Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet zcn-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-belusan-ix187-pkt-zcn-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Belusan II' (IX-187) - Naval Historical Center revised entry by Raymond A. Mann, dated 2006-02-24 (Wayback capture; live NHHC DANFS pages returned 404 on 2026-09-29) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Belusan II entry, full text (Wayback capture 2014-10-19 of history.navy.mil/danfs/b4/belusan-ii.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: a tanker built 1920 at Kiel, Germany, by Howaldtswerke as Vistula; acquired by the Navy from the War Shipping Administration at Brisbane, Australia, 1945-02-11 and commissioned there 1945-02-14. Assigned to Service Force, 7th Fleet; shuttle tanker in Australian waters; departed 1945-04-01 via Humboldt Bay, New Guinea (1945-04-12 to 14), arriving Subic Bay 1945-04-24; moved to Manila Bay about a fortnight later as station tanker until after the end of hostilities; operational control passed to ServRon 8, Pacific Fleet, 1945-08-01; sailed 1945-08-17 for Lingayen Gulf and discharged automotive and aviation gasoline at San Fernando harbor; remained there until late fall; towed early November 1945 to Subic Bay then Cavite Navy Yard for preliminary inactivation work; returned to Subic Bay 1945-12-22 for stripping; decommissioned 1946-01-07; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1946-01-21; sold to Asia Development Corp. 1948-03-03. Spec block: dp. 20,000 (f.); l. 517'6"; b. 64'0"; dr. 28'4" (f.); s. 10.5 k.; cpl. 113; a. 1 4", 1 3", 8 20mm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1948
- Population
- Naval complement (~113 per revised DANFS spec block, 1945-1946); WSA/merchant crews (1921-1945, 1946-1948)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific service chronology and specifications only - the entry contains no asbestos, insulation, or material-content statement. 'Preliminary inactivation work' at Cavite Navy Yard and 'stripping' at Subic Bay are documented events, but their material scope is not described. Does not establish presence or absence of asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belusan-ix187-01
-
[3]DANFS (earlier edition), 'Belusan' (IX-187) - verbatim transcription via hazegray/losthistory mirror; spec block differs from the revised NHHC entry [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray/losthistory DANFS transcription, IX-187 spec block and first paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The earlier DANFS edition lists IX-187 as 'dp. 8537; ... cpl. 70; a. 1 4", 2 3"' and labels it 'the first Belusan.' The revised NHHC entry (Belusan II, 2006) supersedes these figures: displacement 20,000 (full load), complement 113, armament 1 4"/1 3"/8 20mm, and corrects the ordinal - the 1898 captured gunboat was the first Belusan, this hull the second. The 8,537 figure in the old spec block corresponds to the ship's gross tonnage (MARAD: 8,537 gross tons), not displacement. Revised-edition figures are carried throughout this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1945-1948
- Limitations
- Correction covers the spec block and ship ordinal only; both editions agree on the core chronology (Brisbane takeover 1945-02-11, commission 1945-02-14, decommission 1946-01-07, strike 1946-01-21). Neither edition addresses asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belusan-ix187-02
-
[4]MARAD Vessel History Database, records 5703 (BELUSAN IX-187) and 6394 (VISTULA), including the scanned vessel status card for VISTULA (document PDF 562f0898-...) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD VHD Detail 5703 and 6394; status-card scans (VISTULA.pdf) custody table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD documents: year built 1920; U.S. official number 232943; shipyard Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG; length 500 ft (register length), beam 64 ft; net 5,237 / gross 8,537 tons; fate 'Sold - Scrap'; name history BELUSAN (IX-187) / VISTULA; WWII mission. The scanned status card records the wartime custody chain: Standard Oil Co. of N.J.; War Shipping Administration requisition charter at Baton Rouge, La.; and a service agreement naming Continental S.S. Co. as operator.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1948
- Population
- Merchant/WSA crews (1921-1948)
- Limitations
- Index-card scope: the card fixes ownership/charter custody and registered dimensions only. The record's 'Specific Type' field reads 'LNG Liquefied Natural Gas,' an evident data-entry artifact for a 1920 conventional tanker - no LNG capability is asserted or implied. No asbestos, insulation, machinery, or condition-survey content. 'No documents for this vessel' / 'No events for this vessel' are noted on the MARAD records themselves.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belusan-ix187-03
-
[5]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) register compilation, 'Misc. U.S. Tankers (IX-139 etc.)' class page - IX-187 ship note and class notes; companion Abarenda (IX-131) class page for the acquisition directive [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe IX-139 class page, IX-187 ship note and class notes; IX-131 class page, directive text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship note for IX-187: 'Ex merc. VISTULA (completed Jan 21). 20,000t; 517.5' oa, 500.0' wl x 64.0' x 28.3' full load; 3,200 hp, 10.5 kts., 2 screws, Krupp diesels (replaced vertical triple expansion steam engines in 1926). Acquired at Brisbane, Australia. To MC at Subic Bay 1946 as VISTULA, to buyer there 3 Mar 48 and scrapped at Shanghai.' Class note: Vistula was built overseas for a foreign affiliate of Standard Oil of New Jersey, registered in the free city of Danzig, transferred to U.S. registry when that became legal in 1941. Acquisition directive: on 1944-08-12 the Auxiliary Vessels Board reported CNO had been asked to assign four tankers of about 70,000 barrels clean-product capacity to the Southwest Pacific Area for shuttle service between Hollandia-Finschhafen terminals and forward areas, assigned to Service Force, Seventh Fleet - the directive covering IX 184-187. CNO's 1944-10-11 elaboration: station tankers 'were not expected to meet Navy standards nor to be converted or repaired to make them do so.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1948
- Population
- Navy complement (1945-1946); disposal workforce at Subic Bay and the reselling/scrapping chain (1948 onward)
- Limitations
- A serious secondary compilation of official records (register data, AVB minutes) but not itself an official record. The 1926 re-engining detail and 'scrapped at Shanghai' rest on this compilation plus the aukevisser.nl register extract (Starke & Schell) - corroborated by the Fong litigation record for the Shanghai tow, not independently confirmed against the builder or registry files. Complement block on the class page (70, '1944') is the generic group figure, superseded for this hull by DANFS-II's 113.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belusan-ix187-04
-
[6]NavSource Online, Service Ship Photo Archive, 'USS Belusan (IX-187)' - 'Belusan Class Mobile Floating Fuel Storage Ship' entry, specifications block, chronology, and photo captions (photos via Shipscribe/USCG/SSHSA) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource IX-187 entry, specifications block and chronology
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource chronology: built 1920 as MV Vistula at Howaldtswerke, Kiel; chartered by Standard Oil of New Jersey 1942-04-20 at Baton Rouge, La.; acquired by War Emergency Tanker Inc. 1944-04-10; transferred to the Navy from WSA 1945-02-11 at Brisbane; commissioned USS Belusan (IX-187) 1945-02-14, LCDR William G. Allen USN (Ret.) in command; Asiatic-Pacific Theater; decommissioned 1946-01-07 at Subic Bay; struck 1946-01-21; returned to WSA same day; 'Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, (PDX-402), 13 March 1948 at Subic Bay, P.I. to the Asia Development Corp.' Specifications: displacement 8,537 lt / 20,000 fl; 517'6" x 64' x 28'4"; 10.5 kts; oil cargo 103,000 bbls; diesel fuel 11,200 bbls; complement 11 officers + 103 enlisted; armament one 4" mount, one 3"/50 DP, eight single 20mm; propulsion two Krupp diesels, two reciprocating-drive 25-kW 110V DC ship's-service generators, two propellers, 3,200 shp. Awards: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1948
- Population
- Navy complement (1945-1946)
- Limitations
- Secondary volunteer compilation - machinery, capacity, armament, and the 11+103 complement figure are unverified against official records; the '13 March 1948' sale date conflicts with the Maritime Commission contract date (1948-02-02) and the DANFS/delivery date (1948-03-03) and is carried as a variant, not resolved. 'Belusan Class' is NavSource's own grouping label; no official Navy class was assigned (companion records index IX-184 under an 'Abarenda class' grouping). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belusan-ix187-05
-
[7]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, Gade RL, Drinker P, 'A Health Survey of Pipe Covering Operations in Constructing Naval Vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 1946 Jan;28:9-16 (PMID 21016030) - U.S. Navy health survey documenting amosite asbestos felt as an ingredient of pipe covering used on U.S. Navy vessels [other_primary]
- Locator
- J Ind Hyg Toxicol 1946;28:9-16; PubMed record 21016030 (metadata verified via NCBI E-utilities 2026-09-29)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Era context only: the wartime Navy survey documents asbestos-containing felt and pipe covering as standard insulation practice aboard naval vessels under construction - establishing that asbestos use was era-typical for hulls of this period. For this hull the inference is narrow and two-phased: original 1920 construction carried a vertical triple-expansion steam plant (boilers and steam lines - era-typical insulation scope), but the plant was replaced by two Krupp diesels in 1926, and the 1945 Navy takeover under the CNO 1944-10-11 policy contemplated no conversion to Navy standards. Plausible period applications aboard: exhaust lagging, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, residual/auxiliary steam lines (cargo heating), brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1948
- Population
- Merchant/WSA engine and cargo crews (1921-1948); Navy complement (1945-1946); Brisbane takeover/outfit workforce (1945-02); Subic Bay disposal/scrapping chain (1946-1948+)
- Limitations
- Era-level epidemiology, not a hull record - the survey examined pipe-covering operations at Navy and contract yards and names no vessel. It does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull; equally, the 1926 diesel conversion and no-conversion policy do not prove asbestos absence (auxiliary steam for cargo heating, if fitted, and 1945 outfit items are undocumented). No quantities, no product identification, no exposure findings for this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belusan-ix187-06
-
[8]United States v. Fong, 182 F. Supp. 446 (N.D. Cal. 1958) (Goodman, C.J.); affirmed, Fong v. United States, 300 F.2d 400 (9th Cir. 1962), cert. denied 370 U.S. 938 (1962) [court_record]
- Locator
- 182 F. Supp. 446 at 455-456 (order for judgment; vessel resale-price passage); 300 F.2d 400 (9th Cir. 1962); CourtListener cluster 8747341, opinion 8730607
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Federal litigation naming this hull - not asbestos litigation. The U.S. Maritime Commission advertised 15 surplus vessels in the Subic Bay Reserve Fleet for sale for scrapping under Sec. 508 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936; T. Y. Fong (trading as Asia Development Corp. and Hong Kong Shipping Corp.) bought all 15 for $271,000 by contract dated 1948-02-02 and took delivery at Subic Bay 1948-03-03. The opinion names 'the Belusan' among five vessels defendant resold unscrapped: 'the Belusan, $148,000' (with the Antelope, Juan de Fuca, Abarenda, and Kenwood - fellow IX floating-storage tankers - for a total of $511,000). The government sued under the False Claims Act, the Surplus Property Act of 1944, conversion, and breach of contract; defendant's answer was stricken and default entered for failure to appear at deposition; judgment rested on the breach-of-contract count (liquidated damages $100/day up to 180 days plus $25,000/vessel thereafter); the court ordered the actual-damages award deleted unless plaintiff consented to vacating the default. The Ninth Circuit affirmed and the Supreme Court denied certiorari.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946-1962 (litigation); 1948 (transaction)
- Population
- Disposal/scrapping workforce (Subic Bay delivery 1948-03-03; Shanghai tow and breakup chain)
- Limitations
- Contract litigation over scrapping obligations - establishes the vessel's disposal chain and that the hull was resold unscrapped ($148,000) and ultimately scrapped at Shanghai. It is NOT asbestos litigation and contains no exposure, product, or injury content. The opinion does not identify which vessel subgroup Belusan was in (Shanghai tow group vs. vessels retained at Subic Bay); Shanghai scrapping rests on the shipscribe register note. Per litigation-stage discipline: the merits ruling is a post-default judgment on the contract count - described as such, not generalized.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belusan-ix187-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 searches via cl-auth-search.py (authenticated, fleet-paced): opinion sweeps for vessel name and hull number, 2026-09-29 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search API v4; cl-auth-search.py authenticated queries (search_ledger sl-uss-belusan-ix187-07 through -10)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep located no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull: '"Belusan"' (opinions) 1 hit - United States v. Fong (N.D. Cal. 1958), the vessel-disposal contract case of ev-uss-belusan-ix187-07 (vessel named; other litigation, no asbestos content); '"IX-187"' (opinions) 4 hits - all name collisions (Illinois public-sector labor appeals and a Delaware Chancery fee dispute matching statute/item numbering, no vessel reference). RECAP docket search for '"Belusan"' and the '"Vistula" asbestos' opinion sweep were blocked at session end by the fleet-wide pacing budget - logged honestly in the search ledger; rerun recommended before release.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- No asbestos litigation at any stage - pleading, discovery, trial, or appeal - names Belusan or IX-187 in located results. Sweep is incomplete: the RECAP docket pass and the Vistula pass did not run (fleet pacing stand-down, hourly budget). CourtListener coverage is not exhaustive of all state/federal dockets; absence here does not prove no suit was ever filed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belusan-ix187-08
-
[10]Batch-4747 search ledger (this record): DANFS-II (Wayback) and DANFS-I (hazegray transcription); MARAD Vessel History Database incl. status-card scan; shipscribe register compilations; NavSource; CourtListener API v4; NVR hull listing; NARA/archival leads [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-belusan-ix187-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, conversion material list, or asbestos-litigation record naming USS Belusan (IX-187), MV/SS Vistula, or O.N. 232943 was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1920 steam-built hull retains era-consistent material risk even after the documented 1926 diesel re-engining. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belusan-ix187-09
-
[11]Undigitized leads: NARA deck logs for USS Belusan (RG 24 series, 1945-02 to 1946-01); WSA bareboat-charter file and Brisbane takeover/acceptance records (1945-02); Cavite Navy Yard inactivation work package (1945-11); MARAD disposal file PDX-402 (the 1948 contract and scrapping certificates at issue in U.S. v. Fong); Register of Ships / Starke & Schell entries underlying the aukevisser.nl compilation [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 24 (deck logs); RG 178 (Maritime Commission disposal); shipscribe class-note references to Auxiliary Vessels Board records
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Records that could hold material detail: deck logs would document the 1945 Brisbane outfit and 1945-46 operations; the WSA/MARAD disposal file PDX-402 would contain the sale contract, surveyor certificates, and vessel-level scrapping documentation (the Fong record shows certificates were filed and contested); the Cavite inactivation package could describe stripping scope. None of these was located in digitized public sources.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1945-1951
- Limitations
- Leads only - there is no indication any of these records contain asbestos-relevant content; the 1945 outfit scope and any auxiliary steam fit are undocumented in public sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-belusan-ix187-10