Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[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-chotauk-ix188-pkt-zcn-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Chotauk' (IX-188) entry [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS transcription mirror (hazegray file ix188.htm, transcribed 19 Dec 1998); no live history.navy.mil page located for this hull (checked 2026-09-29) - same NHHC link-rot condition noted in BATCH-01 report
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry: Chotauk (IX-188) was built in 1920 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Mass., as Japan Arrow (later renamed American Arrow); transferred from the War Shipping Administration at Pearl Harbor 29 November 1944 and commissioned the same day, LCDR W. D. Baker, USNR, in command. Served as a station tanker with the Pacific Fleet at Eniwetok (3 January-14 February 1945), Ulithi (23 February-10 July 1945), and Okinawa (17 July-29 October 1945). Returned to Mobile, Ala., 5 January 1946; decommissioned there and returned to the War Shipping Administration 7 February 1946. DANFS headnote: 'Erroneously named as second ship of Chotank lineage.' Specifications line: dp. 18,925 (f.); l. 485'; b. 62'8"; dr. 28'; s. 10 k.; a. 1x4", 1x3".
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1946
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history text via transcription mirror; establishes identity, naming error, WWII station-tanker service dates, and decommissioning/return. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945,' Vol. III, NAVSHIPS 250-012, Miscellaneous-Unclassified (IX) tables, pp. 452-457 (digitized Google scan hosted by Shipscribe) [other_primary]
- Locator
- pp. 452-457 of the bound volume (PDF pp. 471-476), rows for item 31 'CHOTAUK ... IX188'; index entry 'IX188 CHOTAUK'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Navy characteristics record (Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945, Vol. III, NAVSHIPS 250-012, Miscellaneous-Unclassified (IX) tables): CHOTAUK (ex-American Arrow), IX-188, Tanker; length 485'3" overall / 468'0" waterline; extreme beam 62'8"; trial speed 10.2 knots; full-load ('limiting') displacement 18,925 tons at 28'0" draft; one propeller; vertical quadruple-expansion engine, 3,200 indicated horsepower; three single-ended (Scotch) boilers; armament 1 x 4"/50 cal and 1 x 3"/50 cal (D.P.); cargo capacity oil 97,800 bbls; deadweight capacity 13,300 tons; built by Bethlehem Steel Co., Fore River, Mass., 1920; acquired 29 November 1944; date of first commission 29 November 1944. Accommodations/complement columns blank for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Primary Navy technical publication naming this hull. The 20mm AA mounts seen in wartime photographs are not listed in the published armament row (footnote refers such fits to the BuOrd Armament Summary). No accommodations figure given. Contains no asbestos or insulating-materials statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-02
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Commission vessel status card, AMERICAN ARROW (O.N. 220831), in MARAD ShipHistory database record 187 (AMERICAN ARROW (IX-188)) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Detail/187 attached document 'AMERICAN ARROW.pdf' (documents/8bcc02f8-843a-47ca-a261-1b345aeb0d26.pdf) and status-card images /cards/187_356AF.jpg, /cards/187_356AB.jpg, /cards/e1232edc-3865-48d7-8244-47b6a651a4ab.png; CHOTAUK.pdf is a cross-reference card reading 'CHOTAUK See AMERICAN ARROW'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- U.S. Maritime Commission vessel status card for AMERICAN ARROW (O.N. 220831, tanker, former name JAPAN ARROW; hull no. 1386; built by Beth. SB Corp. Ltd., Quincy, Mass., completed 11-1920; DWT 13,325, gross 8,327, net 5,176) documents the full custody chain: (1) delivered to War Shipping Administration by Socony Vacuum Oil Co., Baltimore, 27 March 1942, 8:00 A.M. EWT, under time charter; (2) 14 September 1944, 8:15 A.M. PWT, Los Angeles - requisition of title by U.S. Maritime Commission, custody to WSA, operation assigned to Los Angeles Tanker Oprs., Inc. under GAA (handwritten 'trade-in' annotation); (3) 29 November 1944, 3:00 P.M., Pearl Harbor - bareboat transfer to Navy Department, annotated 'Renamed Chotauk'; (4) 7 February 1946, 3:30 P.M. CST, Mobile, Ala. - Navy to WSA, then to Laid Up Fleet; (5) handwritten 'Sold to M.S. Kaplan Co. Purchaser ... Scrap'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Primary government custody record (card images read directly). Handwritten annotations partially legible ('Renamed chotach'/'Chotach' misspellings appear on the card face). Documents custody, charter, and disposal mechanics only - no asbestos, materials, or condition content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-03
-
[5]U.S. Maritime Commission Reserve Fleet Division - Vessel Data card, AMERICAN ARROW ex-CHOTAUK IX-188, MARAD ShipHistory record 187 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Detail/187 status-card image /cards/187_356AF.jpg (fleet data card) and /cards/187_356AB.jpg (reverse: tonnage/power block)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Maritime Commission Reserve Fleet Division vessel data card (Mobile fleet) for AMERICAN ARROW, former CHOTAUK IX-188: entered fleet 2-7-46; 'termination' recorded as 'Sold scrap - M.S. Kaplan Co.'; PD-X-237 award 12/12/46; date withdrawn from fleet 2-22-47, 9:30 A.M., delivered to purchaser. Card gives DWT 13,325; dimensions 468.3 x 62.7 x depth 32 x draft 28'1.5"; reverse lists tonnage 8327 gr. / 5176 net / 18925 disp., 'IHP 3200', '3 SEB' (three single-ended boilers), and annotation 'Cond. Report in File.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946-1947
- Limitations
- Primary disposal record - controls over the database's own web 'Milestones' entry (see correction row ev-11). The referenced condition report is not attached to the record and was not retrieved. No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-04
-
[6]USCG forms D-166 radio sealing reports and Captain of the Port memoranda, AMERICAN ARROW, 1943; declassified NARA Project NW 63684; digitized in MARAD ShipHistory record 187 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Detail/187 documents AmericanArrow_187_001.pdf through _005.pdf (scanned USCG wartime file)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Declassified U.S. Coast Guard wartime documents attached to the MARAD record document merchant operation of AMERICAN ARROW under Socony Vacuum Oil Co. in 1943: radio sealing reports (Form D-166) filed at Seattle, Wash. (30 April 1943) and at Captain of the Port, San Francisco, naming Socony Vacuum Oil Co. as owner/charterer; plus a USCG intelligence memorandum (24 February 1943) concerning conduct investigation of a crew member. These records place the hull in wartime WSA merchant service on the U.S. West Coast in 1943, consistent with wartime foreign-duty routing described by secondary sources (Abadan/India/Australia runs).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- Merchant crew (USCG forms)
- Limitations
- Primary government records but poor-scan OCR quality; document radio-security compliance and one crew-conduct investigation only. They do not describe cargo routes comprehensively, machinery, materials, or any asbestos-related content; the foreign-duty routing detail rests on secondary sources and is not asserted beyond what these forms show.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-05
-
[7]Australian War Memorial, collection record C241883 (Naval Historical Collection accession 302902), photograph of SS American Arrow, July 1944 [museum_official]
- Locator
- AWM collection record C241883 caption text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Australian War Memorial collection record C241883 (accession 302902): aerial port-side view, 1944, of 'the US tanker AMERICAN ARROW, which worked with RAN units in the Indian Ocean in 1944-07'; caption notes 'the 3 inch gun on the stern and 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns on the after and central superstructures.' Confirms the hull's armed merchant operation in the Indian Ocean in mid-1944, immediately before the September 1944 title transfer and November 1944 Navy commissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-07
- Limitations
- Official national archive photograph and caption; documents merchant-era defensive armament (3-inch + 20mm Oerlikons) and Indian Ocean service. No asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-06
-
[8]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
- AJIM 11(3):359-373, article abstract and text
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as insulating and fireproofing material in U.S. ship construction during World War II, the period in which this hull was government-operated (WSA then Navy), and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls. The hull's 1920 steam plant (three Scotch boilers, quadruple-expansion engine, steam piping) is of the type for which asbestos lagging, magnesia block, gaskets, and packing were standard marine practice - but no source consulted names insulation materials aboard this specific hull.
- 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 scholarship on WWII shipbuilding; does not name this vessel or its builder contract and does not establish that asbestos was installed or remained aboard this hull. The hull was built in 1920, before the article's WWII focus period - era extension is inference. No quantity, location, exposure, or causation established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-07
-
[9]Selikoff IJ, Lilis R, Levin G. 'Asbestotic radiological abnormalities among United States merchant marine seamen.' Occupational and Environmental Medicine (Br J Ind Med) 47(5):292-297 (1990), doi:10.1136/oem.47.5.292 [other_primary]
- Locator
- OEM 47(5):292-297, abstract
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed study (Selikoff, Lilis, Levin, 1990) found asbestotic radiological abnormalities in 34.8% of 3,324 chest radiographs (1985-87) of long-term U.S. merchant seamen, with the highest prevalence among engine-department seamen (42.5%), and states that 'many vessels, particularly those built before 1978, contain asbestos materials.' Relevant era context for a 1920-built merchant tanker that spent 1942-44 in WSA service and 1944-46 as a Navy station tanker: the populations at issue (merchant engine-room crews; station-tanker Navy crew working amidships machinery spaces) match the highest-prevalence group in the study.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- radiographs 1985-1987; exposure era pre-1978
- Population
- U.S. merchant marine seamen (cohort context; engine department highest prevalence)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level epidemiology on U.S. merchant seamen generally (radiographs taken 1985-87, decades after this hull was scrapped); does not name this vessel, does not measure exposure aboard it, and does not establish that any individual who served aboard Chotauk/American Arrow was exposed or injured. Context for era exposure conditions only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-08
-
[10]Dodge DG, Beck BD. 'Historical state of knowledge of the health risks of asbestos posed to seamen on merchant ships.' Inhalation Toxicology 28(14):637-657 (2016); EPA HERO ID 3520598 [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA HERO reference record 3520598 incl. abstract
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed review of the historical state of knowledge of asbestos risks to merchant-ship seamen (Dodge & Beck, 2016) finds that seamen were potentially exposed to 'in-place' asbestos on merchant ships through intermittent repair and maintenance tasks, reviews measured airborne asbestos concentrations aboard merchant ships (found <1 f/cc for most short-term tasks), and documents that attention to merchant-seamen asbestos risks began in the mid-1970s to early 1980s - decades after this hull's 1947 scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- knowledge history through 2016; vessel era pre-1978
- Population
- Merchant seamen (fleet-level review)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level knowledge review of merchant ships generally; does not name this vessel and measures no exposure aboard it. Documents that asbestos materials were present aboard merchant ships of the era and that exposure pathways existed for repair/maintenance work - it does not establish asbestos content, dose, injury, or legal eligibility for anyone aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-13
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 opinion search, queries 'Chotauk' (type=o, count 0) and 'IX-188' (type=o, 10,118 raw hits - all name collisions, none vessel-related), 2026-09-29 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chotauk-ix188-07 through -10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener API v4 opinion searches (2026-09-29): exact vessel name 'Chotauk' returned count 0; hull-number query 'IX-188' returned 10,118 raw hits but all top-ranked results are unrelated token-split collisions (Puerto Rico 'Panel IX' captions, statute/rule '188' references, unrelated names) - classified as name collisions with zero hits referencing the vessel. Merchant-name queries ('Japan Arrow', 'American Arrow') could not be completed within the session because the fleet-wide CourtListener request budget was intermittently exhausted (hourly pacing limit); logged as a pending sweep component rather than a verified negative. No docketed asbestos case naming this hull has been located in any source searched.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Sweep substantially complete: 'Chotauk' zero-hit and 'IX-188' all-collisions results are verified; the merchant-name queries were blocked by fleet pacing limits and remain pending (high-collision names that would need careful classification regardless). CourtListener covers appellate opinions, not pleadings/dockets exhaustively; a zero opinion count does not prove no claim was ever filed. Operator-level litigation (Socony-Vacuum/Mobil asbestos cases) is not hull-specific and was not counted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-09
-
[12]Batch-4748 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NAVSHIPS 250-012 pp. 452-457; MARAD ShipHistory 187 incl. all attached documents and status cards; AWM C241883; CourtListener name search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chotauk-ix188-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located. Neither DANFS, Ships' Data 1945, the Maritime Commission status/fleet cards, the declassified USCG documents, the AWM record, nor the MARAD ShipHistory page contains any statement about insulation materials, asbestos content, shipboard conditions, abatement, or worker exposure aboard this hull. No asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming this hull was found in public sources searched. The vessel was scrapped in 1947, decades before asbestos disclosure and abatement regimes existed, so no abatement-era paper trail is expected.
- 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 plant is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-10
-
[13]MARAD ShipHistory 187 (card images vs. web milestone table); Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III p. 457 (dates) and p. 452 (dimensions); DANFS entry [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD milestone table vs. card /cards/187_356AF.jpg fields 8, 21, 22; SDB v3 pp. 452, 457
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved: (a) MARAD ShipHistory 'Milestones' displays 'Sold 2/7/1946 - Sold as scrap to M.S. Kaplan Co.', which conflates the 7 February 1946 Navy-to-WSA return/fleet-entry date with the actual scrap sale; the vessel's own MC fleet card records PD-X-237 award 12 December 1946 and withdrawal/delivery to purchaser 22 February 1947 - the card is controlling. (b) Wikipedia's infobox 'Commissioned 24 November 1944' conflates the merchant service-entry date (24 November 1920, secondary compilations) with the Navy commissioning; DANFS and Ships' Data 1945 both fix Navy acquisition and first commission at 29 November 1944. (c) Length figures differ by source: DANFS 485', Ships' Data 485'3" overall/468'0" waterline, MC card 468.3 - all reported, none reconciled. (d) NavSource 'sold for scrapping 12 December 1946, withdrawn 22 February 1947' matches the card and is adopted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946-1947
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies in web-database and secondary framings; does not affect identity or custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-11
-
[14]NARA guidance: 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' (RG 24) and merchant-vessel logbook guidance (RG 26); NARA Guide to Federal Records, RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) and RG 248 (War Shipping Administration) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/248.html ; MC card 'Cond. Report in File' annotation (card_356AB.jpg)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (1) NARA RG 24 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' - USS Chotauk deck logs, November 1944-February 1946, could document underway/anchored status, work details, and any material references during Navy service; (2) the 'Cond. Report in File' annotation on the MC fleet card points to a condition survey in the vessel's RG 178 disposal file (PD-X-237), the most likely place a pre-scrapping materials/condition description would survive; (3) RG 248 War Shipping Administration vessel files cover the 1942-44 charter and operation period; (4) merchant deck logs for Japan Arrow/American Arrow are in RG 26 (USCG) distributed by port of submission. None of these is digitized in public sources consulted.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1947 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chotauk-ix188-12