USS Crommelin (FFG-37)

Evidence

13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).

1. [1]research packet zbx-packet.md [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-crommelin-ffg37-pkt-zbx-packet-md

2. [2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Crommelin (FFG-37),' ship history page (Jeremiah D. Foster, 15 March 2020). [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Specification line, construction paragraph, and full service chronology; commanding-officers table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NHHC's ship-specific DANFS history (J. Foster, 15 March 2020) identifies Crommelin as the 28th Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, named for three brothers (Vice Adm. Henry, Cmdr. Charles L., Lt. Cmdr. Richard G. Crommelin), and records: laid down 30 May 1980 at Seattle by Todd Pacific Shipyards Corp.; launched 2 July 1981 (co-sponsors Susan Crommelin Spain, Mrs. Richard B. Meyers, Mrs. Sally H. Crommelin); commissioned 18 June 1983 at Todd Shipyard, Seattle, Cmdr. James W. Orvis commanding; specification line 3,800 tons, 453 ft length, 45 ft beam, 24 ft 5 in draft, 28 knots, complement 203. Service narrative: first homeport Long Beach August 1983; six-month availability at Todd Pacific Shipyard San Pedro (1984); Constellation battle group WestPac/Indian Ocean deployment (21 February-24 August 1985), first successful missile engagement; DesRon 13 accelerated deployment 13 April 1987 with two LAMPS III helicopters embarked; Middle East Force 1 July-25 August 1987 Kuwaiti tanker escort (Operation Earnest Will), Meritorious Unit Commendation; drydock at Todd Pacific San Pedro 31 May-23 September 1988; Arabian Gulf deployment 17 March-22 September 1989; joint counter-narcotics operations 9 November 1990-28 February 1991, Joint Services Meritorious Unit Award; homeport shift to Pearl Harbor 1 September 1991 (DesRon 31); selected restricted availability at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard March-September 1992; second Caribbean counter-narcotics cruise November 1992-March 1993; Kitty Hawk battle group WestPac 1 July-14 December 1994 (MUC for Han-class submarine prosecution); Carl Vinson task group deployment 20 May-20 November 1996; weapons/engineering upgrades January-March 1997; WestPac 21 February-21 August 1998 (Fifth Fleet boarding record); nine-week private-sector SRA early 1999; Eastern Pacific counter-narcotics 24 August-24 November 1999; Abraham Lincoln battle group 18 January 2000-17 February 2001 (18 non-compliant vessel boardings, 12 carrying smuggled Iraqi petroleum); drydock SRA 18 April-12 June 2001; Surface Ship Safety Award January 2002; counter-narcotics 22 October 2002-22 April 2003 (six metric tons cocaine); first Pearl Harbor warship Emergency Surge Ready; Southern Command deployment 12 May-12 November 2004 (F/V San Jose boarding, 525 bales cocaine, 93 migrants rescued); Northern Edge '05 and August 2005 Hulkex; Pacific deployment 15 June-15 December 2009 (CARAT, Lumut Malaysia, JMSDF bilateral); Valiant Shield and WestPac 3 August-14 December 2010; decommissioned Pearl Harbor 26 October 2012; stricken 31 October 2012; sunk as target 19 July 2016 north of Kauai during RIMPAC 2016.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1980-2016

   Population

   Todd Seattle construction trades 1980-83; crew 1983-2012 (complement ~203-215)

   Limitations

   Official ship-history and specifications source, not an asbestos survey or construction-material specification. It names the yards and dates of documented availabilities but does not identify insulation, gaskets, packing, or any asbestos-containing material aboard Crommelin. Live NHHC URL currently returns 404 (site restructure); cited via 24 April 2025 Wayback capture of the canonical page.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-01

3. [3]Naval Vessel Register, USS Crommelin (FFG 37) detail page, NAVSEA Shipbuilding Support Office (page last updated 11/07/2005; capture of record March 2012). [other_primary]

   Locator

   NVR FFG-37 detail record, all fields

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official Naval Vessel Register record for this hull: UIC 21104; class FFG 7; fleet Pacific; status Naval Reserve Force, Active (date status changed 10/01/2003); homeport Pearl Harbor, HI; builder TODD PAC/SEATTLE; award date 04/27/1979; keel 05/30/1980; launch 07/02/1981; delivery 06/09/1983; commission 06/18/1983; overall length 453 ft; extreme beam 47 ft; full displacement 4,089 tons; steel hull, aluminum superstructure; propulsion type Gas Turbines, single propeller; accommodations 17 officers / 198 enlisted; planning yard Bath Iron Works, Bath, ME.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1979-2012 (record)

   Population

   Ship's company at record date; accommodations 215

   Limitations

   Register record establishes identity, dates, dimensions, and propulsion type; it contains no materials inventory and says nothing about asbestos. NVR live site reorganized; cited via 14 March 2012 Wayback capture (predates inactivation fields being populated).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-02

4. [4]NAVADMIN 087/12, 'FY13 Projected Ship Inactivation Schedule,' R 131727Z MAR 12, FM CNO Washington DC (released by VADM J.T. Blake, N8). [other_primary]

   Locator

   Paragraph 2 inactivation table (USS CROMMELIN row) and NOTE 1

   Finding type

   regulatory

   Finding

   Official CNO message promulgating the FY13 ship inactivation schedule: USS CROMMELIN (FFG 37) listed for inactivation 31 October 2012 with post-decommissioning status 'SEE NOTE 1' — NOTE 1 designates the vessel for Foreign Military Sale (FMS) and directs that FMS-designated frigates 'SHALL NOT BE STRIPPED,' with equipment removals allowed only as specifically authorized by OPNAV via SEPCOR coordination. Sister FFGs (Underwood, Curts, Carr, Klakring, Reuben James) carry the same designation.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   2012

   Population

   n/a (disposition directive)

   Limitations

   Documents the hull's intended post-decommissioning pathway (FMS transfer, no stripping authorized) — the transfer was never executed and the hull was expended as a target in 2016. The message says nothing about hazardous-material condition, surveys, or removal. Citation host is a third-party NAVADMIN text mirror; message content is verbatim official traffic.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-03

5. [5]Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, 'Second RIMPAC Sinking Exercise Concludes,' DVIDS story 204534, 19 July 2016 (also carried at pacom.mil, 21 July 2016). [other_primary]

   Locator

   Opening paragraph (sinking facts) and SINKEX-preparation paragraphs

   Finding type

   environmental_record

   Finding

   U.S. 3rd Fleet reported that live fire from RIMPAC 2016 units sank the decommissioned USS Crommelin (FFG 37) on 19 July 2016 in waters 15,000 feet deep and 55 nautical miles north of Kauai, Hawaii. The release describes the SINKEX preparation regime: vessels are prepared 'in strict compliance with regulations prescribed and enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency under a general permit the Navy holds pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act,' requiring sinking in at least 1,000 fathoms and at least 50 nautical miles from land; pre-sinking cleaning removes all PCBs, transformers and large capacitors, small capacitors to the greatest extent practical, trash, floatable materials, mercury or fluorocarbon-containing materials, and readily detachable solid PCB items; petroleum is cleaned from tanks, piping, and reservoirs; a Navy civilian environmental, safety and health manager and a quality assurance supervisor inspect and certify the environmental remediation in writing per EPA requirements.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   2016

   Population

   SINKEX preparation personnel and exercise participants

   Limitations

   Documents the final disposition and that certified environmental remediation was performed aboard this hull, but the listed removal categories (petroleum, PCBs, capacitors, debris, mercury/fluorocarbon) do not name asbestos; the release does not state whether asbestos was present, sampled, removed, or left aboard.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-04

6. [6]GAO report HRD-80-2, 'Navy's Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (1979-10-18), Enclosure I — CNO letter Ser 4542/318054 (5 Jan 1979), Attachment #1 ship list, 'GUIDED MISSILE FRIGATE - FFG' block (report pp. 9, 12). [gao]

   Locator

   GAO HRD-80-2 PDF pp. 19, 22 (Enclosure I Attachment #1, FFG block; Note 1 at report p. 12)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   Contemporaneous Navy submission on asbestos in ship construction: the CNO letter's Attachment #1 ship list, under 'GUIDED MISSILE FRIGATE - FFG,' lists FFG-7 through FFG-22/23 (Oliver Hazard Perry, McInerney, Wadsworth, Duncan, Clark, George Philip, and unchristened hulls 13, 15, 16, 19, 22/23, plus Sides 14, Antrim 20, and RAN hulls H.M.A.S. Adelaide 17 / Canberra 18) with the block annotation 'Asbestos-free thermal insulation.' Per the list's Note 1, 'thermal insulation' means insulation for machinery, equipment and piping — the Navy's principal shipboard asbestos application. FFG-37 does NOT appear in the table: the FFG block ends at hull 22/23 (start 6/78), and this hull was not awarded until 27 April 1979, after the January 1979 submission was prepared. Documents that the Oliver Hazard Perry design group then under construction was built without asbestos thermal insulation; this hull's inclusion in that design intent is a class-level inference, not a named-hull entry.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1979 (submission); construction era 1974-1981

   Population

   FFG-7-class construction-era crews and builder-yard workforces

   Limitations

   Class-level record: the table names no hull beyond FFG-22/23 and does not list FFG-37 at all, so 'asbestos-free thermal insulation' is documented for the design group contemporaneous with the class's construction era but is not a ship-specific finding for this hull. Thermal insulation was the Navy's principal asbestos application — the designation does not address residual non-insulation ACM (see ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-06). Full text via Wayback capture of the GAO PDF; live gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch (standing).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-05

7. [7]GAO report HRD-80-2 (1979-10-18), Enclosure I CNO letter Ser 4542/318054 (5 Jan 1979) program statements; NAVSEAINST 5100.2 (24 Oct 1975) policy history (report pp. 1-4, 12). [gao]

   Locator

   GAO HRD-80-2 PDF pp. 1-2, 11-13, 22 (digest; Enclosure I text; Note 1)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   Program-level residual-asbestos documentation applying to all Navy ships of the era: the CNO letter states 'Each ship has several types of asbestos containing materials installed,' that despite elimination of asbestos thermal insulation 'there remain a few shipboard applications where technically acceptable substitute asbestos-free materials have not yet been identified. Therefore, all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos.' Cited residual applications: asbestos in plastic-like bodies of electrical resistors (incl. Navy electronic equipment); asbestos in home/office floor tiling and 'on Navy ship decks'; asbestos in electric cabling of Navy galley ranges; asbestos in piping-system gaskets and packing 'in Navy shipboard piping systems'; asbestos in Navy ship equipment brakes and clutches; the letter adds 'The list is nearly endless.' Note 1 to the ship list adds gaskets and pipe-hanger liners as applications without designated substitutes. The report also documents the policy timeline: thermal-insulation specifications revised to call for asbestos-free materials by late 1973; NAVSEAINST 5100.2 no-asbestos policy issued 24 October 1975; some ships delivered with asbestos insulation 'as late as May 1978' — preceding this hull's 1980-83 construction.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1973-1979

   Population

   Navy ship crews and shipyard workers (program-wide)

   Limitations

   Program-level statement, not a hull record: establishes that residual asbestos applications existed aboard Navy ships generally without identifying which were fitted aboard FFG-37 or in what quantities. The 1973 spec revision, 1975 policy, and 'as late as May 1978' insulation-delivery boundary all precede this hull's 1980-83 construction — consistent with, but not proof of, asbestos-free thermal insulation aboard this hull. Full text via Wayback; live gao.gov 403 to automated fetch (standing).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-06

8. [8]U.S. Navy training manual, Gas Turbine Systems Technician (NAVEDTRA 14115), ch. 4 'FFG-7 Class Ships' waste-heat recovery section (reproduction at navyaviation.tpub.com). [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAVEDTRA 14115, ch. 4, 'FFG-7 Class Ships' subsection (manual p. 4-23 area)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official Navy rate-training manual describes this class's machinery plant: 'The FFG-7 class ship's waste heat recovery system does not use a WHB [waste-heat boiler] to supply heating for LO, FO, potable water, and distilling. Instead it uses the waste heat produced by the ship's service diesel generators (SSDGs) jacket water system' through four heat exchangers and four hot-water circulating pumps, with two 300-kW supplementary electric heaters; main propulsion is the class-standard twin LM2500 gas-turbine single-shaft plant. Bounds the thermal-insulation inventory relative to steam-powered combatants: the boiler/steam-line asbestos insulation typical of earlier-era warships has no counterpart in this machinery plant.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   class era (1977-1989 builds)

   Population

   FFG-7-class engineering crews

   Limitations

   Class-level design documentation; describes machinery systems, not insulation materials — supports the structural conclusion that boiler/steam asbestos inference does not apply to this class, without establishing which non-steam asbestos applications (gaskets, packing, cable, deck coverings) were fitted aboard this hull. tpub.com is a reproduction host for official NAVEDTRA manuals, not the issuing authority.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-07

9. [9]Herring v. Texaco, Inc., 161 Wn.2d 189, 165 P.3d 4 (2007), docket 78774-3, filed 2007-08-09. [court_record]

   Locator

   161 Wn.2d 189 at paras. 1-2, 4, 13 (majority opinion)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Builder-yard asbestos documentation: the Washington Supreme Court recites that Roger Herring, a member of Asbestos Workers Union Local 7 (Seattle), 'worked for subcontractors of Todd Shipyards at Todd's work sites' during the 1960s and early 1970s and that '[h]erring's asbestos exposure ultimately caused fatal mesothelioma' — exposure treated as undisputed background; the court resolved the case on bankruptcy-discharge grounds (claim discharged under Todd's 1987 Chapter 11 bar date). Documents asbestos exposure at the builder's Seattle-area operations in the decade preceding this hull's construction (keel 1980).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1960s-2007

   Population

   Todd Shipyards subcontract insulators, Seattle-area sites, 1960s-early 1970s

   Limitations

   Yard-level, not hull-level: establishes asbestos exposure conditions at Todd work sites during the preceding decade, not materials aboard FFG-37 or at the yard during 1980-83. Merits disposition: dismissal reinstated on bankruptcy-discharge grounds — the exposure facts are recited, not contested. Opinion metadata verified against the live Washington Courts opinion-information page (docket 78774-3, file date 08/09/2007); quoted language per the published opinion as verified in Atlas yard dataset ev-todd-01 and sibling record ev-uss-stark-ffg31-08; primary PDF no longer served by courts.wa.gov (moved to official reporter).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-08

10. [10]Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs, CLIK policy 4.4.11, 'Claims relating to asbestos exposure while serving on certain RAN vessels' (Defence-provided vessel list; amended 13 May 2020; Wayback capture — live page times out). [other_primary]

    Locator

    CLIK 4.4.11 policy text, vessel list (Adelaide-class rows), and 'Asbestos on RAN Ships 2011 Onwards' incident table

    Finding type

    asbestos_application

    Finding

    Official foreign-government corroboration at design-family level: DVA/RMRCC policy presumes asbestos was likely present aboard all six Adelaide-class frigates — the modified Oliver Hazard Perry design built 1978-1992 for the Royal Australian Navy (HMAS Adelaide II 1980-2008, Canberra II 1981-2005, Sydney IV 1983-2015, Darwin 1984-present, Melbourne III 1992-present, Newcastle 1994-present) — such that service aboard them requires no case-by-case exposure confirmation ('it is known that asbestos was likely to be present on those ships during that period'). The first four Adelaide-class units were built at the same Todd Pacific Shipyards Seattle yard as this hull. The policy's 'Asbestos on RAN Ships 2011 Onwards' section lists post-2010 potential-exposure incident reports aboard Adelaide-class units (Newcastle 2011, Darwin 2011, Sydney 2012 and 2014, Melbourne 2016).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    1980-2016 (list coverage 1940-2010 + post-2010 incidents)

    Population

    RAN crews of Adelaide-class frigates

    Limitations

    Design-family presumption policy, not a finding about FFG-37: the Adelaide class is the modified OHP design, and the presumption exists to streamline claims rather than to assert documented asbestos aboard any particular hull. Does not identify applications, quantities, or locations aboard any U.S. Perry-class ship.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-09

11. [11]CourtListener API v4 authenticated queries via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py, 29 September 2026. [court_record]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-crommelin-ffg37-05 through sl-uss-crommelin-ffg37-08

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    CourtListener API v4 sweep via the required authenticated helper, all four cells completed: (1) exact-name opinion query 'USS Crommelin' — HTTP 200, count = 0; (2) exact-name docket query 'USS Crommelin' — HTTP 200, count = 20, all classified: one party-name collision (Crommelin v. Martel, C.D. Cal. habeas petition filed by Jeffrey M. Crommelin — a person, not the vessel) and 19 incidental document-text matches inside unrelated dockets (habeas/criminal petitions and orders, Tucker Act, bankruptcy service/claim exhibits, the BOP execution-protocol MDL, a D. Haw. environmental action against the Navy, and the Deepwater Horizon MDL); no qualifying asbestos litigation and no other litigation naming the hull as a party; (3) hull-number opinion query 'FFG-37' — HTTP 200, count = 40, non-phrase tokenized collisions; top-20 sample inspected: unrelated matters (state-court appeals, NMCCA/CMA criminal appeals, Court of Federal Claims Navy ship-repair contract disputes incl. Southwest Marine and Chromalloy — 'other litigation' at most, not exposure litigation); no qualifying hit; (4) hull-number docket query 'FFG-37' — HTTP 200, count = 1,215, dominated by non-phrase tokenization collisions (top-20 sample inspected: unrelated cases matching docket/citation tokens; no qualifying hit).

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    2026-09-29

    Limitations

    The completed cells support a negative finding only at their own scope: zero indexed opinions and no qualifying asbestos docket under the exact name; the hull-number cells (40 opinions; 1,215 dockets) are tokenization noise with no qualifying hit in the inspected top-20 samples (full sets not enumerable; exact-phrase variants blocked). Embedded document-text mentions (e.g., a claimant's service recital inside a bulk exhibit) were classified downward as incidental because matching documents were not individually pulled; a mention is not a finding. CourtListener does not reach state-court, sealed, settled, or unindexed litigation, and this sweep establishes nothing about exposure, causation, or eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-10

12. [12]Batch-4635 completed-source search ledger: NHHC DANFS (Wayback capture); Naval Vessel Register (Wayback capture); NAVADMIN 087/12; U.S. 3rd Fleet/DVIDS SINKEX release; EPA SINKEX permit page and 40 C.F.R. 229.2; GAO HRD-80-2 (Wayback PDF); NAVEDTRA 14115; Herring v. Texaco (Wn.2d); DVA CLIK 4.4.11; Atlas shipyard dataset (todd-shipyards, pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard). [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-crommelin-ffg37-01 through sl-uss-crommelin-ffg37-09

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos documentation was located in the completed public-source review: no Crommelin ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, construction-material specification, SINKEX environmental assessment, or material-condition report was identified. Accordingly ship-specific asbestos documentation remains unknown.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    1980-2026

    Limitations

    An absence of located public documentation does not prove that asbestos was absent aboard Crommelin. The class/era GAO evidence is not a hull-specific substitute, and the CourtListener sweep completed all four cells with no qualifying hits (hull-number cells are tokenization-noise matches, sampled not enumerated).

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-11

13. [13]National Archives, 'Navy Deck Logs,' research guidance; cited as an archival-access lead. NHHC ship command-operation-reports collection (sister-ship holdings observed). [other_primary]

    Locator

    NARA Navy Deck Logs research page; RG 19/RG 24 and NAVSEA construction/inactivation record series require further catalog and archival inquiry

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Potential hull-specific leads not retrieved in this batch: NAVSEA/Bureau of Ships construction specifications and the ship's General Information Book/Booklet of General Plans (NARA RG 19); deck logs (NARA RG 24); inactivation and SINKEX-preparation work packages at the Pearl Harbor Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (ex-Crommelin documented moored there October 2013); Foreign Military Sale transfer-condition documentation generated under NAVADMIN 087/12; Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard availability records for the 1992 SRA and 2001 drydock; Command Operations Reports (NHHC hosts CORs for sister FFGs; Crommelin-specific COR retrieval not verified).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    1980-2016

    Limitations

    These are unpulled leads, not findings about Crommelin. The cited NARA page describes access to deck logs, which are not themselves expected to inventory asbestos; the additional record series and their contents were not retrieved or verified.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-crommelin-ffg37-12