Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet bd-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-culebra-island-arg7-pkt-bd-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS entry 'Culebra Island (ARG-7)' (NHHC page header '1944-1962'; published 2015-07-06). Live NHHC URL returns 404 (standing NHHC link-rot, cf. BATCH-01); accessed via Wayback Machine capture 2024-05-26. [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text (full entry quoted in finding_value)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: Culebra Island (ARG-7), Luzon-class internal combustion engine repair ship - dp. 4,023; l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 23'; s. 12 k.; cpl. 647; a. 1 5", 3 3". Launched as John F. Goucher 23 November 1943 by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., Baltimore, Md., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Miss J. F. Miller; transferred to the Navy 29 November 1943; commissioned 19 May 1944, Commander W. E. McClendon in command. WWII service: departed Norfolk 30 June 1944; Milne Bay, New Guinea 16 August; Floating Repair Unit 1, 7th Fleet at Alexishafen; Hollandia 7 October preparing ships for the Leyte operation; departed 25 December for San Pedro Bay towing a drydock; repaired and tended ships San Pedro Bay 6 January-21 February 1945; Mindoro (readying LSMs for southern Philippines invasions); Morotai 14 April-24 July for the Borneo operation; returned to Leyte; remained in the Philippines until 1 December 1945; arrived San Diego 9 January 1946 and served at the U.S. Naval Repair Base; in commission in reserve 30 November 1946; out of commission in reserve 15 January 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Limitations
- Official Navy history; contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or abatement information; gives no laid-down date (supplied by NavSource). Canonical live NHHC URL was 404 at access date - Wayback capture cited instead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-culebra-island-arg7-01
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - CULEBRA ISLAND (ARG-7) Detail 1150 and JOHN F. GOUCHER Detail 8759, incl. digitized vessel status cards (card images /cards/1150_2088AF.jpg, /cards/3K9_01.png, and document CULEBRA ISLAND.pdf) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 1150 + 8759 milestone tables; status card scans (both sides)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory database and digitized vessel status cards: CULEBRA ISLAND (ARG-7), Detail 1150 - built 1943, Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Naval Auxiliary, ARG Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ship, MARAD type EC2-S-C1; milestones Entry/Acquisition 8/1/1961 and Disposition/Withdrawal 1/25/1974, fate 'Sold -NTU.' Companion record JOHN F. GOUCHER, Detail 8759 - status card: Builder's Hull No. 2278 / MCE Hull No. 1830; built by Beth. Fairfield SY Inc at Baltimore, Md.; completed and basis to W.S.A. 11/29/43 4:00 PM EWT; allocated Navy Dept. (loaned) Baltimore 11/29/43; Navy Dept. purchase 10-15-46, renamed 'CULEBRA ISLAND' (ARG-7); Reserve Fleet custody Suisun Bay 8-1-61 8:00 AM PDST; permanent transfer Suisun Bay 9-1-62 12:01 AM PDST; sold to Zidell Explorations, Inc. (nontransportation use), Suisun Bay 12/10/73; physically delivered 1/25/74 12:45 PM PDT. Reserve-fleet particulars card (Form MA-383): 'Sold for Nontransportation use under PD-X-967, to Zidell Explorations, Inc. for $183,444.99. 12-10-73'; D.W.T. 10,800; gross 7,176; net 4,380; arrival draft fwd 12'00" aft 17'00".
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody, title, and sale milestones. 'Sold -NTU' (nontransportation use) and contract PD-X-967 denote scrapping sale; card contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. The two ShipHistory records are the same hull under successive names (cross-linked by the database's own name-history table).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-culebra-island-arg7-02
-
[4]NavSource Naval History, USS Culebra Island (ARG-7) page 09/29/2907 (service-ship photo archive; timeline transcribed from official records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource ARG-7 page - specifications, chronology, commanding officers, campaign ribbons
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource service-ship archive entry for ARG-7 (transcription of official records): laid down 29 October 1943 as SS John F. Goucher, Maritime Commission type EC2-S-C1, MCE hull 1830, Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard Inc., Baltimore; launched 23 November 1943; delivered to Maritime Commission and acquired by U.S. Navy 29 November 1943; converted to an Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ship at Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore; commissioned 19 May 1944 (CDR William E. McClendon); assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater; in commission in reserve 30 November 1946 San Diego; decommissioned 15 January 1947; Pacific Reserve Fleet; custody to Maritime Administration 1 August 1961 (NDRF Suisun Bay); permanent custody 1 September 1962; struck from Naval Register 1 September 1962; sold for scrapping 10 December 1973 to Zidell Explorations, Portland, OR, physically delivered 25 January 1974. Specifications tabulation: displacement 4,023 t light / 14,350 t trial; complement 31 officers + 552 enlisted; armament 1x5"/38 DP, 1x3"/50, 2 twin 40mm, 12x20mm; propulsion General Machine Corp. vertical triple-expansion, 2 B&W header-type boilers 220psi 450 deg, 2,500 shp; awards: American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific, WWII Victory, Philippine Liberation medals. Commanding officers: CDR W. E. McClendon (19 May 44-21 Aug 46); LCDR P. G. Hayden USNR (to 18 Dec 46); LT J. C. Hale (to 15 Jan 47).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Limitations
- Private volunteer archive, not a government publication - its dates/specs are transcriptions of official records and are corroborated here by DANFS and the MARAD status cards; its complement tabulation (583) differs from DANFS (647) and is logged as a discrepancy. Supplies the laid-down date and conversion yard that DANFS omits. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-culebra-island-arg7-03
-
[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 hull design of this vessel - built as MC hull 1830 before Navy conversion) 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 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
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Construction trades (Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore, 1943); conversion workers (Maryland Drydock); Navy 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. The ARG conversion replaced the merchant outfit with repair-ship facilities, so the manual describes the retained hull/machinery plant only, not the conversion work. Asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven; does not establish quantity, present-day presence (hull scrapped 1974), individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-culebra-island-arg7-04
-
[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 program under which this EC2-S-C1 hull was mass-produced and converted, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- 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 and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-culebra-island-arg7-05
-
[7]DANFS 'Culebra Island (ARG-7)' entry (type designation '(cl. Luzon)'; repair-duty narrative) + NavSource ARG-7 page (type designation; photographs of LST-66, LST-474, LSM-217 alongside) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry; NavSource ARG-7 photo captions
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- This hull's designated function was repair of internal combustion engines: the Luzon class was the Navy's ARG (internal combustion engine repair ship) type, and DANFS documents this ship repairing and tending small combatants at forward bases (LSTs and LSMs are documented alongside in period photographs). Internal combustion engines and exhaust systems of the era used asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, and lagging; repair and overhaul of such engines is an era-consistent asbestos-handling pathway distinct from the steam-plant insulation inference.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Ship's repair personnel and machinist's mates (inference only)
- Limitations
- Type/function inference only - the cited sources document the repair mission but contain no statement on asbestos content, no shop inventory, and no work records; whether asbestos-containing engine components were actually handled aboard is unproven. Does not establish exposure or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-culebra-island-arg7-06
-
[8]Woodruff v. Zidell Explorations, Inc., WA Ct. App. Div. II No. 56257-0-II (unpublished, filed 2023-01-24) + WA Supreme Court petition file 101864-9; jury verdict per Tacoma News Tribune coverage (2021-08-13) [court_record]
- Locator
- WA Ct. App. Div. II opinion PDF; WA Sup. Ct. petition PDFs (courts.wa.gov/content/petitions/101864-9*); thenewstribune.com/news/local/article253448654.html
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The firm that bought this hull for scrapping - Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland, Oregon (sale 1973-12-10, delivery 1974-01-25 per MARAD status card) - is documented in Washington State litigation as an owner of decommissioned Navy ships dismantled in the early 1970s that contained asbestos insulation. Estate of Dennis G. Woodruff v. Zidell Explorations, Inc. et al.: Pierce County Superior Court jury verdict 2021-08-05 ($11,216,056; judgment ~$9.5M after offsets) finding Zidell Explorations negligent for asbestos exposure during Navy-ship dismantling (Woodruff worked 1970-73 for sister company Zidell Dismantling, Tacoma; one ship he worked on, USS Philippine Sea, was owned by Zidell Explorations). Washington Court of Appeals Division II (unpublished opinion No. 56257-0-II, filed 2023-01-24) held Zidell owed a duty as owner of at least one of the dismantled ships but reversed and remanded for a new trial because the trial court erred in giving a spoliation adverse-inference instruction; petition for review filed at the Washington Supreme Court (No. 101864-9, briefing through mid-2023).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1970-2023 litigation; scrapping event 1974
- Population
- Shipbreaking workers (context: Zidell operations, 1970-74 era)
- Limitations
- Does not name this hull. Litigation stage is less than final: the jury verdict was vacated on appeal and remanded for a new trial on spoliation-instruction grounds - not a merits exoneration - and the appellate opinion is unpublished; the ship-owner duty holding survived as appellate reasoning but the exposure adjudication is not final. WA Supreme Court disposition of petition 101864-9 not confirmed in sources reviewed. Establishes that this hull's scrapping purchaser dismantled asbestos-bearing Navy ships in the same era; does not establish asbestos condition of this hull at scrapping nor any individual exposure aboard it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-culebra-island-arg7-07
-
[9]Batch-2596 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC, MARAD ShipHistory + status cards, NavSource, NVR, CourtListener authenticated API v4 name and hull sweeps, WA courts Zidell file [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-culebra-island-arg7-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, NDRF condition report naming asbestos, or docketed case naming Culebra Island (ARG-7) or its merchant name John F. Goucher was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener sweeps returned only name collisions: 'Culebra Island' opinions (14 hits) and RECAP dockets (14 hits) all concern the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico - Navy bombing-range takings litigation, dive-shop, insurance, and environmental suits; 'ARG-7' opinions (183 hits) are token-fragment noise with no ship-related case; 'John F. Goucher' returned 0 opinions. NVR does not index the hull (disposed pre-1987).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 wartime hull scrapped in 1974 is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and RECAP does not comprehensively index historical federal or state dockets. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-culebra-island-arg7-08
-
[10]NARA record-group structure (RG 24 deck logs; RG 19 Bureau of Ships; RG 178 Maritime Commission) + MARAD status card document references on this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG guides; MARAD status card 'Other Data' field (Navy ltr 4/20/61, Marad reply 4/27/61)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs and muster rolls for ARG-7 (1944-47) could corroborate underway repair operations and crew; RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) and Maryland Drydock Co. conversion records for MCE hull 1830 (the ARG conversion, Nov 1943-May 1944) are the closest plausible source of a hull-specific material/outfitting record; RG 178 Maritime Commission construction records cover the Bethlehem-Fairfield contract; the MARAD reserve-fleet status card references a Navy letter of 1961-04-20 and MARAD reply of 1961-04-27 concerning preservation of this hull at Suisun Bay - the NDRF vessel file may hold condition/preservation detail.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1974 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping and document references 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-culebra-island-arg7-09