Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet 379-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-pkt-379-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Blue Dolphin I (IX-65), Raymond A. Mann, 27 January 2006 (live NHHC page retrieved 2026-09-29) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, full entry (two paragraphs) plus specifications line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: 'Blue Dolphin, an auxiliary schooner built in 1926 at Shelburn, Nova Scotia, by the Shelburn Shipbuilding Corp., was acquired by the Navy on 17 March 1942 from Mr. Amory Coolidge of Boston, Mass., for the nominal fee of $1.00; designated a miscellaneous auxiliary, IX-65; and placed in service at the Section Base, Boston, Mass., on 6 April 1942. Blue Dolphin spent the next 38 months serving as station vessel at Casco Bay, Maine. Shortly after Germany surrendered, she was placed out of service at Boston on 28 June 1945. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 11 July 1945, and she was delivered to the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration for disposal on 14 September 1945.' Postwar paragraph: sold to David C. Nutt (oceanographic research with universities, civilian organizations, and the Office of Naval Research); designated 'suitable for use as a naval auxiliary in time of war' by the CNO on 3 April 1949; authorized to fly the Naval Reserve Yacht pennant; research out of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, into summer 1954. Specs line: dp. 91; l. 99'8"; b. 22'5"; dr. 12'; s. 8 k.; cpl. 12.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1926-1954
- Population
- Wartime crew (complement 12 per DANFS)
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, wartime service window, and disposal chain for this hull. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information; does not establish exposure or condition of materials aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-01
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[3]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'USS Small IX: Auxiliary Schooners etc. (2)' - compiled from official Navy records including BuShips correspondence; ship data and notes for IX-65; corroborated by the NavSource compiled timeline/specifications and the Naval Marine Archive Shelburne Shipbuilders yard list [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class notes and Ship Notes table for IX-65
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship data for IX-65: ex-yacht BLUE DOLPHIN, auxiliary schooner, wood hull; 110 tons light, 91 gross; 99.7 ft oa, 77.0 ft wl x 21.9 ft x 12.0 ft; 1 Bessemer diesel, 140 (or 110) HP, 8 kts. Class note: on 10 Mar 1942 the CNO asked BuShips to negotiate acquisition of the auxiliary schooner yacht for $1.00 as a gift from owner Amory Coolidge of Boston; designed by W. J. Roue and built at Shelburne, Nova Scotia; assigned to the 1st Naval District on 25 Mar 1942 for duty as station vessel at Casco Bay; arrived 26 Mar 1942 at George Lawley & Son, Neponset, Mass., for conversion completed 5 Apr 1942 (NavSource's compiled timeline gives 4 Apr 1942); carried a 75-ft hard-pine foremast and 104-ft Oregon-fir mainmast; sold back to Coolidge in September 1945 for $1.00; acquired 1948 by David C. Nutt (former XO of USS Bowdoin IX-50) and refitted at Boothbay Harbor for Arctic oceanographic research, surveying Labrador fjords and estuaries 1949-1954; a wreck at Sarnia, Ontario by the late 1970s; later moved to Detroit (former Precision Marine, 21 St. Jean St.). The Naval Marine Archive yard list for Shelburne Shipbuilders records the hull as Canadian official no. 152577, schooner, 91 tons, 100 ft, 1926, owner 'S. H. Vale' [Velie], 'To USN 1942 as IX 65, abandoned in Detroit c2001.' NavSource adds the out-of-service location 'U.S. Naval Drydock, Boston, MA' and specifications: displacement 91 t., 8 kts., complement 12, propulsion sail plus one Cooper-Bessemer 4-cycle 4-cylinder diesel auxiliary engine, one generator, single propeller, 110 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1926-1970s; conversion 1942-03-26 to 1942-04-05
- Population
- Conversion-yard workers (George Lawley & Son, Neponset, Mar-Apr 1942); wartime crew
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations quoting official Navy records; internally consistent with DANFS. Contains no asbestos or insulation information. Conversion scope at the Lawley yard is stated (dates) but not itemized - no materials schedule located. NavSource misspells the owner's name 'Collidge' [Coolidge]; conversion-end date differs by one day between sources (4 vs 5 Apr 1942).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-02
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[4]NARA National Archives Catalog - four digitized deck-log file units, RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel), 'U.S. Navy Ship Deck Logs' series (NAID 594258), DAS-Batch-27 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov file units NAID 146172237, 146172288, 146172340, 146172397
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives Catalog holds four digitized file units of IX-65 deck logs: 'Blue Dolphin (IX-65) - April 6 to June 30, 1942' (NAID 146172237); 'July to September 1942' (NAID 146172288); 'October to December 1942' (NAID 146172340); and 'June 1 to 28, 1945' (NAID 146172397, 19 images). These are the vessel's own wartime operational records and bracket its in-service window (in service 1942-04-06; out of service 1945-06-28). No digitized log units were located for January 1943 through May 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-04-06 to 1942-12-31; 1945-06-01 to 1945-06-28
- Population
- Wartime crew (deck-log names and officer lists)
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata and page images verify existence and coverage only; the logs' contents were not reviewed line-by-line. For a small station vessel, deck logs may record crew, drills, repairs, and material work - a lead for exposure-relevant entries - but nothing in the catalog records asserts asbestos. Missing months may exist in paper holdings at Archives II.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-03
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[5]David C. Nutt, 'The Blue Dolphin Labrador Expeditions, 1949 and 1950,' Arctic 4(1) 1951 (peer-reviewed, owner-operator primary account); WHOI Data Library and Archives vessel record 'Blue Dolphin (1949 to 1954)'; Smithsonian Institution Archives, Blue Dolphin Labrador Expeditions collection record [other_primary]
- Locator
- Arctic 4(1):2-11 (1951) PDF; https://www.dla.whoi.edu/ships/5ea67315-bdc3-4aa7-891f-e26c02c6a5a2; https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/auth_exp_fbr_eace0105
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Postwar research use is documented in primary sources. Nutt (Arctic 1951) reports the schooner acquired in 1948 and refitted for northern research: fuel capacity increased for a 4,000-mile cruising range; accommodation refitted for a party of 18-20; bowsprit and main boom cut down for ice navigation; electrical plant refitted to provide 110 volts DC or AC for equipment and scientific instruments; engine listed as a 140-hp Wolverine Diesel. WHOI leased Blue Dolphin for the Labrador Expeditions and the Arctic Institute of North America, with cruises to Labrador in summers 1949, 1950, and 1951, continental-shelf/Georges Bank/Bermuda work in 1953, 11 cruises total, returned to Boothbay Harbor 1953-09-11. Smithsonian archives record the 1949-1952 expeditions as an Arctic Institute of North America effort funded by U.S. and Canadian governments with ONR and U.S. Hydrographic Office support, with scientific staff from Smithsonian, WHOI, Dartmouth, Cornell, Yale, and Michigan.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1948-1954
- Population
- Scientific staff and crew, 1948-1954 expeditions and refit
- Limitations
- Documents postwar refit and research service aboard this hull, including an accommodations and electrical-plant refit (a materials-disturbance event). Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; the engine make reported here (Wolverine Diesel 140 hp) differs from the Navy-era data card (Cooper-Bessemer, 110 shp) - possibly a refit replacement; unresolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-04
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[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - program-level Navy asbestos documentation; combined with this hull's documented propulsion data (NavSource/ship data card: sail auxiliary schooner, one Cooper-Bessemer 4-cycle 4-cylinder diesel, 110 shp, single propeller, wood hull) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2; NavSource specifications block (propulsion)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos record exists; era inference only. GAO HRD-80-2 documents that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and in shipyard work during the era covering this vessel's 1942 naval conversion and 1942-1945 service. For a wooden auxiliary schooner of this type - sail primary with one small diesel auxiliary and no boilers or steam plant - the era-typical asbestos applications would have been limited to diesel-engine exhaust lagging, engine/piping gaskets and packing, asbestos-cement sheet fireproofing near the engine space/galley/heating stove, insulation on heating and plumbing lines, and asbestos-containing electrical insulation and fittings installed during the March-April 1942 conversion at George Lawley & Son or during wartime maintenance.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1945 naval service; 1948-49 research refit
- Population
- Conversion-yard workers (1942); wartime crew of 12; postwar refit crews (1948-49)
- Limitations
- Program-level era documentation plus documented propulsion configuration; NOT a hull record - no survey, conversion materials schedule, or abatement record names this hull. The wooden hull and absence of a steam plant bound the plausible scope, but presence, location, quantity, and survival of any asbestos aboard are undocumented. GAO full text not retrieved (gao.gov historically returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch); characterization is from the product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep (opinions type=o and RECAP dockets type=r) for '"Blue Dolphin" asbestos', '"Blue Dolphin"', and '"IX-65"', 2026-09-29 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-06/07; CourtListener API v4 type=o and type=r
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located. Opinion index: '"Blue Dolphin" asbestos' returned 0 hits; '"Blue Dolphin"' returned 71 hits, all screened as name collisions (Blue Dolphin Communications, Blue Dolphin Pools/Fiberglass entities, Blue Dolphin Investments, a Hawaii tour-boat charter company, and place-name references) - none is the IX-65 hull; '"IX-65"' returned 17 hits, all string collisions (form, rule, exhibit, and docket identifiers). RECAP docket index: '"Blue Dolphin" asbestos' returned 10 hits including Isham v. Blue Dolphin Charter (D. Haw. 2004, a Hawaii charter-boat company - collision) and unrelated dockets matching both tokens; '"IX-65"' returned 101 hits, all string collisions (the token appears in document/exhibit/form identifiers inside unrelated product-liability, civil-rights, and bankruptcy dockets).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- CourtListener covers published opinions plus RECAP docket text; a vessel can appear in pleadings/exhibits never indexed as searchable text, and pre-2000s state-court coverage is thin. Absence of a hit does not prove no filing ever named the vessel; it establishes that no qualifying asbestos case naming IX-65 is findable in this index on 2026-09-29.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-06
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[8]Batch-4857 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource service-ship archive (via Wayback capture - live DNS failing); Shipscribe IX ship data; NARA Catalog deck-log file units; WHOI Data Library and Archives; Smithsonian Institution Archives; City of Detroit planning documents; Naval Vessel Register; CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-01 through sl-uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-09
- 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 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger; CourtListener sweep completed 2026-09-29 - all hits are name/string collisions).
- 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. The vessel survives as a derelict hulk (Detroit), so era materials could conceivably persist; conversely the wooden hull's limited services and multiple refits bound what could have been installed. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-dolphin-ix65-07