Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Coasters Harbor' (AG-74) - hazegray transcription of DANFS Vol. II (NHHC canonical page 404s at research date - standing link-rot issue) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray DANFS auxil/ag74.htm, full entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry: Coasters Harbor - named for the Narragansett Bay, R.I. island that hosts the Naval War College - (AG-74, cl. Basilan) was launched 17 November 1944 by New England Shipbuilding Corp., South Portland, Maine, under a Maritime Commission contract, sponsored by Mrs. M. M. Naples; transferred to the Navy 26 November 1944 and commissioned the same day; ferried to Todd Shipbuilding Co., Brooklyn, N.Y.; decommissioned 30 November 1944 for conversion to an electronics repair ship; recommissioned 29 July 1945, Commander T. H. Moyer, USNR. Sailing from Norfolk 29 August, she reached San Diego 19 September and Sasebo, Japan, 31 October; serviced occupation-force vessels there until 5 March 1946; participated in Operation Crossroads; returned to San Pedro 14 September 1946; placed out of commission in reserve at San Diego 3 July 1947; redesignated AKS-22 18 August 1951; stricken from the Navy List 1 April 1960. Stat line: dp 5,766; 441'6" x 66'11" x 23'; 12 kts; cpl 891; a. 1 x 5".
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Limitations
- Official ship-history dictionary accessed via a faithful 1998 transcription mirror - the canonical NHHC URL was not located (returns 404 at research date; same standing issue as Batch-01). Stat-line values conflict in places with NavSource specs (armament 1x5" vs 3"/50; complement 891 vs 892) - discrepancies logged, not resolved. Contains no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coasters-harbor-ag74-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Coasters Harbor (AG-74), 09/49/49074 (volunteer-compiled from official records incl. NHHC photos) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/49/49074 - chronology, spec block, commanding-officer list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource photo archive: laid down 4 October 1944 as MC type EC2-S-C1 hull (MCE 3073) at New England Shipbuilding Corp., South Portland ME; launched 17 November 1944; acquired and placed in reduced commission 23 November 1944 for transit to Todd Shipbuilding Co., Brooklyn, under LCDR James H. Graves Jr., USNR (Aux Ferry Crew #5); decommissioned at Brooklyn 26 November 1944; commissioned USS Coasters Harbor (AG-74) 29 July 1945, CDR Tilghman H. Moyer, USNR; Asiatic-Pacific Theater, then occupation service in the Far East 26 October 1945 - 8 March 1946; assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.8.1 Service Group - Repair and Service Unit for Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll, July 1946; decommissioned 3 July 1947 at San Diego; laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group; redesignated General Stores Issue Ship AKS-22 18 August 1951; struck from the Naval Register 1 April 1960; returned to the Maritime Administration 5 December 1960; sold for scrapping 5 December 1960 to Hugh Neu Steel Products Inc. Specs: 5,766 t lt / 14,350 t fl; 441'6" x 56'11" x 23'; 12.5 kts trial; complement 59 officers + 833 enlisted; armament one 3"/50 DP + four 40mm AA; propulsion one General Machine Corp. vertical triple-expansion engine, two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers 220 psi 450 deg F, single screw 2,500 shp. Period photos: commissioning ceremony at Todd Brooklyn 29 Jul 1945; at anchor Sasebo 31 Oct 1945 - 5 Mar 1946; distant view at Nagasaki c. Feb-Mar 1946 (taken from USS Tyron APH-1); NHHC photo USN 1043999.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1961
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-run archive transcribing official sources, not a government publication - treated as a compiled reference; its ferry-commission dates (23/26 Nov) conflict with DANFS (26/30 Nov) and Shipscribe (27-30 Nov), logged in gaps; armament (3"/50) conflicts with the DANFS stat line (1x5"); buyer name spelled 'Hugh Neu' here vs 'Hugo Neu' on the MARAD card - MARAD adopted. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coasters-harbor-ag74-02
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[3]Shipscribe.com (S. S. Roberts), 'USS Belle Isle (AG-73) Class' - compiled from BuShips/Maritime Commission records, the standard scholarly reference for USN auxiliaries [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/AG/AG73.html - construction/disposition tables, class notes, ship notes for AG-74
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe USN auxiliary reference (AG-73 class page): MC hull 3076 was originally selected as AG-74 but hull 3073 was substituted on 19 September 1944; the six AG-73-78 hulls were Liberty ships delivered incomplete (~87.8% for this hull) and distributed to six New York-area repair yards; Coasters Harbor was converted by Todd Shipyards, Brooklyn, with ferry commission 27-30 November 1944. Class conversion features (specified 21 Aug 44, based on AG-68 class): facilities for 25 officers, 81 CPOs and 702 enlisted repair personnel plus ship's company; one 80,000 gpd distiller; radio and radar workshops, radar antenna test platform on the main deck, and a 90-ft 1-ton boom for handling antennas alongside - the electronics-repair fit. Disposal: MA sale 17 October 1960; to buyer 5 December 1960; scrapped by October 1961. Shipscribe groups AG-73-78 as the Belle Isle class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1961
- Population
- Todd Shipyards Brooklyn conversion workforce (Nov 1944-Jul 1945); embarked repair personnel (approx. 800) plus ship's company
- Limitations
- Private scholarly compilation from official records, not a government publication; names the hull throughout. Documents conversion scope and disposal but contains no asbestos or materials statements - conversion interior work is an era-consistent disturbance event, not a documented asbestos exposure. Class framing (Belle Isle) differs from DANFS/NavSource (Basilan) - both carried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coasters-harbor-ag74-03
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[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - COASTERS HARBOR (AKS-22/AG-74), Ship History Detail 5783, incl. digitized MA-20 sale card and MA-199 status card [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 5783 - vessel data, status cards 5783_AF.jpg (MA-20) and MA-199 card scan; custody PDF
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory Detail 5783: COASTERS HARBOR (AKS-22/AG-74), MARAD type EC2-S-C1, shipyard New England Shipbuilding Corporation, fate 'Sold - Scrap.' Digitized custody cards: MA-20 Record of Ship Sales - official no. MCE-3073, awarded to Hugo Neu Steel Products, Inc., 45 Nassau St., New York 5, N.Y., dated Oct. 17/60, purchase price $97,589.89, contract no. MA-2370 annotated 'Scrap Hull-Japan (24 mo.)'; remarks: advertised under PD-X-585 8/11/60, opened 9/1/60 (scrap hull - US), bid rejected 9/1/60; readvertised under PD-X-588 9/21/60, opened Oct. 12, 1960 (foreign); 'Built for MarCom by New England Shipbuilding Corp. - 1945.' MA-199 Vessel Status Card - Navy Dept. to Maritime Adm., San Diego, 11:00 AM PST 12-5-60 (Transfer); Maritime Adm. to Hugo Neu Steel Products Inc., same port/time (Purchased), remarks 'Scrap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1961
- Population
- Scrapping workforce (Japan, 1960-61) - undocumented
- Limitations
- Authoritative primary record for government custody and disposal. 'Year Built 1945' on the card reflects the completed-as-auxiliary convention vs the 1944 hull launch - noted, not an error. Cards document scrapping destination 'Japan' within 24 months; breakers-yard conditions and any asbestos handling are undocumented. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coasters-harbor-ag74-04
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[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 U.S. Maritime Commission instruction manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant - the documented hull type of this vessel per MARAD - 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-type 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
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (New England Shipbuilding, South Portland, 1944); Todd Brooklyn conversion trades; ship's engine-room crew
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the type, not this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content; asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven. The Todd electronics-repair conversion and any later yard periods have no located material schedule. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence (hull scrapped 1960-61), individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coasters-harbor-ag74-05
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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 program under which this EC2-S-C1 hull was built (1944) and converted at a New York repair yard (1944-45) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard ship hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- 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 the EC2-S-C1 type and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coasters-harbor-ag74-06
-
[7]Batch-685 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource; Shipscribe AG-73 class page; MARAD ShipHistory 5783 + custody cards; CourtListener API (blocked); web-indexed legal sweep; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-coasters-harbor-ag74-01 through sl-uss-coasters-harbor-ag74-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming the Coasters Harbor hull was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener API search was blocked at the documented daily rate cap (HTTP 429, retry-after ~11 h) and is logged as incomplete; web-indexed sweeps of courtlistener.com/casetext/justia returned only name collisions (Coasters Harbor Island / Naval Station Newport matters) - no qualifying asbestos litigation located. A law-firm marketing ship-list includes the hull but is an excluded source type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 emergency hull converted during the peak-asbestos era and scrapped in Japan 1960-61 is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the breakers-yard phase is undocumented. The CourtListener sweep is incomplete (daily cap) and should be re-run; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coasters-harbor-ag74-07
-
[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Naval Personnel/deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission); NARA WWII deck-log guidance [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov record-group guides; NARA deck-log finding aids (RG 24, WWII-era logs at College Park)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs cover the November 1944 - July 1947 commissioned periods including the Sasebo/Nagasaki occupation service and Operation Crossroads assignment; RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds conversion-contract and design records for the Todd Brooklyn work (class design agent H. Newton Whittelsey, conversion spec of 21 Aug 44 with ComServPac changes of Jan-Mar 1945); RG 178 holds Maritime Commission construction records for hull 3073; JTF-1 record series cover the Crossroads repair-unit assignment.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1944-1960 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for hull 3073 or the Todd conversion is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-coasters-harbor-ag74-08