Evidence
17 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-17).
-
[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-curts-ffg38-pkt-zbx-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS, 'Curts (FFG-38)' ship-history page (Jeremiah D. Foster, 25 March 2020; published Oct 2021). [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full entry; live URL returned 404 during this batch - verified via Wayback capture 20241130053713
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's ship-specific DANFS history identifies Curts as an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate: laid down 1 July 1981 at San Pedro, California, by Todd Pacific Shipyards Corp.; launched 6 March 1982 (co-sponsored by the namesake's widow and granddaughters); commissioned 8 October 1983 at Long Beach Naval Station, Cmdr. James R. Tinsley commanding. Specification line: 3,800 tons; 453 ft; beam 47 ft; draft 24 ft 5 in; 28 knots; complement 212; one 76-mm gun, six Mk 32 torpedo tubes, one Mk 13 Mod 4 launcher, two SH-60B Seahawks. Service coverage includes SQQ-89 ASW fit, 1987-88 Missouri battle-group deployment, 1988 Yokosuka forward deployment, Desert Storm (Qaruh Island seizure, 51 prisoners, two mines destroyed, Iraqi minelayer sunk; Navy Unit Commendation and Admiral Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy), 547 evacuees in Fiery Vigil, 1994 sanctions boardings, 1998 Naval Reserve Force entry, and 2010 Eagle Salute/Malabar deployment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1981-2013
- Population
- Todd construction trades and commissioning crew
- Limitations
- Official ship-history and specifications source, not an asbestos survey or construction-material specification. It does not identify insulation, gaskets, packing, or any asbestos-containing material aboard Curts. Its '4,100-ton class modification ... extended her stem by eight-feet' (1993) description conflicts with the as-built long-hull configuration and is flagged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-01
-
[3]Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs, 'USS Curts to Decommission after 29 Years of Service,' 24 January 2013. [other_primary]
- Locator
- Full release; live cpf.navy.mil host returned 403 during this batch - verified via Wayback capture 20220927234803
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The U.S. Pacific Fleet announced that Curts would be decommissioned in a 25 January 2013 ceremony at Naval Base San Diego after 29 years of service. The release summarizes Desert Storm operations (Qaruh Island garrison, 51 prisoners, mines destroyed, Iraqi minelayer sunk, support of the Battle of Bubiyan Island), post-1990s Japan/San Diego service, the 2004 seizure of 12 tons of cocaine ('largest maritime cocaine interdiction in history'), and the final deployment ($26 million in cocaine and marijuana seized, 30+ traffickers detained, seven vessels scuttled).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1983-2013
- Population
- Ship's company, 1983-2013
- Limitations
- Announces the end-of-service event and selected operational history; not a material-condition survey, decommissioning work package, or asbestos-remediation record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-02
-
[4]Naval Vessel Register, detail record for USS Curts (FFG-38), nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FFG38.htm. [other_primary]
- Locator
- Status block, milestone dates, characteristics block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Naval Vessel Register record for FFG-38 (capture 1 April 2012, page last updated 5 March 2012) gives: UIC 21105; class FFG 7; Pacific Fleet; status 'Naval Reserve Force, Active' with status-change date 09/30/1998; homeport San Diego; builder 'TODD SHYDS/LA DIV'; planning yard Bath Iron Works; award date 04/27/1979; keel 07/01/1981; launch 03/06/1982; delivery 09/02/1983; commission 10/08/1983; 453 ft overall / 408 ft waterline; beam 47 ft; 3,186 tons light / 4,100 tons full displacement; steel hull, aluminum superstructure; propulsion 'Gas Turbines,' one propeller; accommodations 19 officers / 200 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1979-2012
- Limitations
- Official register data; the capture predates decommissioning (no stricken date shown). Complement/dimension figures differ from NHHC (212) and NavSource (13/206; 45.4-ft beam) - conflicts carried in gaps. No material-content fields exist in the NVR record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-03
-
[5]Commander, Task Force 70 release, 'U.S. Joint Forces Sink Ex-USS Curts during Live-Fire Exercise Valiant Shield 2020,' 19 September 2020 (DVIDS story 379833; navy.mil article 2354079). [other_primary]
- Locator
- Opening paragraphs and exercise description; Navy photo captions hosted via NavSource index
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Joint forces expended ex-USS Curts (FFG-38) as a target on 19 September 2020 during Valiant Shield 2020: air-launched ordnance from CVW-5 aircraft embarked on USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), surface-launched missiles from cruisers USS Antietam (CG-54) and USS Shiloh (CG-67), a subsurface-launched missile from USS Chicago (SSN-721), and supporting Navy/Air Force aircraft. Official Navy photo captions (series 200919-N-VF045, 200919-N-ZZ999) document Antietam Harpoon launches, 5-inch hits on the hulk, and USS Chicago conducting the battle-damage assessment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2020
- Population
- Exercise participants; former vessel
- Limitations
- Confirms the final disposition event and ordnance sequence, not environmental preparation or material content. The release does not state whether asbestos was present, removed, sampled, or left aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-04
-
[6]1st Lt. Amber R. Kelly-Herard, USAF, 'Valiant Shield 2020: Joint force training to protect the Indo-Pacific' (af.mil article 2364515; identical text at army.mil article 239453), 28 September 2020. [other_primary]
- Locator
- 'Sinking success' section, environmental-preparation paragraphs
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The official Air Force account of the SINKEX records the required hulk preparation: a pre-exercise survey verified no humans or marine mammals in the area; the vessel was 'thoroughly cleaned of polychlorinated biphenyls, transformers, and large capacitors; all small capacitors to the greatest extent practical; trash; floatable materials; mercury or fluorocarbon-containing materials, and readily detachable solid PCB items,' with petroleum cleaned from tanks, piping, and reservoirs; the work was 'inspected and certified in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency requirements'; and the ship sank at least 50 nautical miles from land in at least 6,000 feet of water.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2020
- Population
- Former vessel; preparation personnel
- Limitations
- This is the only official record located describing material removal from this specific hull before sinking, and it does not name asbestos in any form. Absence from the list is not proof asbestos was absent - it means no official account of Curts's SINKEX preparation mentions it. Live af.mil URL returned 403 during this batch; identical text verified live at army.mil.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-05
-
[7]40 C.F.R. 229.2 (Transportation and disposal of vessels / general permit); EPA 'Ocean Disposal of Vessels at Sea' program materials; EPA-Navy Determination and Agreement (January 2014). [federal_register]
- Locator
- Permit conditions and EPA program page
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Navy SINKEX events are conducted under the EPA ocean-dumping general permit at 40 C.F.R. 229.2 (as applied through EPA-Navy determinations, including the January 2014 Determination and Agreement on PCB-containing ship materials), which conditions each sinking on distance/depth minima and removal 'to the maximum extent practicable' of materials that may degrade the marine environment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2020
- Limitations
- Regulatory framework only - it establishes what the 2020 preparation was required to cover, not what was actually found or removed aboard Curts. The permit regime addresses pollutants/debris generally; it is not a per-hull materials inventory.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-06
-
[8]U.S. General Accounting Office, HRD-80-2, 'The Navy Has Not Adequately Provided for the Safety of Workers Against Asbestos' (October 1979); Enclosure I (CNO letter, 5 Jan 1979) and Attachment #1 (guided-missile frigate table). [gao]
- Locator
- Enclosure I letter text and Attachment #1 FFG block; PDF verified via Wayback capture of gao.gov asset
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 5 January 1979 CNO letter (Ser 4542/318054), reproduced as Enclosure I of GAO HRD-80-2, states that each Navy ship then in service carried several types of asbestos-containing material, with thermal insulation the major application; that Navy specifications had called for asbestos-free insulation materials by late 1973 under NAVSEAINST 5100.2 (24 October 1975); and that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos' in residual applications lacking acceptable substitutes - electrical resistors, deck/floor tiling, galley-range cabling, piping gaskets and packing, and equipment brakes and clutches - concluding it was 'nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral.' The report's Attachment #1 lists guided-missile frigates FFG-7 through FFG-22/23 (construction starts 1974-1978) with 'asbestos-free thermal insulation' status by hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1973-1979 policy record; 1981-1983 Curts construction period
- Population
- FFG-7-class construction trades and crews, 1974-1981
- Limitations
- Curts (FFG-38, awarded 27 April 1979, laid down 1 July 1981, delivered 1983) is NOT individually listed - the attachment's coverage stops at hulls ordered/under construction by mid-1978 (through FFG-22/23). She was built inside the same FFG-7 program after NAVSEAINST 5100.2 took force, which bounds but does not settle her installed materials. This row cannot establish what was aboard Curts, or anyone's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-07
-
[9]Matanoski GM, Whitman NE, 'Walk-through survey report, Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California,' NIOSH/HEW IWS 74-49, 30 August 1979 (CDC Stacks document 178924). [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and report text (site description, workforce, coatings, contract paragraphs)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- A NIOSH walk-through survey (31 January 1979) documents Curts's exact builder yard - Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California - reporting roughly 2,700 production and 300 office workers, that new construction (a recently awarded federal contract for guided-missile frigates) represented about 75 percent of the yard's effort, that the first frigate was expected to launch in September 1979, and that the yard employed 72 painters across epoxy, conventional, zinc, and antifouling coating work under an extensive respirator program.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Todd San Pedro production workers, 1979
- Limitations
- Yard-level painting-trades survey, not an asbestos survey and not a hull-specific record: it places Curts's construction at this yard in this era but documents no asbestos content, no asbestos work practice, and no exposure aboard any hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-08
-
[10]U.S. Coast Guard, 'U.S. Coast Guard Missions: A Historical Timeline' (media.defense.gov PDF, June 2021), entry for 17 September 2004; corroborated by DoD/AFPS release of 27 September 2004 (14.52 tons; ten crew detained). [other_primary]
- Locator
- Timeline entry for 17 September 2004
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The U.S. Coast Guard official missions timeline records that on 17 September 2004, 'LEDET 108, embarked aboard the USS Curts,' made the largest cocaine seizure in Coast Guard history to that date - 30,000 pounds aboard the fishing vessel Lina Maria about 300 miles southwest of the Galapagos Islands (a companion team seized 26,250 pounds from sister ship San Jose).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2004
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked LEDET 108
- Limitations
- Counter-narcotics service history only; no bearing on shipboard materials. Seizure tonnage differs across official accounts (30,000 lb in the USCG timeline; 14.52 t in the AFPS release; 33,000 lb in a 2005 congressional hearing) - variance noted, not resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-09
-
[11]navy.mil Flag Officer Biography, Vice Adm. Yvette M. Davids (last updated 11 January 2024). [other_primary]
- Locator
- Sea assignments paragraph and decorations/awards paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's official flag biography for Vice Adm. Yvette M. Davids records that she 'commanded USS Curts (FFG 38) deploying to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom,' and that she is 'the 2008 recipient of the MANA National Latina Organization's "Las Primeras" award as the first Hispanic female to command a warship in the U.S. Navy.' NHHC's Curts commanding-officer list dates her command 27 April 2007 to 27 November 2008 (spelled 'Davis' in that table).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2007-2008
- Population
- Ship's company, 2007-2008
- Limitations
- Personnel-milestone record, not materials documentation. Live navy.mil returned 403 during this batch; verified via Wayback capture 20241225144453. NHHC CO table misspells her surname 'Davis' - flagged, not propagated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-10
-
[12]NavSource Naval History, 'USS Curts (FFG 38)' - Frigate Photo Index page 07/0738 (secondary compilation hosting official DVIC/DVIDS/Navy photo captions). [other_primary]
- Locator
- 'Building and Operational Data' block, commanding-officer roster, and photo-caption entries
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's compiled Curts page (index 07/0738) supplies operational detail beyond NHHC: commissioning assignment to Destroyer Squadron 9 (Long Beach), reassignment to DesRon 31 (October 1985), forward deployment to Yokosuka as a DesRon 15 unit relieving USS Knox (FF-1052) dated 18 June 1988, grounding while entering port at Lumut, Malaysia on 21 March 1992, homeport shift to San Diego/DesRon 23 on 11 July 1997 (relieved in Japan by USS John S. McCain DDG-56), Naval Reserve Force assignment under DesRon 1 (October 1998), a July 2003 buoy strike off Indonesia with Cmdr. Bryan T. Caraveo relieved for cause, the 4 December 2012 return from the final Operation Martillo deployment, decommissioning-ceremony and NISMF Pearl Harbor arrival (3 April 2013, towed by USNS Navajo T-ATF-169) details, plus class data (SCB No. 261/1979-1984 long-hull block of 26 hulls), machinery description, and photo-caption documentation of the 9 September 1984 inclining test at the builder yard, 1987 Persian Gulf escort duty, 1991 Gulf War actions, the 2011 double dry-docking with USS Vandegrift at NASSCO, and 2013-2016 Middle Loch lay-up.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1979-2020
- Population
- Ship's company, 1983-2013
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary source - used for service detail beyond NHHC/NVR. Dates corroborated where overlapping (commissioning, Yokosuka departure, decommissioning); stand-alone items (Lumut grounding date, CO reliefs for cause, DesRon-1 NRF assignment, NISMF arrival date, award list) rest on the compilation alone. Specifications conflict with NHHC/NVR (complement 13/206, beam 45.4 ft, displacement 3,174/4,082 t) - carried in gaps. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-11
-
[13]Associated Press wire coverage (1998); DefenseNews (112th Congress transfer proposal); Navy News via military.com (January 2013 decommissioning; December 2012 Martillo return). [reputable_press]
- Locator
- As described; item-level verification of wire republications not re-performed in this batch
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous secondary press items used for detail beyond official releases: Associated Press coverage of the 1998 Salinas, Ecuador shore incident (death of a hotel security guard after a scuffle with embarked HSL-43 personnel; courts-martial followed); DefenseNews reporting on the unexecuted 112th-Congress grant-transfer proposal of Curts and McClusky to Mexico; Navy News service coverage of the 2013 decommissioning (republished by military.com) and of the final Martillo deployment.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1998-2013
- Limitations
- Secondary press accounts - carried for narrative completeness and flagged in prose; none bear on shipboard materials. The Mexico transfer was proposed, not executed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-12
-
[14]Sydney Morning Herald, 'Scuttled ship would wreck bay: residents,' 6 March 2010 (removal of 'lead, copper and asbestos from its interior'); No Ship Action Group Inc v Minister for Sustainability [2010] AATA 702 (15 September 2010). [reputable_press]
- Locator
- SMH report text; AATA 702 decision summary and conditions
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- A same-design sister hull documents the class's residual asbestos at end of life: ex-HMAS Adelaide (built by Todd Pacific Shipyards as FFG-17 for the RAN) had asbestos, lead, and copper removed from her interior during the 2009-2011 artificial-reef preparation, with the scuttling permit contested before Australia's Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which imposed additional cleanup conditions in its 15 September 2010 decision.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2009-2011
- Limitations
- Different hull (Adelaide, ex-FFG-17, Todd Seattle), different navy, disposal pathway (reef, not SINKEX). Sister-hull evidence bounds the class's plausible residual materials but is not evidence of material aboard Curts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-13
-
[15]CourtListener API v4 authenticated helper (/Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py via cl-patient-search.py), queries of 29 September 2026; docket URLs /docket/4319866/, /docket/5987504/, /docket/16753994/. [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-curts-ffg38-10 through sl-uss-curts-ffg38-15
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated API v4 sweep (helper-enforced fleet pacing) of opinions and dockets, exact vessel name and hull number with spacing variants. Opinions: '"USS Curts"' 0 results; '"FFG-38"' 0 results; '"FFG 38"' 0 results. Dockets: '"USS Curts"' 3 results; '"FFG-38"' 2 results; '"FFG 38"' 2 results (strict subsets). All hits classified non-qualifying: (1) United States v. Beltran-Leyva, 1:09-cr-00466 (E.D.N.Y.) - criminal narcotics prosecution (El Chapo Guzman trial transcript, Doc 625, names the ship in seizure-related testimony); other litigation, no asbestos. (2) Tobar v. United States, 3:07-cv-00817 (S.D. Cal.) - Ecuadorian fishermen's Suits-in-Admiralty/Public Vessels Act tort claim arising from the 4 October 2005 interdiction of F/V Jostin and F/V Jose Antonio by USS McClusky (FFG-41) with an embarked LEDET (see Tobar, 639 F.3d 1191 (9th Cir. 2011)); 'USS Curts'/'FFG-38' appear incidentally in docketed documents - near-name/reference collision, other litigation, no asbestos. (3) State of Washington v. U.S. Department of State, 2:20-cv-00111 (W.D. Wash.) - APA challenge; name/hull appear inside a 670-page Department of State administrative record (congressional correspondence, Doc 107-3) - incidental mention, not litigation concerning the vessel. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener's opinion and RECAP-docket index only; state-court, sealed, settled, or unindexed litigation is outside its coverage. Docket hits were classified by case metadata and matched-document identity; page-level extraction of the matching OCR passages inside the three multi-hundred-page documents was not re-performed - the specific matching documents are identified above as follow-up leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-14
-
[16]Batch-4636 completed-source search ledger: NHHC DANFS (Wayback); NVR (Wayback); U.S. Pacific Fleet releases (Wayback/DVIDS); af.mil/army.mil SINKEX account; GAO HRD-80-2; CDC/NIOSH IWS 74-49; USCG historical timeline; navy.mil flag biography (Wayback); CourtListener sweep; NavSource and press compilations. [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-curts-ffg38-01 through sl-uss-curts-ffg38-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos documentation was located in the completed public-source review: no Curts ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, construction-material specification, SINKEX environmental assessment naming asbestos, or material-condition report was identified. Ship-specific asbestos documentation remains unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1981-2026
- Limitations
- An absence of located public documentation does not prove that asbestos was absent aboard Curts. The class/era GAO evidence is not a hull-specific substitute; sister-hull and builder-yard records bound but do not settle the question.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curts-ffg38-15
-
[17]National Archives, 'Navy Deck Logs' research guidance; cited as an archival-access lead. [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Navy Deck Logs research page; RG 19/RG 24 and NAVSEA construction/inactivation/SINKEX-preparation records require further catalog and archival inquiry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Navy-logbook research guidance identifies deck logs as a Navy-record research pathway. Unpulled hull-specific leads include NAVSEA/Bureau of Ships construction specifications, the ship's General Information Book/Booklet of General Plans, inactivation and decommissioning work packages, and the SINKEX-preparation/certification file underlying the 2020 EPA-compliant cleaning - any of which may contain material-condition documentation.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1981-2020
- Limitations
- Unpulled leads, not findings about Curts. Deck logs 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-curts-ffg38-16