Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]Naval Vessel Register, CHANDLER (DDG 996) ship detail page (NAVSEA/NAVSHIPSO), Wayback capture 2017-01-09 of record last updated 2004-11-08 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR CHANDLER (DDG 996) detail page, milestone dates + physical characteristics tables (Wayback 2017-01-09)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official register for this hull: CHANDLER (DDG 996), '(ex - DD 996)', class DDG 993 (Kidd), UIC 21439. Milestones: award 1978-03-23; keel 1979-05-07; launch 1980-05-24; delivery 1982-01-18; commission 1982-03-13; decommission and stricken 1999-09-23; status changed 2003-05-30 to 'Disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, cash sale, ex-US fleet hull foreign military sale case number assigned'; custodian TAIWAN. Builder Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp. Hull: steel, aluminum superstructure; 563 ft OA, 55 ft beam, 33 ft max navigational draft; 9,842 tons full load. Propulsion: gas turbines, 2 propellers. Accommodations: 20 officers, 318 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1978-2004
- Limitations
- Register documents milestones, characteristics, and disposition only - no materials or asbestos content. 'Accommodations' is a berthing figure, not a verified underway complement. Live NVR page no longer serves this disposed hull; content verified via 2017 Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-01
-
[2]NVR '(ex - DD 996)' designation line + USS Chandler (DDG 996) Naval Cruise Book 1994, 'The Chandler Legacy' ('Hull number DD-996 became DDG-996'), p.6 OCR scan via e-yearbook.com [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR header line + cruise book p.6 legacy text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Canonical identity correction: this hull was designated DD-996 when ordered (1978) for Iran and reclassified guided-missile destroyer DDG-996 before commissioning; the NVR officially records her as 'CHANDLER (DDG 996) (ex - DD 996)' and the ship's own 1994 cruise book states 'Hull number DD-996 became DDG-996.' Consolidates PRIMARY's 'DD-996' and the canonical DDG-996 as one vessel; PRIMARY's 'Hopkins' class metadata is also wrong - NVR class DDG 993 = Kidd class. There is no separate DDG-996 hull; no USS Chandler DD-996 ever existed as such (no DD-996 was ever commissioned under that designation).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1978-1982
- Limitations
- Exact reclassification date (8 August 1979 in secondary compilations) is not in the cited official records - the NVR confirms only the ex-DD 996 designation. The correction consolidates designations; it does not merge two physical hulls - there was only ever one hull 996.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-02
-
[3]USS Chandler (DDG 996) Naval Cruise Book, 1994 edition (ship-published crew yearbook), 'The Chandler Legacy' p.6 + CO letter p.7; OCR scan hosted by e-yearbook.com [other_primary]
- Locator
- 1994 cruise book pp.6-8 ('The Chandler Legacy'; CO letter 9 Jan 1994)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own published record: '(DDG 996) is the third ship of the fleet to bear his name, the fourth and final ship of the powerful KIDD class... (formerly the Iranian ANDUSHIRVAN)... originally placed on order by the government of Iran in the mid-1970s. The orders were later cancelled and the four ships were acquired by the United States government in 1979. Hull number DD-996 became DDG-996... renamed CHANDLER in honor of Rear Admiral Theodore Chandler, USN, who died as a result of wounds received in combat aboard his flagship USS LOUISVILLE... during the battle of Lingayen Gulf.' Service history per the book: first WESTPAC Jan 1984 (Battle Group BRAVO); DESRON-21 from Jan 1985; second WESTPAC Mar-Sep 1986 incl. 2 months Arabian Gulf MIDEASTFOR (Battle E for cycle ending 30 Jun 1986); third WESTPAC completed 16 Apr 1988 incl. 3.5 months MIDEASTFOR flagship COMDESRON-23 during the Tanker War; Sep 1988 Humanitarian Service Medal with Sea Snake 23 (HSL-33 Det 6) for the Dec 1987 rescue of 41 crew from the burning Cypriot supertanker PIVOT; Jul 1989 joined DESRON-33 and began 'the extensive NTU overhaul at Todd Shipyard in Washington,' completed Oct 1990; fourth WESTPAC Oct 1991 (post-Desert-Storm MIDEASTFOR, reflagged-tanker escort); Nov-Dec 1992 Operation WAVE DANCER counter-narcotics with USCG; fifth WESTPAC Jul 1993-Jan 1994 supporting Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, temporarily reassigned to UNISOM with a high-speed transit to Mogadishu alongside USS Abraham Lincoln. Operating homeport San Diego (Pacific Fleet) - CO letter of 9 Jan 1994 carries San Diego FPO AP 96662-1268 and the narrative logs repeated San Diego returns.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1982-1994
- Limitations
- Ship-published primary artifact but accessed only as an OCR scan on a commercial host (e-yearbook.com) - OCR artifacts and internal errors exist (prints Louisville as 'CA-23' - she was CA-28; prints Chandler's death 'January 6, 1945' - ABMC records 7 January). Cruise books are commemorative, not audited records; deployment dates are self-reported. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-03
-
[4]Pub.L. 105-262 (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1999), 112 Stat. 2279, Sec. 8110(c)(2), at 112 Stat. 2324-2325 [other_primary]
- Locator
- 112 Stat. 2324-2325, Sec. 8110(c)(2)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Statutory authorization naming this hull: 'To the Government of Greece, the KIDD class guided missile destroyers KIDD (DDG 993), CALLAGHAN (DDG 994), SCOTT (DDG 995), and CHANDLER (DDG 996)' - combined lease-sale transfer authority under AECA sections 61 and 21 (22 U.S.C. 2796, 2761), enacted 17 October 1998. This was the first post-service transfer pathway for the hull; Greece declined (November 1999 per secondary accounts) and the authority terminated two years after enactment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1998-2000
- Limitations
- Authorizes but does not execute a transfer - Greece never took the ship; the eventual Taiwan transfer proceeded under separate FMS authority (see ev-05, ev-06). Statute names the hull but contains no materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-04
-
[5]DSCA News Release, Transmittal No. 03-03, 'Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States - KIDD Class Guided Missile Destroyers,' 21 November 2002 [other_primary]
- Locator
- DSCA Transmittal 03-03 full text (Wayback PDF capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DSCA notified Congress 21 November 2002 of a possible FMS to TECRO of '4 KIDD Class Guided Missile Destroyers, 248 SM-2 Block IIIA STANDARD missiles, 32 RGM-84L BLOCK II HARPOON Missiles' plus shipyard/port support and 'cold ship' turnover activities 'to prepare the destroyers for transfer to Taiwan in a Safe to Steam condition with all shipboard and weapon systems operational,' estimated cost $875 million; principal contractors BAV (Division of VAE/VSE), Raytheon, Boeing. The four ex-USN Kidd hulls included this ship (DDG-996); NVR separately records this hull's Taiwan custodian.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2002
- Limitations
- Notification of a possible sale, not proof of consummation on its own - the NVR status change (30 May 2003) and CRS-documented funding/transfer record consummation. The release does not name individual hulls (class-level listing of four ships). No materials or asbestos content. Live dsca.osd.mil page is defunct; verbatim PDF text verified via Wayback capture 2013-02-17.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-05
-
[6]CRS Report RL30957, 'Taiwan: Major U.S. Arms Sales Since 1990' (Shirley A. Kan), updated 2015 edition - verbatim CRS text via everycrsreport.com [other_primary]
- Locator
- RL30957, 'Kidd-Class Destroyers' section (2015 update)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Congressional Research Service timeline for the Kidd-class sale covering this hull: Bush approved four decommissioned Kidd-class destroyers for possible sale at the April 24, 2001 arms talks; Administration notified Congress November 2002 (~$875M); Taiwan's legislature released funding May 30, 2003 (matching the NVR status-change date for this hull); Navy began reactivation/upgrade July 2003; transfer ceremony for the first two destroyers at Charleston, SC, October 29, 2005, and for the final two Kidds (which included ex-Chandler) August 25, 2006.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2001-2006
- Limitations
- Class-level history - CRS does not name Chandler individually in the quoted passages; per-hull transfer detail (delivered 24 Aug 2006, arrived Su-Ao 29 Sep 2006, commissioned ROCS Ma Kong Nov 2006) rests on secondary sources. CRS text via mirror; congress.gov-era CRS hosting does not cover this report series. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-06
-
[7]VSE Corporation press release (Alexandria, VA, 21 September 2006), 'Reactivation of Ex-Kidd Class Guided Missile Destroyers for Taiwan Navy' - verbatim text via defencetalk.com and the Seawaves/LAC mirror [reputable_press]
- Locator
- VSE release text, 21 Sep 2006
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Prime contractor's completion record naming this hull: 'The ex-Kidd Class guided missile destroyers included the USS Kidd (DDG-993), USS Scott (DDG-995), USS Callaghan (DDG-994), and USS Chandler (DDG-996). Prior to reactivation, the ships had been stored at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facilities at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Bremerton, Washington.' VSE/BAV performed the work as 'Prime Contractor to the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) for support of ships and systems transferred under NAVSEA's Foreign Military Sales program': in excess of 14,600 industrial work items and 168,300 man-days across four ships over ~2.5 years, ahead of schedule and under budget; subcontractors included Detyens Shipyards, Booz Allen Hamilton, Rolls-Royce, Raytheon, DRS, L-3/PACORD, B&D Boilers, Sullivan and Associates, Anteon, George C. Sharp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2003-2006
- Population
- Reactivation workforce (VSE/BAV + 21 subcontractors), Charleston SC, 2003-2006
- Limitations
- Contractor self-report (marketing-adjacent primary source for its own program) - it does not break work items down by hull or disclose hazardous-material scope; per-ship layup site (Philadelphia for Chandler) rests on NavSource. No asbestos information - whether reactivation included ACM abatement is not stated and is carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-07
-
[8]Bernert Towboat Co. v. USS CHANDLER (DDG 996), in rem, and United States, in personam, 666 F. Supp. 1454, 1987 A.M.C. 2919 (D. Or. 1987), Civ. No. 86-547-RCB (Belloni, J.) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener opinion 2151044; 'USS Chandler' type=o (10 hits) + 'DDG-996'/'DD-996' type=o (4 hits), all reviewed
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep (CourtListener API v4, type=o, 2026-09-28): the only published opinion naming this hull is OTHER LITIGATION, not asbestos. Bernert held (trial-level finding) that Chandler's officers breached their duty to avoid creating a dangerous swell when the destroyer steamed up the Columbia River Astoria-to-Portland for the Rose Festival on 6 June 1985; her wake holed wood-chip barge B-1. The opinion also documents ship particulars: 563 ft, 55 ft beam, twin propellers, 80,000 shp. Classification: other litigation. Qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull: NONE LOCATED. Name sweep ('USS Chandler', 10 hits) and hull-number sweep ('DDG-996'/'DD-996', 4 hits) reviewed in full - every non-Bernert hit is a text citation of Bernert for wake/sole-source-liability doctrine (Ocean Foods v. M/V Tosca, Matheny v. TVA, Hornbeck, Maritrans, Diamond v. FEMA, Buccina, Adams v. United States), not a case about this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1985-1987 (incident/opinion); sweep executed 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Bernert is a completed trial-level tort adjudication about navigational negligence - it neither alleges nor adjudicates asbestos exposure. Opinion coverage (name + hull number) is complete; the RECAP type=r docket sweep was throttled by the fleet pace limiter mid-session and is logged as a gap - unpublished/pleading-stage asbestos dockets naming the hull cannot be excluded.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-08
-
[9]Batch-3912 search ledger (this record): NVR, govinfo Pub.L. text, DSCA transmittal PDF, CRS RL30957, ship's 1994 cruise book, VSE release, CourtListener sweep; plus NHHC/DANFS (no entry - post-DANFS hull) and BVA/va.gov spot check (no Chandler-specific decision surfaced) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-chandler-dd996-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DDG-996: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no hazmat disclosure, and no asbestos litigation naming USS Chandler / DDG-996 / DD-996 was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). The only litigation located is the non-asbestos Bernert admiralty case (ev-08). Asbestos status aboard this hull is UNKNOWN - not documented, not disproven.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - it establishes only that no public ship-specific record was located in the repositories searched. VA/BVA individual claims and classified or non-digitized yard work-package records were not exhaustively searched.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-09
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 report body (OPNAVINST 6260.1 discussion; 'recently constructed' passage)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Contemporaneous program documentation from the year Chandler's keel was laid: the Navy's asbestos-control program ran under OPNAVINST 6260.1 (issued April 1974, revised August 1978) with yard-level rip-out procedures (isolation, negative ventilation, airline respirators, hygiene sign-off); and per the report, 'recently constructed Navy ships have little or no asbestos thermal insulation' - era evidence that a ship under construction 1979-82 at Ingalls carried substantially less thermal-insulation ACM than earlier steam-era hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull-specific: GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not Ingalls, and the report does not name this hull or class. 'Little or no' is not 'none' - residual ACM end items are not excluded. Full text blocked by gao.gov (HTTP 403); verbatim quotes captured via search-index excerpt and a corrupted Wayback PDF - consistent with batch-01's documented standing defect.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-10
-
[11]Winer, A. & Holtgren, W.D., 'Asbestos - A case study of the U.S. Navy's response to upgraded safety and health requirements,' Naval Engineers Journal 88(6):41-48 (December 1976); abstract via EPA HERO ID 6862794 [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA HERO 6862794 record (abstract)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era-transition documentation: by the mid-1970s the Navy was 'prohibiting the use of asbestos containing materials where suitable substitutes have been designated and by revising applicable documentation'; its Tables 2-3 'list the asbestos-free end items now specified for thermal insulation systems.' The authors project continued exposure risk 'for the next 20 to 30 years' driven by periodic rip-out of existing asbestos installations and 'those asbestos installations for which substitutes are not yet available.' For a hull begun 1979 and delivered 1982, era inference: thermal insulation systems were largely asbestos-free by spec, while residual ACM components (gaskets, packing, non-insulation items) could still be present, and maintenance-era rip-out exposures on older fleet units continued.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1976
- Population
- Navy personnel exposed during rip-out/maintenance (article's scope)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - the article describes Navy-wide policy and specification trends, never this hull or the Kidd class, and says nothing about what was installed aboard DDG-996. Inference direction is toward LOWER asbestos content than WWII hulls; it does not establish zero ACM aboard. Article read via EPA HERO abstract; full text (Wiley) not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chandler-dd996-11