Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. A (1991), Naval History Division - ARIEL AF-22 entry (hazegray transcription mirror; canonical NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-09-20, consistent with standing NHHC link-rot note in BATCH-01-REPORT) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray DANFS transcription, auxil/af22.txt (full entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents the hull's full naval career: built 1933 at Newport News by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. as the United Fruit 'Great White Fleet' passenger liner Jamaica; leased by the Navy 24 March 1942; converted at Todd's Galveston shipyard; renamed Ariel, designated AF-22, commissioned at Galveston 14 May 1942 (Capt. E. P. Hylant); served Service Squadron 7, Service Force Atlantic Fleet on east-coast/Caribbean stores runs (Bermuda, Trinidad, San Juan, Havana, Guantanamo); Iceland cruise August 1943 (Reykjavik 24 Aug); Mediterranean convoy January 1944 (Algiers, Naples, Oran); second Iceland voyage March-April 1944; UK deployment issuing stores to Normandy-invasion shipping at Clyde, Belfast, Plymouth and Portland, departing England on D-Day 6 June 1944; further Mediterranean runs Jul, Sep-Oct, Dec 1944-Feb 1945; final Iceland voyage May 1946; decommissioned New York 21 June 1946 and transferred to WSA same day; stricken 3 July 1946. DANFS statistics: displacement 11,875; length 446'10"; beam 60'3"; draft 26'; speed 18.5 kt; complement 328; armament 1x5in, 3x3in, 12x20mm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- USS Ariel crew, 1942-1946 (complement 328 per DANFS)
- Limitations
- Narrative official history - establishes identity, service, dates, and wartime complement only; contains no asbestos, insulation, or material-content information and supports no exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ariel-af22-01
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[2]MARAD ShipHistory database - ARIEL (AF-22) detail 6775; JAMAICA detail 12382 (incl. digitized USCG status cards and declassified ONI Information Report DIO-3ND serial 21-51, Apr 1951); PETEN detail 12449 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD ShipHistory details 6775/12382/12449; documents Ariel_6775_001.pdf, Jamaica_12382_001.pdf (status cards), Jamaica_12382_002.pdf (ONI report)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD records confirm identity: U.S. Official No. 232139, built 1933 at Newport News Shipbuilding, Naval Auxiliary/AF Store Ship, 6,963-6,968 GRT, 11,875 tons displacement; vessel name history links ARIEL (AF-22), JAMAICA, and PETEN to one hull; fate 'Scrapped' (ARIEL record) / 'Sold - Foreign Flag Op.' (JAMAICA record). Digitized USCG status cards record the acquisition chain verbatim: United Fruit Co. delivered JAMAICA to War Shipping Administration 9:00 AM CWT 24 March 1942 at New Orleans under bareboat charter party agreement, and WSA delivered her to the U.S. Navy Department the same date/port under bareboat charter; the card is stamped 'Now: ARIEL USN.' The 1951 ONI report documents post-war merchant service: total ship's company 105-110 on SS JAMAICA in spring 1951.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1941-1951 (records)
- Population
- Merchant ship's company, 1951 (105-110)
- Limitations
- Custody/identity/crew-size records only - no asbestos, insulation, or materials data. Status-card scan is partly mirrored/low-legibility; contents are movement/arrival data, not materials records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ariel-af22-02
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[3]Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Production Record (hazegray transcription mirror), hulls 345 and 354 [other_primary]
- Locator
- hazegray mirror of NNSB production record, rows for hulls 345 (Segovia) and 354 (Peten)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The yard production record establishes the hull's construction history: hull 345 Segovia, 447-ft refrigerated cargo/passenger steamer for United Fruit Co., 'Burned Incomplete 20 Dec 1931; Rebuilt Hull 354'; hull 354 Peten, 'Reconstruction & Completion - Hull 345,' delivered 24 February 1933, disposition 'Scrapped 1969.' Name chain on the record: Peten (1933) - Jamaica (1937) - Dione (1942) - Ariel/AF-22 (1942) - Jamaica (1946) - Blumenthal (1958) - scrapped 1969.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1931-1933
- Population
- Construction trades (Newport News, 1931-1933)
- Limitations
- Yard production-record compilation (transcription mirror of the builder's record). The 'Dione' 1942 entry reflects a prospective Navy name reassigned before commissioning, corroborated by the shipscribe class page; DANFS does not mention it. Fire date here (20 Dec 1931) conflicts with shipscribe's 9 Dec 1931 - flagged in gaps. No materials or insulation data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ariel-af22-03
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[4]New York Times, '6th United Fruit Ship in Service March 2; The Peten to Enter Caribbean Run After Sea Trials - Spencer to Be Master,' 22 January 1933 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NYT archive, 1933-01-22
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporary press confirms the rebuilt liner's entry into merchant service: Peten, 'last of six ships built by the line during the last two years,' was to leave Newport News Shipbuilding on 15 February 1933 for sea trials off the Virginia Capes and sail from New York on 2 March on her maiden voyage to Havana, Panama, and Costa Rica, replacing Calamares in the New York-Costa Rica service alongside Quirigua and Veragua.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1933
- Limitations
- Contemporary press coverage of schedule/service entry - no technical or materials detail; corroborates delivery/service dates against the yard record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ariel-af22-04
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[5]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS Mizar (AF-12) class page - compiled from official Navy records (NavShips data, Auxiliary Vessels Board actions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/AF/AF12.html - class table, class notes, ship notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class-level official-data compilation: Mizar class = six United Fruit 'mail class' liners ordered August 1930 under the Jones-White Act; AF-22 (Ariel) acquired 24 Mar 1942, Newport News-built, keel 1931, launched 15 Aug 1931, commissioned 14 May 1942; class machinery GE turbo-electric drive, 2 screws, 11,000 hp, 18 kt; Navy complement 241 (1944); armament evolved to 1x5"/51 + 3x3"/50 + 12x20mm for AF 13/21/22 in 1944-45. WSA allocated Veragua and Jamaica (AF 21-22) to the Navy under bareboat charter in March 1942; AF-22 'received a second [name] because the originally-assigned name, DIONE, was already borne by a Coast Guard cutter' - ship note: 'Ex USS DIONE 28 Apr 42 ... Converted by Todd Galveston DD, Galveston, Tex. Merc. JAMAICA 1946. BU 1969 as BLUMENTHAL.' Decommissioned/stricken 21 Jun/3 Jul 1946, returned to owner.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Limitations
- Private scholarly compilation of official Navy records (Roberts), not itself an official publication - figures cross-check against DANFS/MARAD where overlapping; class complement figure (241, 1944) differs from DANFS's 328 for this hull - both carried, flagged in gaps. No asbestos/materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ariel-af22-05
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[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
- 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, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard and around ship hulls. This hull was built (1931-33), rebuilt after a shipyard fire (1932-33), and converted to a naval stores ship (1942) entirely within the era when asbestos insulation was standard for steam plants, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing - including at the two yards that handled her.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- 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 scholarship; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Ship-specific presence is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ariel-af22-06
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[7]Hansen v. Johns-Manville Products Corp., 734 F.2d 1036 (5th Cir. 1984), cert. denied 470 U.S. 1051 (1985) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text at 734 F.2d 1036; OpenJurist mirror verified 2026-09-20 (CourtListener detail fetch deferred - API throttled, see search_ledger)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Affirmed judgment documenting asbestos conditions at the yard that converted this hull: Andrew Hansen worked for Todd Shipyards beginning in 1940 as a pipefitter 'tearing out old insulation in ships and installing new insulation,' primarily Johns-Manville asbestos products; he developed asbestosis and mesothelioma and died 13 months after diagnosis. The Fifth Circuit affirmed liability on a jury award including punitive damages (remittitur ordered). The conversion of this hull was performed by Todd's Galveston operation in April-May 1942 - the same corporate yard system and era in which Hansen worked.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940-1984
- Population
- Todd Shipyards insulation workers, 1940s (yard context)
- Limitations
- Yard-level finding, not a hull record: the opinion documents asbestos insulation work at Todd Shipyards generally (Galveston counsel and S.D. Tex. forum situate it in the Gulf Coast operation), but it does not name this vessel, does not establish that asbestos was installed or disturbed aboard her during the 1942 conversion, and says nothing about crew exposure. Classified as context for the conversion-yard environment only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ariel-af22-07
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[8]Tagnon et al., Cancer Research 40:3875 (1980) and Blot et al., JNCI 65:571 (1980) - Tidewater Virginia shipyard-worker mortality studies (PMIDs 7471040, 6931936) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PMIDs 7471040 (Am J Ind Med / Cancer Res 40:3875) and 6931936 (JNCI 65:571)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed epidemiology documents elevated mesothelioma incidence (4-fold among white males, 1972-1978) and smoking-adjusted lung-cancer elevation (RR 1.7) among WWII-era workers at coastal Tidewater Virginia shipyards, attributed to wartime asbestos exposures - the region and era in which this hull was built and rebuilt at Newport News Shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1931-1980 (exposure era ~1930s-40s)
- Population
- Tidewater VA shipyard workers (yard-region context)
- Limitations
- Multi-yard geographic scope - does not isolate Newport News Shipbuilding as sole exposure site and says nothing about this hull; documents the builder-yard environment only. Not evidence of asbestos aboard the vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ariel-af22-08
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[9]Batch-521 search ledger (this record): CourtListener opinion index (exact name, hull number, merchant names); MARAD ShipHistory records and digitized status cards; DANFS; NNSB production record; shipscribe class compilation; NYT archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ariel-af22-01 through sl-uss-ariel-af22-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull under any name (Segovia, Peten, Jamaica, Ariel/AF-22, Dione, Blumenthal) was found in the public sources searched. All CourtListener hits were name collisions (Ariel Fund/other vessels; AF-22 as contract or docket number; Jamaica as a place; Peten as a region) - classified, none qualifying.
- 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 steam liner built, rebuilt, and converted in the documented era is era-consistent with asbestos insulation. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener's 125/day cap throttled the final planned queries (operator-level 'United Fruit' + asbestos check) - logged in the ledger rather than retried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ariel-af22-09
-
[10]NARA record-group path for this hull: RG 24 Navy deck logs (USS Ariel, 1942-46); RG 19 Bureau of Ships records (Todd Galveston conversion availability/work package); RG 248 War Shipping Administration vessel files (bareboat charter documentation); RG 26 USCG merchant logbooks for merchant eras (Peten/Jamaica/Blumenthal) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA record groups RG 24 / RG 19 / RG 248 / RG 26
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Unretrieved archival path: the hull's Navy deck logs (RG 24) would document the 1942-46 commissioned period including any in-service material disturbances; Bureau of Ships conversion records (RG 19) and WSA files (RG 248) would hold the Todd Galveston conversion scope; USCG merchant logbooks (RG 26) cover merchant service. None digitized - require research-room retrieval; no spend authorized.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping is not evidence about this hull. Whether any of these records contain asbestos-relevant material is unverified until retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ariel-af22-10