Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet mp-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Caribou (IX-114), ex-SS Nathaniel B. Palmer. — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Caribou
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-caribou-ix114-pkt-mp-packet-md
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[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Caribou' entry, IX-114 - verbatim transcription via hazegray DANFS Online mirror (canonical history.navy.mil page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Caribou' entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry: IX-114, displacement 3,665 tons, 441'6" x 56'11", draft 28'4", 11 knots, complement 79, armament 1 x 5-inch + 1 x 3-inch, class Armadillo. Launched 2 November 1943 by California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, Calif., as Nathaniel B. Palmer under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. T. A. Gregory; acquired by the Navy 25 November 1943; commissioned same day, LCDR A. J. Nall in command; reported to the Pacific Fleet. Departed Pearl Harbor 10 February 1944 for Kwajalein and Eniwetok as station tanker until August; then Manus, fueling units at sea supporting Philippines operations until March 1945; May-July station duty at Mindoro, Manila, and Tacloban; carried oil from Ulithi to Leyte and Guam; served August-December in the Marianas and at Iwo Jima. Cleared Guam 2 December 1945 for Norfolk; decommissioned 3 May 1946; delivered to the War Shipping Administration for sale 6 May 1946. Received one battle star for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Crew of 79 (DANFS complement figure)
- Limitations
- DANFS is the official Navy vessel history; this transcription is verbatim via a volunteer mirror because the canonical history.navy.mil page 404s (NHHC link rot first logged in BATCH-01). Contains no asbestos or insulation-material information; supports no asbestos claim. Laid-down and stricken dates are not given by DANFS.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caribou-ix114-01
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - NATHANIEL B. PALMER, Ship History Detail 3552, including digitized vessel status cards (3552_6570AF.jpg, 3552_6570AB.jpg, 56P_01.png) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 3552, milestone table + status card scans /cards/3552_6570AF.jpg, /cards/3552_6570AB.jpg, /cards/56P_01.png
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD record and WSA/Maritime Commission vessel status cards for this hull: Official No. 244679; MC hull 1903; type Z-ET1 (filed under MARAD type EC2-S-C1); built by California S.B. Corp. at Los Angeles, completed 11-25-43; 7,243 GRT / 4,384 net / 10,558-10,600 DWT / 14,230 displacement; 422.8 ft x 57 ft x 34.8 ft depth, draft 27'8-7/8"; '2500 IHP / 2 WTB' plant notation; 11 knots (12.5 on later card). Custody chain per cards: basis to W.S.A. 11-25-43 5:00 PM PWT at Los Angeles; Navy Dept. (bareboat, renamed Caribou IX-114) same day; Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall VA, 5-6-46; withdrawn 2-26-48 10:15 AM, delivered to Hinkins Steamship Co. as agents; sold to Palmer Shipping Corp., delivered Hoboken NJ 6-2-48; card annotated 'CONVERTED TO DRY CARGO' and 'SOLD: LONDON SALVAGE ASSOCIATION; FLAG: UNITED KINGDOM 12/52.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1952
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones, tonnage, and plant data; status-card handwriting partially legible (read from card scans). Cards carry no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; support no asbestos claim. Card fuel-oil/sale-authority notations only partially legible.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caribou-ix114-02
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[4]Auke Visser's T-Tankers pages / Miramar Ship Index extract for NATHANIEL B. PALMER (ID 2244679, yard no. T24) + NavSource Online service-ship archive page for USS Caribou (IX-114) - secondary compilations of register and Navy data [other_primary]
- Locator
- Vessel page 'Nathaniel B. Palmer' id1133 + Z-ET1-S-C3 Calship build table id1121 (keel/launch/completion columns); NavSource https://www.navsource.org/archives/09/46/46114.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Register-data compilation for the post-Navy merchant career of this hull: keel laid 5 October 1943 (Z-ET1 class build table); sold to Palmer Shipping Corp., Wilmington DE (National Shipping & Trading Corp., New York) 1948; converted to dry cargo vessel by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., delivered July 1949, re-measured 7,210 GRT; stranded 31 May 1952 near km 106, Martin Garcia Channel (River Plate) on voyage Villa Constitucion-Montevideo in ballast, refloated 2 November 1952, constructive total loss, sold and repaired; renamed MANOLITO 1953 (Olmedo Cia. Naviera S.A., Puerto Limon, Costa Rica flag); renamed MANEGINA 1961 (Panvia Cia. Naviera S.A., Beirut, Lebanon flag); arrived Savona/Vado Ligure 14 November 1962, broken up by Ditta Giuseppe Riccardi beginning 1963. NavSource's compilation additionally credits the ship with pumping more than 70 million gallons of fuel to some 850 ships during her Navy career - uncorroborated by an official source and carried as a compilation claim, not an established fact.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1963
- Limitations
- Secondary register compilation (Miramar/Lloyd's-derived data hosted on a private reference site), not a government publication; US-flag milestones corroborated by the MARAD status card (ev-02), foreign-flag period uncorroborated by an official source. Conflicts with NavSource's dates (NavSource says 1951 conversion, November 1952 grounding, 1962 renames) - the Miramar register data (1949 conversion; 31 May 1952 stranding; 1953/1961 renames) is adopted as the more granular record, discrepancy logged. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caribou-ix114-03
-
[5]U.S. Maritime Commission, Instruction Manual for Operating and Maintaining 2500 H.P. Triple Expansion Marine Steam Engines, EC2-S-C1 Cargo Vessels (mirrored excerpt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Mirrored excerpt, engine-cylinder insulation section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The Z-ET1-S-C3 'Liberty tanker' was the tanker variant of the EC2 Liberty design and carried the same machinery family - a 2,500 ihp triple-expansion engine fed by two water-tube boilers (this hull's MARAD status card: '2500 IHP / 2 WTB'; MARAD files the hull under type EC2-S-C1). The USMC operating manual for the EC2 plant describes cylinder insulation of magnesia under sheet-iron lagging; insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and period steam-system gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos. Liberty-derived hulls were built to emergency USMC specifications during the period when the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- Construction trades (Calship, Wilmington, 1943); ship's engine-room crew
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual is titled for EC2-S-C1 cargo vessels and does not name this vessel or state 'asbestos' content; application of its insulation practice to the Z-ET1-S-C3 tanker variant is design-level inference (same engine family and builder program), not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity or that any asbestos material was aboard or remains.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caribou-ix114-04
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[6]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 WWII - the era and emergency Maritime Commission program under which this Z-ET1-S-C3 Liberty tanker was built at California Shipbuilding in 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or type and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caribou-ix114-05
-
[7]In re Joint Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation (Robinson v. United States), 891 F.2d 31 (2d Cir. 1989) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 891 F.2d 31 (No. 1547, docket 89-6109)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Second Circuit ruling addressing mesothelioma claims by a mariner aboard War Shipping Administration vessels; the court considered jurisdiction over a personal-injury claim against the United States for asbestos exposure aboard the WWII government merchant/auxiliary fleet - the same owning agency (WSA, which held title to this hull and bareboat-chartered it to the Navy) that operated the vessel class. Claims against the government were barred on discretionary-function grounds.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1989 (opinion); wartime exposure period
- Population
- WWII merchant/fleet mariners (class context)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level jurisdictional ruling; does not name this hull, does not find asbestos conditions aboard any specific vessel, and establishes only the litigation posture for WWII government-fleet claims. Reporter citation confirmed: 891 F.2d 31.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caribou-ix114-06
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[8]Luth v. Palmer Shipping Corp., 210 F.2d 224, 1954 A.M.C. 502 (3d Cir. 1954) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text, 210 F.2d 224 (No. 11117); facts at opinion paragraphs 5-24
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Third Circuit admiralty opinion naming this hull under its merchant name: seaman William C. Luth, employed as boatswain aboard the Steamship 'Nathaniel B. Palmer' (owned and operated by Palmer Shipping Corporation) from May 2 to August 2, 1951, became disabled by acute stomach pains while the vessel was off Buenos Aires; diagnosed duodenal ulcers, operated on at the British Hospital in Buenos Aires, repatriated to Philadelphia. The court affirmed a maintenance-and-cure decree, finding 225 aggregate days of disability. Documents the hull in Palmer Shipping merchant service in 1951.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1951-1954
- Population
- Merchant crew of SS Nathaniel B. Palmer (1951)
- Limitations
- Classified 'other litigation' in the sweep - a maintenance-and-cure illness claim, NOT an asbestos or exposure case; no insulation, materials, or workplace-conditions findings. The only litigation opinion located that names this hull; establishes merchant service aboard the hull in 1951 and nothing about asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caribou-ix114-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 opinion-search sweep for this hull - see search_ledger rows sl-uss-caribou-ix114-07 through -10 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-caribou-ix114-07 through sl-uss-caribou-ix114-10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener v4 authenticated opinion sweep (all queries run through the fleet-paced helper): "USS Caribou" returned zero hits; "IX-114" returned 5 hits, all name collisions on a document-internal identifier (election, criminal, antitrust, habeas opinions - none vessel-related); "Nathaniel B. Palmer" returned 3 hits - one ship-specific non-asbestos case (Luth v. Palmer Shipping Corp., ev-07) and two collisions (Moran v. United States, D. Conn. 1951, concerning the fishing vessel Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer - a different hull; Hawkins v. Palmer, N.Y. 1874 - surname collision predating the ship); "Caribou IX-114 asbestos" returned 3 loose-term hits, all non-vessel (asbestos bankruptcy, TMI litigation, Iowa tort). No qualifying asbestos-litigation record naming USS Caribou / IX-114 / SS Nathaniel B. Palmer was located in the CourtListener corpus on 2026-09-29.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- CourtListener coverage is not exhaustive - unreported trial filings, settled cases, and state-court pleadings are largely absent; 'no qualifying hit' is absence of located opinion, not absence of litigation. Sweep ran under fleet-wide pacing; several queries required waits and retries before completing - all four planned queries did complete.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caribou-ix114-08
-
[10]Batch-4683 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NHHC canonical page check; MARAD ShipHistory 3552 + status cards; NVR check; HyperWar official IX and MC-type tables; NavSource/Miramar secondary registers; CourtListener name/hull/merchant-name searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-caribou-ix114-01 through sl-uss-caribou-ix114-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming the Caribou (IX-114) / Nathaniel B. Palmer hull was found in the public 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 1943 Liberty-derived steam tanker is era-consistent with asbestos-containing machinery insulation and gaskets. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caribou-ix114-09
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - WWII-era Navy deck logs), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration); Newport News Shipbuilding archives at The Mariners' Museum [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 178 guide https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html ; RG 248 guide https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/248.html ; NARA Navy deck-log guidance (RG 24) https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 holds WWII Navy deck logs, including IX-114's 1943-46 logs, which record refueling operations and ship's-force maintenance; RG 178 (USMC Construction Division) may hold Calship MC hull 1903 contract/outfitting specifications; RG 248 (WSA) holds the allocation/bareboat-charter paperwork summarized on the status card; The Mariners' Museum holds Newport News Shipbuilding records covering the 1949 dry-cargo conversion, which could include insulation removals or substitutions.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1963 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for hull 1903 / IX-114 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-caribou-ix114-10