Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet zbx-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-pkt-zbx-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34)' (NHHC ship history; verbatim transcription via mirrors - live NHHC page not located) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, construction paragraph + service narrative (verbatim transcription also at https://www.seaforces.org/usnships/ffg/FFG-34-USS-Aubrey-Fitch.htm, fetched live 2026-09-29)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 10 April 1981 at Bath, Maine, by Bath Iron Works; launched 17 October 1981, sponsored by Mrs. Francesca Fitch Ferguson, granddaughter of the namesake; commissioned at Bath 9 October 1982, Comdr. Floyd A. Weeks in command; homeported Mayport, Florida. Service: October-November 1983 Guantanamo Bay defense patrols and Grenada-area duty during Operation Urgent Fury; January 1986 recovery of several tons of Space Shuttle Challenger debris 50 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral; June-December 1986 Persian Gulf deployment; 1988 Operation Earnest Will reflagged-tanker escort; December 1990 counter-narcotics patrols (Joint Meritorious Unit Award); July 1991 hosted Soviet destroyer Simferopol at Mayport; Red Sea Maritime Interception Operations enforcing UN sanctions on Iraq - 243 merchant boardings and over 3 million tons of cargo inspected (Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation); February 1993 Operation Able Manner off Haiti (Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon); 1994 Operation Uphold Democracy Haiti deployments; summer 1995 European deployment incl. Battle of the Atlantic 50th anniversary; September 1996-March 1997 Standing Naval Force Atlantic deployment (14 ports). Decommissioned at Mayport 12 December 1997, towed to the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Philadelphia; struck from the Navy list 3 May 1999; disposed of by scrapping 19 May 2005.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1981-2005
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1981-82; ship's company 1982-1997
- Limitations
- Official ship-history narrative only - contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information. The live history.navy.mil page returned 404 for all slug variants tested; the identical verbatim DANFS text is carried via the hazegray transcription and the seaforces.org mirror. DANFS dates the Red Sea MIO paragraph 'In August 1991' although the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was August 1990 - carried as written.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-01
-
[3]Naval Vessel Register, AUBREY FITCH (FFG 34) detail record (archived capture - live NVR no longer serves this disposed hull's page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship detail page FFG34 (Wayback capture 2012-02-24; register last updated 10/07/2005)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Naval Vessel Register record for this hull (UIC 21059, class FFG 7): builder 'BATH IRON WKS CORP'; award 01/23/1978; keel 04/10/1981; launch 10/17/1981; delivery 10/01/1982; commission 10/09/1982; decommission 12/12/1997; stricken 05/03/1999; status 'Disposed of by scrapping, dismantling' with date status changed 05/19/2005. Register particulars: overall length 445 ft (the short-hull configuration), extreme beam 47 ft, light displacement 3,109 tons, full-load displacement 3,993 tons, hull material 'Steel hull, aluminum superstructure.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1978-2005
- Population
- Ship's company 1982-1997; NISMF Philadelphia custodial workforce 1997-2004; dismantling workforce 2004-2005
- Limitations
- Register data only - no materials, asbestos, survey, or abatement information. The 445-ft overall length corroborates secondary-source descriptions of FFG-34 as the final short-hull (SH-2F/LAMPS I) Oliver Hazard Perry-class hull. Disposal events: sale/transfer to Metro Machine reported variously as 11 March 2004 (contract award, NavSource) and 26 March 2004 (transfer); NVR status change is the authoritative completion marker.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-02
-
[4]Maritime Reporter and Engineering News, February 1988, 'Current Navy, Coast Guard & MARAD Overhaul, Repair & Conversion Contracts at U.S. Shipyards (as of December 1987)' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Maritime Reporter Feb 1988, p. 36-38 contract table (Atlantic Dry Dock line item)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporary trade-press contract listing documents a ship-specific overhaul event on this hull: 'Atlantic Dry Dock - USS Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34) - DSRA - $6,950,000 - completion 3/88' in the Navy's current overhaul/repair contract table as of December 1987 (DSRA = Docking Selected Restricted Availability).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1987-1988
- Population
- Atlantic Dry Dock yard workers; ship's company, 1987-1988
- Limitations
- Documents that a docking availability occurred aboard this hull at Atlantic Dry Dock (Jacksonville, Fla.) with completion March 1988; it does not describe work scope, materials disturbed, or any asbestos content. Any disturbance of ACM during the DSRA is inference only and is not asserted here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-03
-
[5]Department of the Navy, 32 CFR Part 706 - Certifications and Exemptions under the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (72 COLREGS), 65 FR 79740 (Dec. 20, 2000) [federal_register]
- Locator
- 65 FR 79740-79742, 32 CFR 706.2 Table One removal list and Table Seven/Eight removal lists ('USS AUBREY FITCH' named in each)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Federal Register rule document (65 FR 79740, 20 December 2000; 32 CFR Part 706 amendment) removing 'USS AUBREY FITCH' from the Navy's COLREGS certification tables (Tables One, Seven, and Eight) - an administrative record confirming the hull's post-striking removal from the certificated-vessel list.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2000
- Limitations
- Administrative delisting record only - it confirms the ship's post-disposal regulatory status, not materials, condition, or asbestos content. A companion entry at 65 FR 79742 removes the hull from additional paragraphs of Part 706.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-04
-
[6]NVR disposal status for FFG-34 (status change 05/19/2005); NavSource Online frigate archive, USS Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34) disposal chronology (contract $1.8M to Metro Machine Ltd., awarded 11 Mar 2004, completed 19 May 2005, first of class scrapped); globalsecurity.org shipbreaking page documenting the Nov 1999 interagency MOA and Metro Machine Philadelphia as a covered Navy location as of 2004 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR FFG34 record (status block); https://navsource.org/archives/07/0734.htm (date lines); https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/shipbreaking-green.htm (MOA and covered facilities)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Disposal pathway for this hull: stricken 3 May 1999 into unmaintained Category-X status at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Philadelphia (reported held as a parts hulk for the class); scrapping contract ($1.8 million) awarded to Metro Machine Ltd. of Philadelphia on 11 March 2004 - the first Oliver Hazard Perry-class ship to be scrapped; dismantling completed 19 May 2005 at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The dismantling occurred at a facility covered by the November 1999 OSHA/DoD(Navy,DLA-DRMS)/DOT(MARAD)/EPA shipbreaking memorandum of agreement, under which asbestos removal is a regulated process step; EPA's 'Guide for Ship Scrappers' governs the environmental compliance regime for such work.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1999-2005
- Population
- Metro Machine Corp. dismantling workforce, Philadelphia, 2004-2005
- Limitations
- Documents the dismantling event and the regulatory regime governing it; it does NOT document any hull-specific asbestos survey, offload manifest, or removal performed on this ship. Contract price and 'first of class scrapped' framing rest on NavSource (a compiled secondary source); NVR corroborates the completion date and disposition type. 'Parts hulk' characterization is from hazegray's secondary world-navies listing, not an official source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-05
-
[7]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (Oct. 18, 1979), incl. Enclosure I - CNO letter Ser 4542/318054, 5 Jan 1979, Attachment 1 'List of U.S. Navy Ships Delivered Since 1973 or Under Construction' [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 report body (Navy policy sections) and Enclosure I Attachment 1 'GUIDED MISSILE FRIGATE' block and Note 1
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era record for this hull's construction window: GAO HRD-80-2 reproduces the Navy's position that insulation specifications were changed by late 1973 to call for asbestos-free materials, that the no-asbestos policy issued as NAVSEAINST 5100.2 on 24 October 1975, and that because ship-sets of asbestos products had already been purchased 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978.' The enclosure's Attachment 1 lists guided-missile frigates FFG-7 through FFG-22/23 delivered since 1973 or under construction as 'Asbestos-free thermal insulation.' The accompanying CNO letter states that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos' in non-thermal applications lacking designated substitutes - piping gaskets and packing, pipe-hanger liners, deck/floor tile, equipment brake and clutch linings, electrical-resistor insulation, and galley-range insulation - and that per-ship thermal-insulation quantities are 'obtainable by search of weight control reports for individual ships.' FFG-34, awarded January 1978 and laid down April 1981, is not individually listed in the attachment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1973-1979 policy record; 1981-1982 this hull's construction period
- Population
- FFG-7-class construction trades and crews, 1974-1982
- Limitations
- Class/era context only - FFG-34 is NOT among the hulls individually listed in the 1979 attachment (the FFG block ends around FFG-22/23), so the asbestos-free-thermal-insulation entry cannot be claimed for this hull even though its 1981-82 construction postdates the May 1978 last-asbestos-delivery marker. Residual non-thermal ACM categories were Navy-wide; this record does not establish which, if any, were installed aboard this hull, their quantities, or any exposure. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches (standing access defect); content verified via indexed text of the PDF and the same pathway used in sibling batch records (Wayback capture of the PDF).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-06
-
[8]In re All Maine Asbestos Litigation (BIW Cases), 581 F. Supp. 963 (D. Me. 1984); 651 F. Supp. 913 (D. Me. 1986); 655 F. Supp. 1169 (D. Me. 1987) [court_record]
- Locator
- 581 F. Supp. 963 introductory recital (approximately 225-230 BIW/PNS employee actions); 651 F. Supp. at 921-925 (1940-1980 employment window; Navy asbestos-precaution directives); opinion-host URLs cited because CourtListener API access was fleet-limited at research time
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-yard asbestos litigation record: the All Maine Asbestos Litigation consolidations in the District of Maine comprise approximately 225-230 actions by present and former Bath Iron Works employees (and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employees) alleging asbestos-dust exposure during naval vessel construction and repair, with the court reciting a BIW employment window of approximately 1940 to approximately 1980; the opinions document Navy asbestos-precaution directives applied at the yard (e.g., NAVSHIPSINST 5100.26 to the Supervisor of Shipbuilding). Published opinions include 581 F. Supp. 963 (D. Me. 1984), 651 F. Supp. 913 (D. Me. 1986), and 655 F. Supp. 1169 (D. Me. 1987).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-1987 (litigation and recited exposure window)
- Population
- Bath Iron Works employees, ~1940-1980 (documented window)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation context, not a hull record - no opinion located names FFG-34 or any specific vessel under construction, and the recited exposure window (approximately 1940 to approximately 1980) ends before this hull's April 1981 keel-laying. These rulings resolved third-party/jurisdictional questions, not exposure merits as to any hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-07
-
[9]Associated Press via Los Angeles Times, 'OSHA Levies a Big Fine Against Bath Iron Works' (Nov. 4, 1987) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Article body - Pendergrass statement, citation summary bullets
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- OSHA enforcement record at the builder yard in this hull's service era: on 4 November 1987 OSHA proposed $4.2 million in fines against Bath Iron Works following a six-month investigation including May 1987 inspections, citing more than 3,000 alleged violations including detection of 'asbestos-laden dust with readings of up to 40% of the dust content in work areas that had been deemed free of the toxic material by supervisors' and unavailability of proper respirators for tasks including asbestos removal - documenting that asbestos handling and abatement work persisted at the builder yard into the late 1980s.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1987
- Population
- Bath Iron Works workforce, 1987
- Limitations
- Yard-level enforcement context only - the cited violations concern BIW work areas in May 1987, years after this hull's construction and three months before her Atlantic Dry Dock DSRA (a different yard); nothing ties the documented conditions to work performed on or aboard FFG-34. Proposed fines were contestable before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-08
-
[10]GAO NSIAD-99-18, 'Federal Surplus Ships: Government Efforts to Address the Growing Backlog of Ships Awaiting Disposal' (1998/1999) [gao]
- Locator
- NSIAD-99-18 report text (hazardous-materials and regulatory sections; indexed text)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Program context for this hull's dismantling: GAO NSIAD-99-18 documents that surplus Navy ships awaiting disposal 'typically contain environmentally hazardous materials such as asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), lead, mercury, and cadmium,' that hazardous-material remediation occurs prior to and during dismantling, and that Navy ship scrapping is subject to TSCA, RCRA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and OSHA requirements.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1998-1999 (report); applied context 2004-2005
- Population
- Ship dismantling workforce (program-level), late 1990s
- Limitations
- Program-level description of the statutory hazmat-remediation regime - it does not document that asbestos was present aboard this hull, nor that any specific survey or removal was performed during the 2004-2005 Metro Machine dismantling.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 authenticated helper attempts via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py, 2026-09-29; fleet pacing limiter blocked before any API request (eight attempts) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-09 through sl-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener litigation sweep could not be completed in this session. The required authenticated CourtListener API v4 helper (cl-auth-search.py) was invoked eight times across the session for the exact-name opinion query 'Aubrey Fitch'; the fleet-wide pacing limiter did not grant a request token on any attempt, so no request reached the CourtListener API and no results were received. Per the helper's stand-down guidance, the remaining required cells - exact-name docket, 'FFG-34' opinion, and 'FFG-34' docket - were not sent, and no anonymous or non-helper request was made. No CourtListener hit can therefore be classified as qualifying asbestos litigation, other litigation, name collision, or no result. General web search located no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull - hits were law-firm/SEO marketing ship-lists only (excluded per batch rules); note that 'Aubrey Fitch' is also the name of the ship's admiral namesake, so name collisions are expected when the sweep runs.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- This is not a no-result finding. No CourtListener search result was available to review, and CourtListener's opinion/RECAP coverage would not in any event prove the absence of state-court, sealed, settled, or unindexed litigation. The incomplete sweep establishes nothing about exposure, causation, or legal eligibility; re-run in a later session before treating the litigation record as clean.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-10
-
[12]Batch-4633 completed-source search ledger: NHHC DANFS (via mirrors; live page 404); Naval Vessel Register; NavSource; Maritime Reporter; Federal Register (32 CFR 706); GAO HRD-80-2 and NSIAD-99-18; OSHA/BIW enforcement and D. Me. yard-level litigation record; NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-01 through sl-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos documentation was located in the completed public-source review: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, construction-material specification, dismantling environmental record, or asbestos litigation naming USS Aubrey Fitch was identified. Accordingly ship-specific asbestos documentation remains unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1981-2026
- Limitations
- Absence of located public documentation does not prove asbestos was absent aboard this hull - the class/era GAO record is not a hull-specific substitute, the 1979 attachment does not list FFG-34, and the CourtListener sweep was blocked rather than completed. Equally, the era policy context does not establish that asbestos WAS present in thermal insulation aboard this 1981-82 hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-11
-
[13]NARA Navy deck-logs research guidance and RG 19/RG 24 pathways (archival-access leads); weight-control-report existence inferred from the Navy letter's statement of practice in GAO HRD-80-2 Enclosure I [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy; GAO HRD-80-2 Enclosure I (weight-control-reports passage); catalog.archives.gov API returned an application shell requiring JS/API key during this session
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads identified but not retrieved: the Navy's Enclosure I letter in HRD-80-2 states that per-ship asbestos quantities in thermal insulation are 'obtainable by search of weight control reports for individual ships,' so a hull-level weight-control record for FFG-34 should exist in Navy/Bureau of Ships records (NARA RG 19 General Information Books and related construction records). Additional unpulled leads: the ship's Booklet of General Plans, Bath Iron Works hull records, the Atlantic Dry Dock DSRA work package (1987-88), NISMF Philadelphia inactivation/cannibalization records (the hull was reportedly stripped for class spares 1999-2004), and the NAVSEA/Metro Machine dismantling contract file (2004-2005) - any of which may contain material-condition documentation.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- Archival research path, not yet executed
- Limitations
- Leads only - no archival record was retrieved. Weight-control reports quantify thermal insulation at most; other ACM categories and any post-delivery changes would not be covered. Deck logs are not expected to inventory asbestos; NARA catalog API was not accessible without credentials in this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aubrey-fitch-ffg34-12