn & Starr 1987 (separate rows) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class design block; no ship-specific ACM source exists
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference only: this hull is a WWII-built steel geared-diesel coastal freighter (Army Design 381, two GM 6-278A diesels, no boilers or steam distribution). Asbestos applications consistent with that era's federal cargo-vessel construction - rather than the steam-plant pathways of larger combatants - are: engine and exhaust-manifold lagging; machinery-space thermal and acoustic insulation; gaskets and valve packing; vinyl-asbestos deck tile and adhesives; electrical cable insulation; winch/windlass brake linings; refrigerated-space insulation. Documented disturbance events aboard this hull (Nov 1963 Western Boat Building conversion; 2006-08 engine-replacement retrofit; nearly 50 years of federal operation) are documented events whose asbestos scope is inference, not record.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944/45-present
- Population
- Construction trades (Wheeler Shipbuilding, 1943-45); Coast Guard-manned Army crew (Hawaii); MSTS mariners (1950-63); NUWES service-craft personnel (1963-94); conversion yard personnel (Western Boat Building, 1963); commercial fishing crew (1996- )
- Limitations
- NOT a hull record. No Design 381 specification manual, ACM inventory, abatement record, or conversion hazmat file was located. Diesel plant means the steam-boiler exposure pathways common to WWII combatants do not apply; the inference list is generic to the era, and this hull's asbestos content - present, removed, or never installed - is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-09
-
[11]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28:1 (Jan 1946), 9-16 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record; survey of pipe-covering operations, 1946
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at Navy yards and Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard in federal shipbuilding of this hull's construction era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946
- Population
- WWII shipyard insulation workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in federal shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, class, builder, or Army shipbuilding program and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-10
-
[12]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 (1987), 359-373 [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11:3, 1987
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency construction program under which this Army Design 381 hull was mass-produced at a contract yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1987 (study); WWII (subject era)
- Population
- WWII shipyard workforce (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship; does not name this vessel, class, or builder and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantities, exposure, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-11
-
[13]Gries v. United States, 205 F. Supp. 164 (D. Md. 1962), Civ. A. Nos. 12713-12715, Watkins J. - CourtListener opinion 8752724 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 205 F. Supp. 164, facts and damages sections
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Gries v. United States, 205 F. Supp. 164 (D. Md. 1962) - trial-level merits judgment under the Suits in Admiralty Act naming this hull as 'a Government vessel, AKL-17': on 24 Nov 1959 a crane cable lowering the 'doughnut' personnel raft from Texas Tower No. 2 to the deck of AKL-17 parted, dropping four men ~80-85 ft into the sea; two were killed and Bendix technicians Gries and Taylor severely injured; the court assessed damages for plaintiffs (res ipsa loquitur essentially uncontested).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1959 (casualty); 1962 (judgment)
- Population
- Embarked contractor technicians transferring between AKL-17 and Texas Tower No. 2
- Limitations
- A docketed case NAMING this hull - but it is personal-injury litigation, NOT asbestos litigation; it establishes the ship's Texas Tower supply operations and the hazardous ship-to-tower transfer method, nothing about materials aboard. Trial-level judgment; no appellate history located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-12
-
[14]In re United States Air Force Texas Tower No. 4, 203 F. Supp. 215 (S.D.N.Y. 1962), Levet J. - CourtListener opinion 1636815 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 203 F. Supp. 215, vessel-status analysis
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- In re United States Air Force Texas Tower No. 4, 203 F. Supp. 215 (S.D.N.Y. 1962) - the U.S. petition for exoneration from or limitation of liability as owner of the collapsed tower; the court granted summary judgment to claimants' position that the tower was not a 'vessel,' defeating the limitation petition. Claims filed totaled $5,208,514.74. This is the litigation arising from the casualty at which T-AKL-17 stood by on 14-15 Jan 1961.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1961-1962
- Limitations
- Adjudicates the tower's status under limitation-of-liability law; this ship is not a party and is not named in the opinion - included only as the litigation context for the ship's Texas Tower service era. Not asbestos litigation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-13
-
[15]Batch-4798 search ledger (this record): Shipscribe; NavSource; NVR (live + Wayback); NHHC/DANFS; maritime.org Torpedo Town; govinfo Senate hearing; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener; general web search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-usns-new-bedford-ix308-01 through sl-usns-new-bedford-ix308-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, government inspection finding, or docketed asbestos case naming FS-289, AKL-17, T-AKL-17, IX-308, New Bedford, GHOST, or Sea Bird was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for the vessel; the Naval Vessel Register live site carries no detail page. General-web asbestos searches return only law-firm marketing content for USS New Bedford PF-71 - a different hull and an excluded source class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944/45 federal steel freighter is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull survives in commercial service so any retained material remains aboard subject to the documented re-engining. Does not establish or defeat any exposure or legal-eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-14
-
[16]NARA records guidance - MSTS/MSC deck logs 1946-81 series page; RG 336 (Office of the Chief of Transportation); RG 181 (naval district and shore establishment records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA record-group mapping only
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads, unretrieved (no spend authorized): NARA MSTS/MSC deck-log series 1946-81 for T-AKL-17 logs 1950-63; Army Transportation Service vessel records for FS-289 (RG 336); 13th Naval District / NUWES Keyport records for the IX-308 service-craft era (RG 181); the 11 Jun 1996 DRMS sale file - the most promising disposal-era hazmat-disclosure lead; Wheeler Shipbuilding contract/records for the Design 381 build.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether asbestos-specific documents exist for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-usns-new-bedford-ix308-15