Evidence
15 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-15).
-
[1]U.S. Navy, Naval Vessel Register (NAVSEA), ship detail page for AOE 2 (Wayback Machine capture 2004-10-21, while in commission) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR AOE2 detail page, all data fields
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Naval Vessel Register detail record for USS CAMDEN (AOE 2), fast combat support ship: UIC 05833; class AOE 1; Pacific Fleet; homeport Bremerton, WA; status active in commission (capture date); builder NEW YORK SB CORP; award 1963-04-25; keel 1964-02-17; launch 1965-05-29; delivery 1967-03-11; commission 1967-04-01; 796 ft overall / 770 ft waterline; beam 107 ft; max navigational draft 40 ft; light displacement 20,717 tons, full 53,138 tons; steel hull, steel superstructure; 2 propellers; steam turbine propulsion; accommodations 52 officers / 627 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1963-2004
- Limitations
- Official register record captured while ship was in commission (Oct 2004) - post-strike NVR page not reachable; decommission/strike/disposal fields therefore sourced from NVR-derived compilations (see ev-05). Accommodations figure is designed berthing, not actual crew. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey data; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-01
-
[2]USS Camden (AOE-2) Command History for 1970, OPNAV Report 5750-1 (scanned PDF, NHHC command-operation-reports archive) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Basic Narrative, Special Topics sections a (Restricted Availability, Long Beach) and b (Mid-deployment Upkeep, Sasebo); Personnel Matters
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USS Camden 1970 command history (OPNAV Report 5750-1, submitted by CO to Director of Naval History): documents a Restricted Availability at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, 1970-04-27 to 1970-06-28 - 'The ship's boilers underwent overhaul and replacement of brickwork deteriorated by many thousands of hours of operation'; repairs to cargo winches, elevators, STREAM heads, and main-engine pumps; mid-deployment upkeep at Sasebo, Japan 1970-12-16 to 1970-12-30 with Ship Repair Department Sasebo and USS Hector (AR-7), several main-engine pumps overhauled and cargo cranes removed for rework; on-board count 31 Dec 1970: 35 officers + 598 enlisted including embarked detachments; Capt. Wm. M. Russell relieved Capt. Randall W. Young 1970-08-19; homeport Long Beach; WestPac line periods on Yankee Station.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1970
- Population
- Crew of ~35 officers + 598 enlisted (as of 1970-12-31, incl. detachments)
- Limitations
- Primary ship-generated operational record. Documents shipyard repair events aboard this hull but contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement - boiler 'brickwork' is refractory, and any insulation disturbance during these availabilities is era-consistent inference, not a documented asbestos event. Supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-02
-
[3]USS Camden (AOE-2) official ship website, History page - U.S. Navy (webharvest.gov EOT archive capture 2004-10-15) [other_primary]
- Locator
- History page, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official USS Camden (AOE-2) ship website history page (camden.navy.mil), captured 2004-10-15 in the NARA-managed End-of-Term .mil web archive: 'Ship Commissioned: 1 April 1967'; 'Crew: 27 Officers, 587 Enlisted'; commissioned as second of four fast combat support ships; assigned to Pacific Fleet September 1967, initially homeported Long Beach, CA; 'On 7 February 1974, CAMDEN moved to its new homeport of Bremerton, Washington'; awarded third consecutive Battle 'E' March 1996; named for Camden, N.J.; first Camden (1917) was a seized German-built vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1967-2004
- Population
- 27 officers, 587 enlisted (official c.2004 figure)
- Limitations
- Ship's own public-affairs page c.2004 - authoritative for crew figure and homeport timeline as officially stated; note it fixes the Bremerton move at 1974-02-07 (secondary sources variously give Aug 1974). Crew figure is a snapshot, not wartime maximum. No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-03
-
[4]Navy NewsStand, 'USS Camden Ends 38-plus Years of Navy Service,' NNS051005-01, 2005-10-05 (mirrored at GlobalSecurity.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Full release text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Navy NewsStand release NNS051005-01 (2005-10-05, Naval Base Kitsap Public Affairs): 'The fast combat support ship USS Camden (AOE 2) was decommissioned Sept. 29 at Pier Delta at Naval Base Kitsap, ending 38 years of naval service'; ~300 attendees; Camden 'represents the last of the Navy ships to turn that mission over to the Military Sealift Command'; guest speaker Capt. Walter Carter (former CO): ship was 'home to over 8,000 Sailors... during her life span' and there were 27 commanding officers; Camden was second of four Sacramento-class ships built after the 1952 determination of need.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1967-2005
- Population
- ~8,000 total crew over 38-year career (ceremony remark)
- Limitations
- Official Navy release reporting the decommissioning CEREMONY date (2005-09-29); NVR-derived records place formal decommissioning/strike at 2005-10-14 - both carried, discrepancy noted in ev-05/gaps. The '~8,000 sailors' figure is a speaker's estimate. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-04
-
[5]Shipscribe, USS Sacramento (AOE 1) class page - construction/disposition tables and ship notes compiled from NVR and BuShips records; NavSource AOE-2 archive page (photo captions incl. Panama Canal transit and ESCO scrapping images) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Shipscribe disposition table row AOE-2 + ship notes; https://navsource.org/archives/09/59/5902.htm (Wayback capture 2023-09-26)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposal record: official decommissioning/strike 2005-10-14 (NVR-derived disposition tables); sold for scrapping 2007-04-13 to ESCO Marine, Brownsville, TX (Navy sale); ex-hulk transited Panama Canal 2007-08-14 en route to breakers; a fire aboard ex-Camden during torch cutting is documented in NavSource photo captions; dismantling complete 2008-05-13. NavSource states strike 2005-09-29 - conflicting with NVR-derived 2005-10-14.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2005-2008
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations of NVR records (post-strike NVR page itself not reachable). Strike-date discrepancy: NavSource 2005-09-29 vs NVR-derived 2005-10-14 - unresolved, both carried. ESCO disposal route consistent with Navy Ship Disposal Program (see ev-11). No asbestos or hazmat-inventory content; scrapping-era asbestos removal aboard this hull is program-consistent inference only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-05
-
[6]Shipscribe, USS Sacramento (AOE 1) class notes (compiled from SCB/BuShips design history); NavSource AOE-2 page; yorkship.org New York Shipbuilding contract list (contract 542) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Class notes paragraph on SCB Project 196 machinery; NavSource Camden entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Camden's propulsion plant was one of two machinery sets built for the incomplete Iowa-class battleship USS Kentucky (BB-66, cancelled 1947 at ~72% complete); when Kentucky was scrapped the Navy split the plant between the two lead Sacramento-class hulls, Sacramento (AOE-1) and Camden (AOE-2). Shipscribe class notes: 'The machinery for AOE 1 and AOE 2 was taken from the incomplete IOWA class battleship KENTUCKY.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s machinery; installed 1964-1967
- Limitations
- Consistent across three independent compilations but no primary BuShips document retrieved; NHHC has no DANFS entry for Camden II to corroborate. The machinery's 1940s battleship origin is relevant to asbestos-era inference (battleship plants of that design era were heavily insulated) but no source states the insulation material installed aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-06
-
[7]New York Shipbuilding Corporation historical site (newyorkship.org), 'End of an Era' and 'A Proud Shipbuilding Legacy' pages; yorkship.org ships list (contract 542) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- 'End of an Era' page: 'The last naval ship completed at New York Ship: USS Camden (AOE-2)'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Camden was New York Shipbuilding Corporation contract 542 and is described by the yard's historical record as the last naval ship completed at the Camden, N.J. yard; with her completion the yard closed in October 1967, ending ~68 years of operation (contract numbering reached 542; founded 1899).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1964-1967
- Limitations
- Yard-history compilation, not a federal record; 'last ship completed' framing is complicated by USS Guardfish (SSN-612), also a New York Ship hull, commissioning 1967-12-20 after the October 1967 closure - sources differ on ordering. Relevant to construction-era exposure context only; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-07
-
[8]Todd Shipyards Corporation press release, 'USS Camden Deactivation' notification, SEC EDGAR filing (exhibit to Form 8-K material), 2005-01-12 [other_primary]
- Locator
- SEC EDGAR press release full text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Todd Shipyards Corporation SEC-filed press release (2005-01-12): the Navy informed Todd Pacific that USS Camden (AOE 2) 'is scheduled to be deactivated in the fall of 2005' and the two remaining availability options under the company's AOE maintenance contract would not be exercised; Camden was one of four AOE-class ships under Todd's six-year cost-type maintenance contract awarded sole-source June 2001 (thirteen repair availability options 2001-2007, ~$180M notional; five availabilities performed before class deactivations and MSC transfers ended the options).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2001-2005
- Population
- Todd Pacific yard workers + ship's force during availabilities (counts not stated)
- Limitations
- SEC-filed corporate release - primary for the maintenance-contract relationship and deactivation timing; documents that recurring repair availabilities were performed on Camden by Todd Pacific (Seattle) 2001-2005 but not their work scope. Yard availabilities are the classic insulation-disturbance setting, but this document makes no materials statement - no asbestos claim supported.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-08
-
[9]NavSource Online AOE-2 archive page (campaign table; deck-log-derived photo captions); NHHC USS Hancock (CVA-19) 1969 command history PDF; NHHC USS Tarawa (LHA-1) 2000 command history PDF [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NavSource Camden entry (Wayback capture 2023-09-26); NHHC HANCOCK 1969.pdf UNREP appendix; NHHC tarawa-lha-1-ii 2000.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Launch/service details and Vietnam record: NavSource photo captions record Camden christened and launched 1965-05-29 at New York Shipbuilding, Camden NJ, sponsored by Mrs. Benedict J. Semmes (wife of the Chief of Naval Personnel). NavSource campaign table credits Camden with seven Vietnam campaign stars (Counteroffensive Phase V Jul-Oct 1968; Phase VI Nov 1968-Feb 1969; Summer-Fall 1969; Winter-Spring 1969-70; Phase VII Sep 1970-Mar 1971; Consolidation II Feb-Mar 1972; Ceasefire Mar-Aug 1972). On 1968-11-26 USS Hancock (CVA-19) collided with Camden during underway replenishment on Yankee Station - two Hancock aircraft (F-8 Crusader, C-1 Trader) ended up on Camden's main deck (NavSource photo captions derived from Camden's deck log). NHHC's USS Hancock 1969 command history corroborates Camden's replenishment role, listing repeated Camden UNREPs (NSFO/JP-5/ammunition) to Hancock Jan-Feb 1969. Later documented events: Ranger battle group reroute to Central America Jul 1983; assistance to USS Stark 1987-05-17; Operation Determined Response support to USS Cole at Aden Oct 2000 (corroborated by NHHC Tarawa 2000 command history listing UNREPs with Camden Nov 2000); final deployment Jan 2005 escorting USS Carl Vinson to Norfolk.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1968-2005
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive drawing on official photos/deck logs; campaign dates and collision account corroborated by NHHC primary material (Hancock COR UNREP log). Later-career events (Stark, Cole, Vinson escort) are documented in secondary compilations consistent with NHHC COR material; no asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-09
-
[10]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (1979-10-18) - program/era documentation of asbestos in Navy shipbuilding and repair; shipscribe AOE-1 class data page for machinery spec [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch - description-level only); shipscribe class data table
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull record: Camden's plant was four 600-psi boilers feeding two geared steam turbines at ~100,000 shp (Sacramento-class design data, shipscribe class page), machinery of 1940s battleship design installed 1964-1967. U.S. Navy steam plants of this type and era were built with asbestos-containing thermal insulation, lagging, gaskets, and packing as standard practice; GAO documented that Navy ship construction and repair through this period involved extensive asbestos materials and that Navy worker-protection efforts trailed exposure risk (GAO HRD-80-2, 1979).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1964-1967 construction; service-era repair
- Population
- Ship construction/repair workforce era context (New York Shipbuilding 1964-67; repair yards 1967-2005)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level documentation - does not name this hull and does not establish that asbestos was installed, where, in what quantity, or that any individual was exposed aboard Camden. GAO full text unreachable (403); inference is from class design + documented era practice. No 'typical of class' reading may be treated as ship-proven.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-10
-
[11]GAO bid protest decision B-401438, ESCO Marine, Inc. (2009) - describes the Navy Ship Disposal Program ID/IQ contract structure; Recycling Today (Oct 2007) profile of ESCO Marine environmental remediation operations [gao]
- Locator
- GAO B-401438 decision text (accessed via search-index snippet - gao.gov 403 to direct fetch); Recycling Today 'Ship Shape' 2007-10-16
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Navy Ship Disposal Program context for Camden's 2007 sale to ESCO Marine: GAO B-401438 documents that on 2004-12-30 the Navy awarded five-year ID/IQ contracts to both ESCO Marine and International Shipbreaking Ltd. of Brownsville, TX 'for towing, dismantling, environmental remediation, and disposal services in support of the Navy's Ship Disposal Program.' Camden was sold to ESCO under this program structure 2007-04-13 (ev-05); trade press documents ESCO's Brownsville operations including asbestos, PCB, and mercury remediation lines.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2004-2008 program period
- Population
- ESCO Marine dismantling workforce (Brownsville, TX)
- Limitations
- Program-level context: the GAO decision concerns a 2009 task-order protest for other hulls (ex-Saipan, ex-Austin, ex-Fort Fisher) and does NOT name Camden. It establishes that Camden's disposal route required environmental remediation under contract - but no Camden-specific hazardous-material inventory or asbestos-removal record was located. Cannot be read as proof of asbestos quantity or handling aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-11
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 opinion search results (helper-script authenticated queries, 2026-09-24): 'USS Camden' -> 2 non-asbestos courts-martial; 'USS Camden' asbestos -> 0; 'AOE-2' -> non-asbestos military justice [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-camden-aoe2-06, -07, -08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CourtListener litigation surface (API v4, authenticated, 2026-09-24): opinion search for exact phrase 'USS Camden' returned 2 hits - United States v. Harrison, 3 M.J. 1020 (N.M.C.M.R. 1977) and 5 M.J. 476 (C.M.A. 1978), both Navy courts-martial (larceny/extortion-type offenses), i.e., other litigation referencing the ship's crew, NOT asbestos; opinion search 'USS Camden' + asbestos returned 0 results; 'AOE-2' opinion search returned military-justice results only (e.g., United States v. Gebert, N.M.C.C.A. 2016), none asbestos-related; docket search 'USS Camden' returned 7 hits (Stevens v. CBS, Kraus v. Alcatel-Lucent, Schutz, MDL-875 master docket, Guevara v. 3M, Glover v. 3M, Friedman's Liquidating Trust) - none contain 'Camden' in returned fields; term collisions only. No qualifying asbestos opinion or docket naming the hull located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- CourtListener's opinion and docket indices do not cover all MDL-875 pleadings, discovery filings, or settled/state-court claims - absence here is not proof no claim was ever filed. Courts-martial hits confirm the index reaches ship-naming opinions where they exist. Docket hits matched on non-Camden terms (no 'Camden' string in returned fields).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-12
-
[13]Batch-1949 search ledger (this record): NVR; NHHC command-operation-reports; official ship site (EOT archive); Navy NewsStand NNS051005-01; SEC EDGAR Todd filing; GAO B-401438/HRD-80-2; CourtListener name/hull searches; BVA decision text search; NavSource/shipscribe compilations [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-camden-aoe2-01 through sl-uss-camden-aoe2-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located in public sources searched: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazardous-material inventory, museum preservation disclosure (ship scrapped, not preserved), BVA asbestos decision, or qualifying litigation names this hull. NVR, NHHC 1970 command history, official ship website, Navy NewsStand decommissioning release, SEC-filed maintenance record, and GAO disposal-program documentation contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement naming Camden. Competitor/marketing sites assert asbestos products aboard (e.g., a Foster Wheeler 'equipment manifest') but trace to no public primary record and were excluded per batch rules.
- 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 - a 1967 steam auxiliary with 1940s-design machinery and documented boiler/machinery overhauls is era-consistent with installed ACM. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-13
-
[14]NARA HistoryHub response re USS Camden deck logs (historyhub.history.gov thread 34703); NHHC command-operation-reports collection; Independence Seaport Museum / Camden County Historical Society NY Shipbuilding holdings [other_primary]
- Locator
- HistoryHub forum response (deck-log microfiche counts); NHHC COR vietnam/ directory listing attempt; repository guides
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): (a) NARA holds USS Camden deck logs through 1983 on microfiche (HistoryHub staff response: 1979-1983 logs total ~139 microfiche sheets; earlier years covered by prior response 23-64885) - deck logs document yard periods and casualties but typically not materials. (b) NHHC command-operation-report collection holds additional Camden years (1968, 1969, 1971+) not digitized - only 1970 located online. (c) NAVSEA inactive-ship/pre-disposal hazardous-material documentation for the 2007 ESCO sale is not public. (d) New York Shipbuilding yard records (contract 542 construction/outfitting files) survive in regional repositories - Independence Seaport Museum (Philadelphia) holds the principal NY Ship collection; Camden County Historical Society holds related material.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1964-2008 records
- Limitations
- Record-group/collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-14
-
[15]Thomas-Fish v. defendants, D.N.J. No. 1:17-cv-10648 (opinion via govinfo USCOURTS-njd-1_17-cv-10648); Vesper matter, D.N.J. No. 1:15-cv-01322 (opinion via govinfo USCOURTS-njd-1_15-cv-01322) [court_record]
- Locator
- Thomas-Fish opinion background section; Vesper opinion Complaint and interrogatory-response excerpts
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-yard asbestos litigation context (not this hull): published federal opinions document mesothelioma/asbestosis suits by New York Shipbuilding yard workers for 1950s-60s work at the Camden, N.J. yard where this ship was built - e.g., Thomas-Fish (D.N.J., No. 17-cv-10648, 2018): widow alleged decedent Robert Fish was exposed to asbestos-containing joiner panels during 1960 construction of NS Savannah at 'the New York Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company facility in Camden, New Jersey' (motion to remand denied under federal-officer removal); Vesper (D.N.J., No. 15-cv-01322): plaintiff alleged asbestos exposure as machinist/pipe fitter/electrician at New York Ship Building, Camden NJ, 1958-1961, listing hulls worked on incl. USS Savannah, USS Kitty Hawk, USS Bonefish, USS Little Rock.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1958-1967 exposures; 2015-2018 opinions
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding yard workforce, Camden NJ (1950s-1960s)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation context only - these opinions document asbestos-exposure claims against products used AT the builder's yard during 1950s-60s construction of OTHER hulls (NS Savannah etc.); neither names USS Camden (AOE-2), which was built at the same yard 1964-1967. Pleading-stage allegations, not adjudicated findings. Supports no claim about this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-camden-aoe2-15