Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]Shipscribe (S. S. Roberts), 'USNS T-AKL 17 class (FS Design 381 part 2), AKL 17/32' - class notes and construction table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class header (design, spec date, contract dates, machinery) and construction table row for AKL 23
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Army Design 381 - officially 'Vessel, Supply, Diesel, Steel, 176'' - was a steel twin-screw geared-diesel coastal supply vessel built to Army specifications dated 1 June 1943 (with eight addenda through 16 August 1944); contracts for the design were placed at ten yards, with Wheeler Shipbuilding receiving the large initial order dated 24 April 1943 that included this hull. Vessels of this design were built in 1944-45, when asbestos-containing machinery/exhaust insulation, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, fire-resistant joiner panels, and deck coverings were standard marine-construction materials. As a diesel vessel the type carried no boilers or steam distribution, narrowing lagging scope relative to steam auxiliaries.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (Wheeler Shipbuilding, Whitestone NY, 1944-45); wartime USCG crew; MSTS civilian crew
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation describing the type and this hull's contract - the source contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; all asbestos applications listed are era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, location, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-23-akl23-01
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[2]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
- Abstract and 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-shipbuilding program under which this Design 381 coastal freighter was mass-produced at Wheeler Shipbuilding - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or its design 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-uss-akl-23-akl23-02
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[3]Shipscribe (S. S. Roberts), 'USNS T-AKL 17 class (FS Design 381 part 2), AKL 17/32' - construction table, disposition table, and ship note for T-AKL 23 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table row 'AKL 23'; disposition table row 'AKL 23'; ship note '(ex-FS 288, compl. 28 Feb 1945)...'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- T-AKL 23 (ex-FS 288), built by Wheeler Shipbuilding under the 24 April 1943 Army contract and completed 28 February 1945; in Army service in the Philippines in August 1949 performing intra-theater distribution of supplies; acquired by the U.S. Navy 1 July 1950 for the Military Sea Transportation Service and placed in service the same day; in U.S. Navy reserve 1952-59 (inactivated May 1953); placed on the Navy sale list April 1959; struck 1 April 1959; disposed by Navy sale 29 June 1960; later merchant Puerto Acapulco (1961) and Chilpancingo under the Mexican flag; wrecked in Baja California 31 August 1967.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1967
- Limitations
- Scholarly compilation of official Navy register and construction data (shipscribe.com), not a raw primary document; underlying register entries were not independently re-verified this pass. Establishes identity, custody chain, and disposition only - contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-23-akl23-03
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[4]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, 'USNS T-AKL-23 ex USAV FS-288 (1945-1950)' vessel page (navsource.net/archives/09/14/1423.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Vessel chronology block, specifications block, and photo caption (09142301)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- FS-288 was delivered to the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps in March 1945 and commissioned as USAV FS-288 on 10 March 1945 at Wheeler Shipyard, Whitestone, N.Y., with LTJG Paul A. Berg, USCG, in command - one of the Army freight-supply vessels manned by Coast Guard crews during WWII. She operated in the Pacific Ocean area, including Saipan and Guam, during the war (a period photograph shows FS-288 moored alongside USS Guilford (APA-112) in the Western Pacific, circa 1945). The Navy placed the vessel in service 1 July 1950 as USNS T-AKL-23; she was placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register in 1959. NavSource notes that no DANFS history exists for this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1945-1959
- Population
- USCG wartime crew; MSTS civilian crew
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained archival compilation, not an official record; the commissioning date and commanding-officer detail (LTJG Berg) rest on this source alone pending review of the USCG Historian's Office file on FS-288. USCG manning is independently corroborated by the official USCG listing (ev-05); the 1950 MSTS transfer and 1959 strike are corroborated by Shipscribe. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-23-akl23-04
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[5]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'Historic Ships' roster - 'FS Vessels (U.S. Army Freight Supply ships manned by Coast Guard crews)' section, entry FS-288 [other_primary]
- Locator
- 'FS VESSELS' section of the vessel roster (Wayback capture 2019-04-21); live history.uscg.mil page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office 'Historic Ships' roster lists FS-288 among the U.S. Army Freight Supply (FS) ships manned by Coast Guard crews during World War II, and states that the Historian's Office maintains a file on the vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (CG manning era)
- Population
- USCG wartime crew
- Limitations
- Official USCG source confirming Coast Guard manning of this Army hull and the existence of a Historian's Office vessel file; the roster carries no dates, operations detail, or asbestos/materials information. File contents are not digitized - flagged as archival lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-23-akl23-05
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[6]U.S. Merchant Marine (usmm.org), 'Ships transferred to Military Sea Transportation Service from Army Transportation Service, July 1, 1950' roster (reproducing the official transfer list); corroborated by Shipscribe acquisition date 1 Jul 1950 and NavSource 'placed in service' entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- July 1, 1950 (33 ships) section, 'USNS T-AKL 23' line item
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Correction to the 'USS AKL-23' framing: this vessel was never a commissioned U.S. Navy ship. It appears on the roster of 33 Army Transportation Service vessels transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service on 1 July 1950 as USNS T-AKL 23 - 'in service' status with a civilian MSTS crew, the T- prefix denoting a non-commissioned USNS vessel. No commissioning as USS AKL-23 occurred at any point.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1950-07-01
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation reproducing the official MSTS transfer roster; corroborated by Shipscribe and NavSource. Establishes the vessel's correct status designation only - no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-23-akl23-06
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[7]Batch-1091 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS index check; NavSource (no DANFS note); CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP searches; MARAD ShipHistory; current Naval Vessel Register [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-akl-23-akl23-01 through sl-uss-akl-23-akl23-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming AKL-23, T-AKL-23, or FS-288 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this hull - DANFS coverage is limited to commissioned Navy ships with assigned names, and this vessel was unnamed and in-service (USNS), never commissioned. CourtListener opinion searches on all name/hull variants returned zero hits; RECAP docket hits on 'FS-288' and 'AKL-23' are document/exhibit-number collisions (including entries inside the MDL-875 asbestos docket that do not reference the vessel).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2026-09-22
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1945 steel vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-23-akl23-07
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[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 336 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Transportation); USCG Historian's Office Historic Ships roster (file-holding statement); standard NARA USCG (RG 26) and Navy records-group mapping [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 336 guide page (headquarters and field-activity records); USCG roster 'Historian's Office maintains a file' statement
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room work or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): NARA RG 336 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Transportation, 1917-66, bulk 1940-50) holds Army Transportation Corps field-activity and vessel records relevant to USAV FS-288's Army service; NARA RG 26 (U.S. Coast Guard) holds unit records and logbooks for CG-manned Army vessels; the USCG Historian's Office maintains a file on FS-288 per its Historic Ships roster; MSTS-era operational records for T-AKL-23 reside in Navy records groups. Reserve-fleet berthing records for 1952/53-1959 and the 1960 Navy-sale file may document the buyer and interim custody.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1960 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-akl-23-akl23-08