Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Competent (AM-316) (verbatim transcription via Haze Gray & Underway, Wayback capture 2024-05-26; live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-22) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Haze Gray DANFS transcription of the Competent (AM-316) entry, full text incl. spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: 'cl. Auk' in the spec line. HMS Amelia (BAM-3) launched 30 January 1943 by General Engineering and Dry Dock Co., Alameda, Calif., sponsored by Miss M. S. Upton; retained for U.S. Navy use, assigned the name Competent and reclassified AM-316 on 23 January 1943; commissioned 10 November 1943, Lt. D. D. Long, Jr., USNR. Pearl Harbor 21 January 1944; Majuro minesweeping and harbor-entrance/pilot-ship duty 5 February-31 March; Marshalls convoy escort to 15 July; Solomons exercises from Port Purvis; Kossol Passage sweep/patrol during the Peleliu invasion; west coast overhaul from 2 November 1944. San Francisco-Okinawa convoy April-May 1945; minesweeping 5 July-25 August; Chusan Archipelago October; Sasebo-based occupation duties to 6 March 1946; San Francisco 21 April 1946; out of commission in reserve 30 January 1947. Recommissioned 29 February 1952 (Korean war); Sasebo 7 August 1952; swept/patrolled Korean waters to 5 February 1953; second Far Eastern tour 5 October 1953-2 June 1954 with TF 95; reclassified MSF-316 on 7 February 1955; decommissioned and placed in reserve 15 April 1955. Five battle stars WWII, two for Korea.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1955
- Population
- Wartime crew (complement ~105 per DANFS spec block); 1952-55 recommissioned crew
- Limitations
- Operational/administrative history only - the entry contains no asbestos, materials, insulation, or survey content and establishes neither presence nor absence of asbestos aboard this hull. DANFS does not give a laid-down date, a stricken date, or the post-1972 Mexican disposition. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-competent-am316-01
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[2]Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Competent (AM-316, later MSF-316), 1943-1972' (Department of the Navy photo page, ibiblio.org mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHC Online Library page usnsh-c/am316.htm, narrative paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official U.S. Navy photo-page history for this hull: 'an 890-ton Auk class minesweeper ... built at Alameda, California'; commissioned November 1943; Pacific service in the Palaus and Okinawa campaigns; occupation support to April 1946; decommissioned January 1947; recommissioned February 1952; one combat tour off Korea 1952-53 and a second Far Eastern deployment 1953-54; decommissioned April 1955 two months after MSF-316 reclassification; 'After seventeen years in "mothballs", she was sold to Mexico in September 1972. She served in the Mexican Navy as Ponciano Arriaga until 1988.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1988
- Population
- Wartime and Korean-era crew; Mexican Navy crew 1972-1988
- Limitations
- Confirms class (Auk), builder location (Alameda), and the Mexican-service endpoint (1988) that NavSource lacks; contains no asbestos, materials, or survey content. Does not give an exact stricken or sale date (NavSource supplies 20 September 1972).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-competent-am316-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'USS Competent (MSF 316) ex-USS Competent (AM 316)' (spec block, NVR note, disposal, commanding-officer roster, photo captions; Wayback capture 2024-05-25 - live site unreachable from this machine) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 11/02316, spec block + service notes + CO table (Wayback 2024-05-25)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled record for this hull: laid down 19 August 1942 as HMS Amelia (BAM 3) by General Engineering and Dry Dock Co., Alameda, CA; renamed/reclassified Competent (AM-316) 23 January 1943; launched 30 January 1943; commissioned 10 November 1943; out of commission in reserve 30 January 1947 at San Diego (NVR of 1 Jan 1949 lists the plan as December 1946); recommissioned 29 February 1952 at Long Beach; MSF-316 reclassification 7 February 1955; decommissioned 15 April 1955 into the Pacific Reserve Fleet; sold to Mexico 20 September 1972 as ARM Ponciano Arriaga (C-84); 'fate unknown.' Propulsion spec: two 1,888 shp Baldwin VO8 diesel-electric drive engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts; 890 t; 221'2"; 18.1 kt; complement 105. Six commanding officers listed; photo NH 68589 shows her nested with sister Chief (AM-315) and other minesweepers in Japan c.1952-54.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1972
- Population
- Construction trades (General Engineering & Dry Dock, Alameda, 1942-43); wartime and Korean-era crew
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive, not an official repository - the laid-down date (19 Aug 1942), sale date (20 Sep 1972), and machinery figures rest on NavSource's compilation; uboat.net corroborates dates but no primary contract/NVR card was retrieved. Horsepower expression inconsistent across references (2 x 1,888 shp per NavSource vs ~3,500 hp aggregate in HyperWar class data) - unresolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-competent-am316-03
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[4]Consolidated era inference - documented diesel-electric machinery plant (NavSource spec block: Baldwin VO8 diesels, Westinghouse gear) plus wartime Bureau of Ships construction practice for steel-hulled minesweepers, incl. the Lend-Lease BAM hulls built to U.S. Navy specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data; era construction practice
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: Auk-class minesweepers (incl. the ex-BAM hulls AM-315 et seq. retained from Lend-Lease allocation) were built 1942-43 at peak wartime asbestos consumption under Navy specifications that made routine use of asbestos materials. Because the class was diesel-electric powered (no boilers or steam lines), the asbestos-relevant applications are diesel exhaust lagging, engine gaskets and packing, thermal/acoustic hull insulation, electrical insulation, deck coverings, and winch/windlass brake linings rather than boiler and steam-pipe lagging.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1955
- Population
- Construction trades (General Engineering & Dry Dock, Alameda, 1942-43); crew 1943-1955; Mexican Navy crew 1972-1988
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no construction specifications, material schedules, or survey naming AM-316 were located. Does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, in what quantity, or that any remains; does not establish or defeat any individual exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-competent-am316-04
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[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified 1979 toward selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - so original-era insulation typically remained aboard reserve-fleet hulls unless a yard period disturbed it. Competent spent 1955-1972 in the Pacific Reserve Fleet with no postwar reactivation after 1955, then left U.S. custody in a foreign sale September 1972.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1979 (report); reserve period 1955-1972
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; reserve-fleet maintenance personnel
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull- or class-specific; the report addresses the 1975-79 period and Competent departed U.S. custody in September 1972, before that window. No yard asbestos work on this hull is documented. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-competent-am316-05
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[6]Tanadgusix Corp. and Bering Sea Eccotech, Inc. v. Huber (GSA), 404 F.3d 1201 (9th Cir. 2005); Pacific Shipyards International, LLC v. Tanadgusix Corp. and Marisco Ltd. (9th Cir. 2005, unpublished, CourtListener 8464271); DOJ press release 03-civ-538 (2003-09-29, qui tam intervention) [court_record]
- Locator
- 404 F.3d 1201 (9th Cir. 2005); CourtListener opinion 8464271; justice.gov archive 03_civ_538; cross-ref vessel record uss-competent-afdm6
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Name-collision flag: a second Navy hull bore the name Competent - USS Competent (AFDM-6, ex-YFD-62), a medium auxiliary floating dry dock whose disputed surplus sale generated published litigation (Ninth Circuit construction of the GSA transfer agreement; a civil RICO/qui tam action; DOJ False Claims Act intervention resolving in a 2006 settlement). All of it concerns the dry dock, none concerns minesweeper AM-316. Documented so that 'USS Competent' litigation hits are not misattributed to this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2002-2006 (litigation); collision boundary for AM-316 searches
- Limitations
- These matters name the floating dry dock AFDM-6 (batch-613 record uss-competent-afdm6), a different hull entirely; they are not asbestos litigation and not evidence about AM-316. Included solely to delimit the name-collision boundary for future search passes.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-competent-am316-06
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[7]Batch-1287 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live + Wayback/hazegray; NHC Online Library (ibiblio); NavSource; uboat.net; NVR; NARA catalog; open web/legal-document indexes; CourtListener (blocked - quota) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-competent-am316-01 through sl-uss-competent-am316-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for AM-316: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or docketed case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched. The hull was sold to Mexico in 1972, before modern ACM documentation practice, after seventeen years in reserve. The litigation portion of the sweep is incomplete: CourtListener API queries by name and hull number could not be executed because the authenticated daily quota was exhausted (HTTP 429, 2,800/day, ~9.5 h to reset at run time).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2026-09-22
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-consistent materials are a reasonable inference for a 1942-43 Navy hull. The incomplete CourtListener sweep means litigation naming this hull cannot be ruled out; retry is pending.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-competent-am316-07