Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts, 'Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy' auxiliary-vessels archival compilation), ATR-1 class page — construction table, disposition table, ship notes [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table row '31 ATR-31'; Disposition table row '31 ATR-31'; Ship Notes row 31
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) ATR-1 class data page, compiled from National Archives and official Navy vessel records. Construction table, row ATR-31: ordered 1942-06-27; builder 'Northwestern, Bellingham'; keel laid 1942-09-07; launched 1943-06-20; commissioned 1943-10-30. Disposition table, row ATR-31: decommissioned 1946-06-21; struck 1947-07-17; disposal 1947-07-22; fate FLC (Foreign Liquidation Commission). Ship note 31: 'Delivered by FLC 19 Jun 47 (or 22 Jul 47) to Peruvian Navy as CONDESTABLE SELENDON, later SELENDON. Scrapped 1964.' Class-level data: Navy ATR-1 design; 852 t light / 1,315 t max; 165.4 ft oa x 33.3 ft x 15.8 ft max; armament 1-3"/50 and 2-20mm; complement 51 (1944); 12.2 knots; 1,600 HP, single screw, vertical triple expansion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1964
- Limitations
- Expert secondary compilation transcribing official Navy records, not the primary document itself; internally gives ambiguous FLC delivery date (19 Jun or 22 Jul 1947); its launch date (20 Jun 43) and struck date (17 Jul 47) conflict with NavSource (30 Jul 43 / '1946') — both discrepancies carried in gaps rather than silently reconciled. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazardous-material statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-31-atr31-01
-
[2]NavSource Naval History — Service Ship Photo Archive, USS ATR-31 page [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-31 page: chronology block, Asiatic-Pacific campaign table, awards line, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Service Ship Photo Archive page for USS ATR-31 (compiled from official records): laid down 1942-09-07 at Northwest Shipbuilding, South Bellingham, WA; launched 1943-07-30; commissioned 1943-10-30; assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater — Western New Guinea operations (supporting/consolidating operations designated by Commander 7th Fleet, 1944-07-03 to 1944-09-09), Leyte landings (1944-11-14 to 1944-11-29), Ormoc Bay landings (1944-12-07 to 1944-12-08); decommissioned date unknown; struck from the Naval Register in 1946; transferred to Peru 1947 as BAP Condestable Selendon (Q01); earned the Navy Unit Commendation for service in the Salvage, Fire Fighting, and Rescue Unit, Service Force, 7th Fleet, Philippine Islands area, 1944-12-07 to 1944-12-08, and two battle stars for WWII service; radio call sign NFPP. Hull-specific spec block: 852 t lt / 1,315 t fl; 165'6" x 33'4" x 15'6"; 12.2 kts; 1-3"/50 DP + 2-20mm; complement 5 officers/47 enlisted; fuel 1,630 bbls; propulsion 1 Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, 2 Foster Wheeler 'D'-type boilers 200 psi sat., 2 turbo-drive ship's service generators 60 kW 120 V DC, single propeller 1,600 shp. Page states verbatim: 'There is no DANFS history currently available for USS ATR-31.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1954
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled transcription of official records; its launch date (30 Jul 43), struck year (1946), and unknown decommissioning date conflict with shipscribe's record-table values (20 Jun 43 / 17 Jul 47 / 21 Jun 46) — discrepancies logged in gaps. The Navy Unit Commendation was a unit award to the Salvage, Fire Fighting, and Rescue Unit of Service Force 7th Fleet, not to this hull alone. Contains no asbestos or hazardous-material statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-31-atr31-02
-
[3]Carter, Rear Adm. Worrall Reed, 'Beans, Bullets and Black Oil: The Story of Fleet Logistics Afloat in the Pacific During World War II' (Naval History Division, Department of the Navy, 1953), Chapter XXII 'Leyte Aftermath' — HyperWar transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chapter XXII, 'Landings at Ormoc Bay and Mindoro: December 1944,' pp. 266-268
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Naval History Division history of WWII Pacific fleet logistics names this hull directly for the 1944-12-07 Ormoc Bay action: Task Group 78.3 (Rear Adm. A. D. Struble) included '1 rescue tug'; when APD Liddle was crashed by a kamikaze 'the rescue tug ATR-31, with salvage and firefighting teams aboard, was ordered to stand by'; after USS Lamson (DD-367) was crashed 'and killed 2 officers and 19 men. After her fires were controlled, she was towed to port by the ATR-31'; and 'the Lamson, towed by ATR-31, followed astern' toward Leyte Gulf, where fleet tug Quapaw and salvage vessel Cable subsequently aided Lamson.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-12
- Limitations
- Official post-war Navy history compiled from records — a secondary narrative, not a deck log or action report; establishes the hull's presence, embarked salvage/firefighting teams, and the Lamson tow, but not day-by-day movements before or after 1944-12-07. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-31-atr31-03
-
[4]NARA photo 80-G-290898 caption (via HyperWar Online Library of Selected Images mirror, NHHC collection); NHHC photo NH 87849 caption (via shipscribe ATR-1 class photo page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 80-G-290898 caption block on the USS Lamson photo index; NH 87849 caption block on shipscribe.com/usnaux/ATR/ATR01-p.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Two official photographic records name this hull. (a) U.S. National Archives photo 80-G-290898 (official U.S. Navy photo), caption: 'USS Lamson (DD-367) afire off Ormoc, Leyte, on 7 December 1944, after she was hit by a Kamikaze. The tug assisting with firefighting is probably USS ATR-31' — the official caption hedges the identification with 'probably.' (b) NHHC photo NH 87849, caption: 'Peruvian Navy Tug Condestable Selendon — the former USS ATR-31, photographed in the Canal Zone on 10 February 1954' (photo courtesy Dr. Robert L. Scheina), documenting the hull in Peruvian service eight years after transfer. NavSource also carries a circa-1951 official Peruvian Navy photo of the ship as Condestable Selendon.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-12-07; 1954-02-10
- Limitations
- The 80-G-290898 identification of the tug is hedged ('probably') in the official caption itself — carried as stated, not strengthened. Canonical NHHC online pages for both catalog numbers are not currently retrievable (NHHC link rot documented in BATCH-01); captions cited via the HyperWar and shipscribe transcriptions. Photographs and captions contain no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-31-atr31-04
-
[5]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44 — Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations (ship-number index, archives.gov PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 ship-number list, ATR-31 entry: 'ATR-31 10/30/1943 6/30/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, arranged by ship number) indexes deck logs for ATR-31 covering 1943-10-30 through 1945-06-30 — the hull's entire commissioned period through the wartime campaigns including Ormoc Bay. The logs are held by NARA (Record Group 24 lineage) and are not digitized; contents were not retrieved this session.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-10-30 to 1945-06-30 (coverage dates)
- Limitations
- Confirms existence and date coverage of ship-specific deck logs only; contents unretrieved (College Park research-room pull required, no spend authorized). Deck logs are operational records — no asbestos content is expected or established by this finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-31-atr31-05
-
[6]Shipscribe ATR-1 class notes (archival compilation, incl. BuShips 1941-09-12 letter and CNO 1942-01-19 directive); 'US Navy Tugs, 1940-45' (U.S. Navy wartime publication, HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class Notes paragraphs (design rationale, program direction dates); https://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-at.html ATR section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class-level construction documentation for the type this hull belongs to: shipscribe's class notes state the Navy 'decided to have the vessels built of wood and equipped with relatively simple triple expansion steam machinery' so small shipbuilders and local machine shops could produce them outside the main Navy pipeline; the design is attributed by one source to the John G. Alden firm; CNO directed construction of ATR 1-40 on 1942-01-19 under the Maximum War Effort (1799-Vessel) Program; a follow-on batch (ATR 101-140) was switched from wood to steel construction in mid-1943 partly over concerns about tropical shipworm deterioration in the Pacific. The wartime Navy publication transcribed at HyperWar ('US Navy Tugs, 1940-45') describes the class as 'Wooden-hulled Rescue Tugs, built to patrol convoy lanes' with triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (program); class construction 1942-1945
- Limitations
- Class-level design and procurement documentation; establishes wooden hull and machinery type for the class but not materials fitted aboard this specific hull. No asbestos statement in either source — the fiber content of this hull's boiler/steam-line insulation is not established by any located record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-31-atr31-06
-
[7]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 World War II, the era and program under which this hull was built (keel laid 1942, commissioned 1943), and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization fleet-wide — including aboard small naval auxiliary hulls built at emergency-program yards such as the one that built this tug.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article published 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and Navy crews (class/era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, this builder, or this ship type, and does not establish that asbestos was fitted aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-31-atr31-07
-
[8]Washington State Dept. of Ecology, cleanup site 193 'Harris Avenue Shipyard' (site page, Cleanup Action Plan, consent-decree materials); Port of Bellingham, 'Northwest Shipbuilding Company' history page [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ecology site 193 page and CAP text; https://www.portofbellingham.com/949/Northwest-Shipbuilding-Company
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The construction yard is a documented contamination cleanup site: Washington State Department of Ecology cleanup site 193 ('Harris Avenue Shipyard,' 201 Harris Avenue, Bellingham — the Pacific American Fisheries parcel that the Port of Bellingham's official history records was leased to Northwest Shipbuilding Company for military construction 1942-1944) is under active Model Toxics Control Act cleanup, with the Port of Bellingham as the potentially liable person implementing a Cleanup Action Plan covering upland soil/groundwater and in-water sediment. The CAP's named contaminant groups are metals, total petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls; asbestos is not among the contaminant groups named in the plan text reviewed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1993-2025 (cleanup record); yard operation 1942-1944
- Limitations
- Land-side environmental record for the construction yard, not a hull record; it documents site contamination from ~a century of industrial use (the yard site hosted shipbuilding before and long after 1942-44) and does not establish or negate asbestos aboard ATR-31, nor yard-worker exposure during this hull's construction. Ecology pages return HTTP 403 to automated fetch; contents confirmed via indexed site-report/CAP text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-31-atr31-08
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 search endpoint, queries "ATR-31" and "Selendon" (type=o, type=r), executed via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-31-atr31-10, sl-uss-atr-31-atr31-11, and sl-uss-atr-31-atr31-11b
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener searches for this hull produced no qualifying asbestos litigation. Opinion-index search for the exact string "ATR-31" returned 0 results. Docket-index search for "ATR-31" returned 5 dockets, all name collisions in unrelated cases (American Society for Testing and Materials v. Public.Resource.Org, dcd 1:13-cv-01215; J.G. v. New York City Dept. of Education, nysd; M.B. v. New York City Dept. of Education, nysd; Leifer v. Live Nation Entertainment, nysd; United States v. Live Nation Entertainment, nysd) — the string matches exhibit/document codes, not the vessel; none involve asbestos or any ship. Searches for the Peruvian name "Selendon" returned 0 results on both the opinion and docket indexes; the fuller phrase "Condestable Selendon" is a strict subset of "Selendon" matches and is therefore also 0 by construction. All queries authenticated via the fleet helper script, 2026-09-26.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Sweep covers the CourtListener opinion and docket indexes for both the hull string and the Peruvian name: 0 qualifying results; the 5 docket hits are all classified as name collisions (unrelated cases where 'ATR-31' appears as an exhibit/document code). Zero hits in CourtListener does not exclude state-court filings, unindexed dockets, or MDL-875 pleading-stage references naming the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-31-atr31-09
-
[10]Batch-2965 search ledger (this record): NavSource ATR-31; shipscribe ATR-1 data/photo pages; HyperWar BBBO Ch. XXII and NHHC photo mirror; NARA SL-44; MARAD ShipHistory; NVR; WA Ecology site 193; Port of Bellingham; CourtListener via fleet helper [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-31-atr31-01 through sl-uss-atr-31-atr31-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/NPS documentation, or litigation naming ATR-31 (or its Peruvian identity) was found in the public official sources searched. There is no DANFS entry for this hull (NavSource confirms none exists); NARA indexes deck logs for the hull but contents are unretrieved; MARAD holds no custody record (disposal went through the Foreign Liquidation Commission, not MARAD); and the Naval Vessel Register categorically excludes vessels disposed before 1987. See search_ledger.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard — a 1943 steam auxiliary is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing machinery insulation, and the hull's 1947 transfer to Peru and 1964 scrapping leave no modern survey window. Does not establish that asbestos is or was present or absent; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation sweep is partial (see ev-09).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-31-atr31-10