Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Antigua' (AF-17), Naval Historical Center / NHHC [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Antigua entry; live history.navy.mil page 404s (2026-09-20) - verbatim text via Wayback capture 2004-03-01
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Antigua (AF-17: t. 6,892; l. 447'10"; b. 60'3"; dph. 24'1"; s. 16.5 k.; cpl. 114; a. 1 5", 4 3"): on 28 December 1941 the Navy acquired through the Maritime Commission by indefinite-time charter Antigua, a turbo-electric screw steamer built in 1932 at Quincy, Mass., by Bethlehem Ship Building Corp., previously operated out of New York carrying passengers and cargo for owner United Mail Steamship Company; on 27 December 1941 the Navy classified her a store ship, designated her AF-17, and retained her merchant name; 'for some unrecorded reason, the ship never joined the active Fleet' and was 'apparently returned to her owner sometime before 26 May 1944, the day her name was cancelled.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1941-1944 (Navy designation record)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for the Navy-side designation record. DANFS's 'apparently returned to her owner sometime before 26 May 1944' is imprecise - the MARAD status card documents the ship under WSA bareboat charter until physical redelivery to United Fruit on 17 March 1947; the 1944 event was cancellation of the Navy name/acquisition directive, not return of the hull. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-antigua-af17-01
-
[2]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - ANTIGUA (AF-17), Ship History Detail 6736, incl. digitized vessel status card, casualty card CR-65,225, and attached document scans [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 6736; status card images /cards/H5_01.png and /cards/92706d6f-...jpg; documents incl. Antigua_6736_001.pdf (USCG radio-sealing report 1943-02-19, San Francisco), ONI reports, TORTUGA general files 1962-1964
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database record for ANTIGUA (AF-17), Detail 6736: U.S. Official No. 231465; built 1932 by Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Division, hull no. 1444, completed March 1932; 6,982 GRT / 3,178 NRT; fate 'Sold - Foreign Flag Op.' Digitized vessel status card documents the custody chain: basis to W.S.A. 12-26-41 8AM EST at New York from United Fruit Co. (bareboat); 12-25-42 noon charter-basis entry (R/BB); allocated to United Fruit Co. under General Agency Agreement, New York; redelivered to United Fruit Co. (United Mail SS Co.) bareboat at New York 3-17-47 4PM EST; sold foreign (Sweden) 12-57. Companion casualty card (CR-65,225) records 'Collision - E.A. CHRISTENSON 10/9/44.' Attached MARAD documents include declassified ONI vessel-intelligence reports (NARA project NW 63684) and a USCG Captain of the Port radio-sealing report dated 2/19/43 at San Francisco.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1932-1957 custody record; documents 1941-1947
- Limitations
- Authoritative government custody record. Status-card handwriting partially legible (read directly from scan; 'R/BB' on the 12-25-42 line read as a charter-form/basis change, consistent with ShipScribe's account that the ship shifted from time charter to WSA bareboat charter - the hull was not redelivered to her owner in 1942 and continued WSA operation, as the 10/9/44 casualty card confirms). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-antigua-af17-02
-
[3]Pacific Marine Review, 'New Turbo-Electric Steamship Antigua,' vol. 29 (July 1932), p. 257ff - official organ of the Pacific American Steamship Association / Shipowners' Association of the Pacific Coast [other_primary]
- Locator
- Pacific Marine Review consolidated 1932 volume, July issue, 'New Turbo-Electric Steamship Antigua' (archive.org full text)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous technical description of this hull at delivery: contract signed 5 August 1930; keel laid 30 April 1931; launched 12 December 1931; delivered 1 April 1932; trials on the measured mile off Provincetown, Mass., 26 March 1932 exceeding 19 knots. Crew 112 (deck 24, engineers 34, stewards 48, pursers/doctor/radio 6); 113 passengers. Machinery: four Babcock & Wilcox oil-fired boilers supplying steam at 325 psi and 230 degrees superheat to two GE turbine-driven generators (5,500 shp each) feeding two GE synchronous propulsion motors (4,200 kW each at 125 rpm), twin screws. Insulation materials named in the article: 3 inches of compressed cork beneath steel deckhouse tops; granulated cork with spruce sheathing in all cargo holds; magnesite under rubber tile (U.S. Rubber Co. tile; Selby & Battersby magnesite) in passenger spaces; cork and magnesite are the only insulation materials described - the article never uses the word 'asbestos.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1930-1932
- Population
- Construction trades (Fore River, Quincy, 1930-1932); merchant crew
- Limitations
- Trade-journal description published the month of delivery; the most detailed contemporaneous account of this hull's construction and materials located. It documents cork and magnesite insulation products by name but is silent on machinery-space lagging composition - neither establishes nor excludes asbestos aboard; magnesite/magnesia flooring and insulation products of the era were sometimes manufactured with asbestos fiber, but this article does not state fiber content. No asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-antigua-af17-03
-
[4]ShipScribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'Class: MIZAR (AF-12)' - auxiliary vessel class record compiled from U.S. Navy acquisition files [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class notes and ship-note table for AF-17, shipscribe.com/usnaux/AF/AF12.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ShipScribe Mizar (AF-12) class record, compiled by Stephen S. Roberts from official Navy files: all six United Fruit 'mail boats' appeared on the Navy List; TALAMANCA and ANTIGUA received 30-day limited conversions for operation under time charter beginning mid-late December 1941 at Maryland Drydock Co., Fairfield, Baltimore, Md. - 'similar to those being done on merchant ships being armed except that the gun installation was somewhat more elaborate.' On 10 Jan 1942 the Auxiliary Vessels Board approved acquisition of the four ships (AF 15-18) on bareboat charter when Bureau of Navigation crews could be furnished; AF-15 commissioned January 1942, but action on ANTIGUA was deferred - as of May 1942 she was under WSA bareboat charter allocated to the Navy for exclusive use, operated by a United Fruit crew under a General Agency Agreement. Her acquisition and full conversion to AF were directed by the Auxiliary Vessels Board 29 Sep 42 and by VCNO 17 Feb 43, but COMSERVPAC recommended postponement and she missed an early-1943 conversion availability; she remained a 'U.S. Naval Store Ship' with a civilian crew throughout the war. The AVB cancelled all directives for her acquisition and manning 22 May 1944; cancellation was recorded by phone 26 May 1944. Ship note: 'Merc. ANTIGUA (ID-4876D, completed Mar 32). Taken over under indefinite time charter 28 Dec 41 (accepted 26 Dec.) and converted by Maryland DD, Baltimore, Md. (Dec 41-Jan 42). Acquisition directive cancelled 22 May 44. Scrapped 1964 as TORTUGA.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Population
- United Fruit civilian crew operating under WSA/GAA 1941-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official records (auxiliary vessel files), not itself an official document - but it cites the specific board actions and dates and resolves the 22 vs 26 May 1944 discrepancy seen across DANFS and secondary sources (board decision vs. recordation). Explains the never-commissioned status DANFS leaves 'unrecorded.' Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-antigua-af17-04
-
[5]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Fanning' (DD-385) and 'Jicarilla' (ATF-104) entries, Naval Historical Center / NHHC; MARAD casualty card CR-65,225 (Detail 6736 attachments) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Fanning II and Jicarilla entries via Wayback (2004-03 captures; live pages 404); Jicarilla at https://web.archive.org/web/20040225045324/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/j2/jicarilla.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entries for USS Fanning (DD-385) and USS Jicarilla (ATF-104) document this hull's WSA Pacific service: 'After escorting SS Antigua to Eniwetok' (Fanning, steaming for forward areas 17 September 1944); Jicarilla 'remained in Hawaiian waters until November doing salvage and towing work, including the difficult task of pulling SS Antigua off a reef 14-21 October' 1944. The MARAD casualty card dates the collision with SS E.A. Christensen 10/9/44; a NavSource photo caption (contributor-supplied) describes beaching off the Pearl Harbor entrance and refloating 23 October with tow assistance - partially corroborated, see gaps for date conflicts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- United Fruit civilian crew; U.S. Navy escort/salvage crews (DD-385, ATF-104, ARS-23 per secondary captions)
- Limitations
- Confirms the hull's wartime employment and the October 1944 reef salvage; DANFS gives a 14-21 October salvage window while the MARAD casualty card dates the collision 10/9/44 and NavSource captions a 23 October refloat - sequence reconciled but exact dates differ by source (see gaps). No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-antigua-af17-05
-
[6]Miller v. United States, 51 F. Supp. 924 (S.D.N.Y. 1943) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener opinion 8889596; findings of fact paras. 1-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Miller v. United States, 51 F. Supp. 924 (S.D.N.Y. 1943) - seaman's libel for wages. The opinion names this hull: 'The SS Antigua, owned by the United Fruit Co., was under bareboat charter to the United States and was being operated by that company as agent for the Government.' Libellant joined the ship at New York 3 February 1942, was hospitalized at the Marine Hospital, San Francisco, 23-26 March 1942, logged as a deserter, and sued for withheld wages; the court found reasonable cause for withholding. Classification: ship-specific OTHER LITIGATION - not an asbestos case.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Merchant seaman (libellant); crew generally
- Limitations
- Admiralty wage/maintenance-and-cure dispute, not asbestos litigation - no exposure allegation, no product identification, no disease. Carried because it is a judicial record that names this hull and documents the WSA bareboat/United Fruit general-agency operating arrangement in 1942-43. Establishes nothing about asbestos; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-antigua-af17-06
-
[7]Perion v. United Fruit Co., 226 Md. 591, 174 A.2d 777 (1961) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener opinion 2203707; Md. Court of Appeals opinion text
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Perion v. United Fruit Co., 226 Md. 591, 174 A.2d 777 (Md. 1961) - Jones Act negligence and unseaworthiness. A merchant seaman in the engine department 'of the steamship Antigua, a turbo-electric freighter vessel' caught his foot on a condensate pipe and slipped on deck plates. Jury verdict for the shipowner; the Maryland Court of Appeals reversed on jury-instruction grounds (the trial court had excluded concurrent-cause evidence from the negligence/unseaworthiness analysis), remanding for a new trial. Classification: ship-specific OTHER LITIGATION - not an asbestos case.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- injury c. late 1950s; opinion 1961
- Population
- Engine-department merchant seaman
- Limitations
- Personal-injury (slip/trip) litigation, not asbestos - no exposure allegation, product identification, or disease. Stage discipline: trial ended in a defense verdict reversed on instructional grounds; no appellate finding on vessel conditions beyond the legal error. Engine-department setting is noted but establishes nothing about insulation materials aboard. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-antigua-af17-07
-
[8]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 program under which this 1931-32 hull was chartered, armed, and operated as a WSA vessel allocated to Navy requirements - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- 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 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-antigua-af17-08
-
[9]O'Connor v. Raymark Industries, Inc., 401 Mass. 586 (1988); Thayer v. Pittsburgh-Corning Corp., 45 Mass. App. Ct. 435 (1998) - as catalogued in shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json, fore-river-shipyard entry [court_record]
- Locator
- shipyards.json yard_id fore-river-shipyard, products_documented; underlying opinions on Justia
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The builder yard of this hull - Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Fore River Plant, Quincy, Mass. - carries documented asbestos-product usage in the Atlas shipyard dataset (evidence tier 3): Raybestos-Manhattan asbestos welding blankets at Fore River per O'Connor v. Raymark Industries, 401 Mass. 586, 518 N.E.2d 510 (1988), and Owens-Illinois pipe insulation aboard ships under construction at Fore River 1948-1952 per Thayer v. Pittsburgh-Corning Corp., 45 Mass. App. Ct. 435 (1998).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940s-1952 (yard documentation); hull built 1931-1932
- Population
- Fore River Shipyard workers (later era)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation from a later era (1940s-1950s) than this hull's 1930-1932 construction - the cited litigation does not involve this vessel or its build period. Contextualizes the builder's documented asbestos environment only; establishes nothing about materials installed in this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-antigua-af17-09
-
[10]Batch-516 search ledger (this record): DANFS (Antigua, Fanning, Jicarilla entries); MARAD ShipHistory 6736 + status/casualty cards + document scans; Pacific Marine Review July 1932; ShipScribe AF-12 class record; CourtListener name/hull searches; NVR [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-antigua-af17-01 through sl-uss-antigua-af17-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming the Antigua hull (ON 231465 / AF-17) was found in the public sources searched - the DANFS entry, MARAD status card and attached documents, the 1932 Pacific Marine Review technical description, the ShipScribe class record, and both ship-naming court opinions contain no asbestos or insulation-hazard statement; CourtListener name/hull searches returned no qualifying asbestos litigation (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1931-32 steamship with a 325-psi oil-fired boiler plant is era-consistent with asbestos-containing lagging and gasketing, and the ship was scrapped in 1964 so no present-day assessment is possible. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-antigua-af17-10
-
[11]NARA record-group mapping: RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration), RG 26 (USCG merchant logbooks), RG 24/80-G (Navy records incl. Armed Guard and photo series); NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive entry 09/06/0617 as digital access point for photo 80-G-276591 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AF-17 photo archive page (captions citing NARA 80-G-276591 and Armed Guard service); NARA guides: archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html, /groups/248.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction-order material; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 80-G photo 80-G-276591, an official Navy photo of SS Antigua (AF-17) under way 27 November 1942 under Navy allocation, digitized via NavSource contributor caption; (b) NavSource contributor caption names a U.S. Navy Armed Guard gunner (GM Rodney E. Taylor) aboard SS Antigua 1941-1943 - Armed Guard detachment plausible for an armed WSA hull but unverified against official muster rolls (NARA RG 24 Armed Guard records); (c) WSA vessel charter/operation files in NARA RG 248 and Maritime Commission construction-period records RG 178 may hold the bareboat charter, the 1942 charter-basis change, and the Maryland Drydock conversion work orders; (d) merchant logbooks in RG 26 distributed by port of submission (New York/San Francisco); (e) MARAD TORTUGA general files 1962-1964 scan (15 MB, image-only) not text-reviewed - may hold scrapping/disposition detail.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1941-1964 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and photograph mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; the NARA catalog entry for photo 80-G-276591 was not independently verified (catalog fetch JS-blocked), and the Armed Guard claim rests on a contributor caption, not an official record. Existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-antigua-af17-11