Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'USS Abatan (AW-4)' entry, Naval History Division; transcribed HyperWar/ibiblio mirror. Canonical history.navy.mil DANFS URL returned 404 on 2026-09-24 (NHHC link rot, standing issue per BATCH-01). [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS AW-4 entry, full text (ibiblio HyperWar transcription)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity and service: laid down as Maritime Commission T2-SE-A2 tanker Mission San Lorenzo (MC hull 1827) on 1944-06-09 at Marinship Corp., Sausalito, CA; renamed Abatan and designated AO-92 on 1944-07-25; launched 1944-08-06; redesignated AW-4 (distilling ship) on 1944-08-24; transferred to the Navy 1944-11-28 at Mare Island Navy Yard and converted there; commissioned 1945-01-29, Lt. Comdr. E. Norman Eriksen in command; 22,350-ton full-load displacement, 523'6" x 68', 15.1 kt, complement 265. Service: Ulithi water issue 1945-03-21 through six-plus months; Okinawa Oct-Nov 1945; Shanghai Nov 1945-Apr 1946; Eniwetok/Kwajalein support to Operation Crossroads May-Jul 1946; Philadelphia preinactivation from 1946-08-20; decommissioned in reserve 1947-01-27; stricken 1960-07-01 and transferred to MARAD, James River; reacquired and reinstated 1962-09-27 as backup fresh-water storage ship at Guantanamo Bay; stricken 1970-05-01 but retained as water hulk; stripped late 1979 and used as a target to destruction early 1980.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1980
- Population
- Crew of ~265 (commissioned period); Marinship construction trades; Mare Island conversion trades
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity and service history. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statement - supports no asbestos claim. The AO-92 designation was administrative only (~30 days, pre-commissioning): the hull never served as a fleet oiler, which matters for tiering - 'fleet oiler AO-92' framing in hull lists overstates its actual role.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ataban-ao92-01
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[2]DANFS Online auxiliaries index (hazegray mirror of the official DANFS index) lists the entry as 'AW 4 ATABAN', while the DANFS article text, NHHC Online Library photo page, NavSource, and MARAD ShipHistory all use 'Abatan' (named for the Abatan River, Bohol, Philippines) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS auxiliaries index line 'AW 4 ATABAN' (hazegray mirror) vs DANFS AW-4 article text 'Abatan' throughout
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-spelling correction: the commissioned name per DANFS article text is 'Abatan' (a river in southwestern Bohol, Philippines). The spelling 'Ataban' appears in the official DANFS auxiliaries index heading ('AW 4 ATABAN') and propagates through secondary hull lists (e.g., usslittlerock.org hull-number index, usndazzle.com camouflage database). The batch hull list's 'USS Ataban (AO-92)' traces to the index spelling; both spellings denote the same single hull (MC 1827).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-present (nomenclature)
- Limitations
- Documents a name-variant discrepancy between an official index and the official article text; the index spelling 'Ataban' is a real documented variant, not a separate vessel. Does not establish which spelling the 1944 naming letter used; no asbestos relevance.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ataban-ao92-02
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[3]U.S. Maritime Administration ShipHistory database - ABATAN (AW-4), Detail 8, incl. digitized status card (ABATAN.pdf) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 8 milestone table; status card image 8_15AF.jpg; document ABATAN.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record: ABATAN (AW-4), ex-Mission San Lorenzo; year built 1944; Marinship Corporation; type AW water distilling ship / T2-SE-A2; milestones: entered Reserve Fleet 1960-03-02; withdrawn 1962-09-27 under permanent transfer (back to Navy); repurpose note 1977-03-01 'Navy vessel still located at GITMO as a water storage ship'; fate 'Transferred - U.S. Govt.' Status-card scan shows James River custody-transfer notations consistent with the 1960 entry and 1962 withdrawal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1960-1977 (custody record)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones; contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information - supports no asbestos claim. MARAD reserve-fleet entry (1960-03-02) precedes the DANFS stricken date (1960-07-01) - custody-vs-register sequencing noted, not reconciled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ataban-ao92-03
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[4]Auke Visser T-2 tanker reference, Mission San Lorenzo / Abatan page (yard no. 51, MC 1827; 2 GE steam turbines, 10,000 bhp; T2-SE-A2) corroborated by NHHC 'turbo-electric, single propeller' plant description [other_primary]
- Locator
- aukevisser.nl/t2tanker/id337.htm specs block ('Engine: 2 steam turbines, manufactured by General Electric Company, Lynn, Massachussetts. 10000 B.h.p.'); NHHC Online Library usnsh-a/aw4.htm plant line
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: the hull is a 1944 emergency-built Marinship T2-SE-A2 steam turbo-electric tanker (oil-fired boilers feeding a GE turbine-generator set, single screw, ~10,000 shp) completed at Mare Island as a distilling ship. Plants of this type and era carried asbestos in boiler and steam-line lagging, turbine insulation, valve and flange gaskets, and machinery packing; the distilling conversion added evaporator and steam-heated process equipment - further lagged hot surfaces. Construction (Marinship, mid-1944) and conversion (Mare Island Navy Yard, Nov 1944-Jan 1945) fall inside the peak wartime asbestos-use period in U.S. shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (build/convert); 1945-1980 (service)
- Population
- Marinship construction trades (1944); Mare Island conversion trades (1944-45); engineering crew (1945-47, 1962-79 Gitmo service)
- Limitations
- Design/era inference only - no document names asbestos aboard this hull. The Auke Visser page is a secondary compilation (used for plant spec corroboration, not as an asbestos source). Does not establish quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or present-day presence (hull sunk 1980).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ataban-ao92-04
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[5]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 program under which this T2-SE-A2 hull was built and converted - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard both naval and merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- 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 remained aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ataban-ao92-05
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[6]NARA Record Group 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships, 1940-1966), File Unit 'Plans for the Distilling Ship USS Abatan (AW-4)'; 1949-01-05 Booklet of General Plans (Navy Yard, Philadelphia) digitized as Internet Archive item aw4bogp1949 (collection ship-design-drawings) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/153714290; archive.org/details/aw4bogp1949
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A hull-specific Booklet of General Plans for USS Abatan (AW-4), dated 1949-01-05 and prepared by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, exists in NARA RG 19 (file unit 153714290) and is digitized at archive.org (aw4bogp1949, 300-dpi scans). Booklets of general plans are where hull-specific insulation and lagging arrangements would be recorded if anywhere in the public record; this set has not been sheet-by-sheet verified for insulation material callouts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1949 (plan date)
- Limitations
- Archival lead, not a finding: the scan set (~126 MB booklet image) was not fully reviewed sheet-by-sheet; no asbestos, lagging, or insulation-material statement has been located within it. Presence of the plans establishes only that hull-specific engineering documentation survives.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ataban-ao92-06
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[7]Batch-1940 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC mirrors; MARAD ShipHistory; NARA RG 19 file unit; NavSource photo archive; NVR; CourtListener opinion and docket searches on 'Abatan', 'Ataban', 'Mission San Lorenzo' [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ataban-ao92-01 through sl-uss-ataban-ao92-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming this hull was found in the sources searched. CourtListener returned zero opinions for 'Abatan' and 'Mission San Lorenzo'; 'Ataban' opinions (5) and 'Abatan' dockets (30) are all person-name collisions unrelated to the vessel. NVR holds no record (ships disposed before 1987 are not included).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - 1944 steam-ship construction is era-consistent with asbestos use. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ataban-ao92-07