Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet mp-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Elk (IX-115), ex-SS William Winter. — https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/IX/ix115.html (DANFS transcription MIRROR — flagged)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-elk-ix115-pkt-mp-packet-md
-
[2]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; plant identity for this hull per NAVSHIPS 250-012 p.460 and MARAD status card (Detail 5353)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The Z-ET1-S-C3 Liberty tanker carried the standardized Maritime Commission emergency steam plant family - a 2,500-ihp vertical triple-expansion engine with two oil-fired water-tube boilers (ship-specifically confirmed for this hull by BuShips Ships' Data 1945: 2 B&W boilers, 220 psi, 450 F). The USMC operating manual for the sister EC2-S-C1 cargo type 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
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- Construction trades (California Shipbuilding, Wilmington, 1943); Navy engine-room crew (1943-46); merchant engine crews (1948-49, 1951-60); scrapping trades (Oakland, 1962)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual names the EC2-S-C1 cargo type, not the Z-ET1-S-C3 tanker variant or this vessel, and does not itself state 'asbestos' content (magnesia lagging of the era was typically asbestos-fiber-reinforced, but the manual text is silent on fiber). Shared-plant inference is reasonable because the Liberty tanker retained the standard cargo-type machinery, but asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-01
-
[3]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 construction program under which this Z-ET1-S-C3 Liberty tanker was built (California Shipbuilding, 1943) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- 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 Z-ET1-S-C3 type and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-02
-
[4]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Elk II (IX-115)' - hazegray verbatim transcription (live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-09-29) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray DANFS IX-115 entry (transcribed by Y. Hubert); NavSource strike date 1946-06-05 consistent
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (hazegray transcription): second Elk (IX-115), a tanker, launched 1943-11-06 by California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, Calif., as William Winter for the Maritime Commission (sponsor Mrs. H. H. Hall); delivered direct to the Navy and commissioned 1943-11-26, Lt. W. T. Stannard USNR. Service: sailed San Pedro 1944-01-12; station tanker Kwajalein 1944-02-19 to 04-19; Majuro to June; petroleum products Majuro-Kwajalein-Eniwetok for Marianas; from 1944-06-26 Majuro fueling Security Patrol destroyers off Wotje, Mili, Jaluit; Tarawa fueling Sep 1944; Ulithi 1944-10-15 fueling 3d/5th Fleets; Okinawa Apr 1945 fueling radar-picket destroyers; Leyte at war's end; Sasebo occupation Sep 1945; decommissioned Norfolk 1946-05-17; reverted to Maritime Commission 1946-05-20; one battle star. Spec block: dp 14,500 (f.); l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 28'4"; s. 10 k.; cpl. 103; a. 1x5", 1x3"; cl. Armadillo.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Navy crew, complement 103 (spec block)
- Limitations
- Transcription mirror of a government publication, not the live NHHC page (NHHC link rot is a standing batch finding). Spec-block values verified against BuShips Ships' Data 1945 (ev-04): the alternate ibiblio/HyperWar transcription contains a corrupted spec block (IX-116, 14,600 t, 66'11", 1x6") - see correction row ev-06. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-03
-
[5]U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945, Volume III (NAVSHIPS 250-012), digitized scan at shipscribe.com/pubs/SDB1945v3.pdf [other_primary]
- Locator
- Vol. III pp. 459-460, IX-section rows 50-51 (EL CANO / ELK); Elk is entry 51
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- BuShips Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945, vol. III (NAVSHIPS 250-012), Miscellaneous - Unclassified (IX) section, pp. 459-460: ELK, IX-115 (ex-William Winter, ex-M.C.E. Hull 1904), type Tanker; 441'6" overall, 416'0" waterline, extreme beam 56'11"; limiting displacement 14,500 tons; limiting draft 28'4"; 49 tons per inch immersion; enlisted accommodations 94; 1 propeller; engine 'Vert., 3-exp' (vertical triple-expansion); 2,500 shaft horsepower; boilers: 2, B. & W. (Babcock & Wilcox), 220 psi, 450 F.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Navy crew (94 enlisted accommodations listed; DANFS complement 103 total)
- Limitations
- Authoritative wartime Navy tabulation naming this hull; confirms tanker type, dimensions, and machinery plant ship-specifically. The tabulation documents machinery type only - it contains no insulation-material or asbestos statement and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-04
-
[6]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - WILLIAM WINTER, Ship History Detail 5353, incl. digitized Reserve Fleet Division vessel-data status cards (5353_9861AF/BF/BB) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 5353 milestone table + status-card scans /cards/5353_9861BF.jpg (1946-48 card: Elk (IX-115) former-name annotation, WSA, J.R. fleet), /cards/5353_9861AF.jpg (reentry/sale card: 'Buyer defaulted', 'Sold', Colonial SS Corp., Wood Towing Co.), /cards/5353_9861BB.jpg (tonnage/machinery block)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record WILLIAM WINTER (Detail 5353) plus digitized Reserve Fleet status cards: U.S. Official No. 244683; MCE hull 1904; type Z-ET1 / Z-ET1-S-C3 (card) - the database type field reads General Cargo / EC2-S-C1 (see correction row ev-06); built 1943 by California Shipbuilding ('Calship'); WSA ownership; former name 'Elk (IX-115)'; 10,558 DWT, 7,243 GRT, 4,384 net, 14,230 displacement, length 422.8, breadth 57, depth 34.8, draft 27'8-7/8"; 2500 IHP, 2 WTB (water-tube boilers). Custody milestones: entered James River fleet 1946-05-20; withdrawn 1948-02-02 delivered to Maris Transportation System, Inc. (prelim alloc 546, final alloc 532); 'Buyer defaulted - Reentered JR 9-1-49'; withdrawn 1951-01-24 delivered to Wood Towing Co. for purchaser, ship's papers custodian Colonial SS Corp., sold CASH 'as is' (final alloc no. 720); database fate 'Sold - No Further Info.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946-1951
- Population
- Reserve-fleet caretakers and merchant crews (1946-51 custody periods)
- Limitations
- Authoritative government custody record; status-card handwriting partially legible (read visually; ambiguous words flagged). Database type fields (General Cargo / Break Bulk / EC2-S-C1) are inconsistent with the card's 'Z-ET1(-S-C3)' and all Navy sources - see correction row ev-06. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-05
-
[7]MARAD ShipHistory Detail 5353 (database type fields vs. status card); HyperWar transcription https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/IX/ix115.html vs. hazegray https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/ix/ix115.htm; NAVSHIPS 250-012 p.459 [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status card /cards/5353_9861AF.jpg box 2 'TYPE Z-ET1-S-C3'; SDB1945v3.pdf p.459 ('Tanker', 441'6"/416'0"/56'11")
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source defects identified and resolved: (a) MARAD ShipHistory's database type fields list WILLIAM WINTER as 'General Cargo / Break Bulk / EC2-S-C1,' contradicting its own digitized status card ('TYPE: Z-ET1 / Z-ET1-S-C3'), DANFS ('a tanker'), BuShips Ships' Data 1945 ('Tanker'), and the IX class record - the status card and Navy sources control; this vessel is the Z-ET1-S-C3 Liberty tanker, not an EC2-S-C1 cargo ship. (b) The ibiblio/HyperWar transcription of the DANFS entry carries a corrupted spec block (IX-116, dp 14,600, b. 66'11", a. 1x6") and an 'IX-116' in-line hull number; the hazegray transcription (IX-115, dp 14,500, b. 56'11", a. 1x5") is internally consistent and matches Ships' Data 1945 and MARAD dimensions - hazegray + SDB values adopted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1962
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies in secondary/database framings; does not affect identity or custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-06
-
[8]mariners-l.co.uk Liberty-ship register (LibShipsW-Z, William Winter entry) + Auke Visser's T2-Tanker register pages (William Winter, id1222); consistent with NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum merchant-service tabulation [other_primary]
- Locator
- LibShipsW-Z 'William Winter' row; aukevisser.nl/t2tanker/t-tankers-2/id1222.htm; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/ELK_IX_115
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-sale merchant career (mutually consistent private register compilations): sold 1951-01-24 to Orion Shipping & Trading Corp., agents for Colonial Steamship Corp., renamed Seapearl (U.S. flag); sold November 1952 to Montepardo Compania Armadora S.A. (Panamanian flag), renamed Korthi 1953; converted to a dry cargo ship by James Lamont & Co., Greenock, 1954 (register entries give 7,206-7,252 gt); lengthened/rebuilt to an 8,390-gt ore carrier at Sasebo, Japan, 1956; renamed Andros County 1957; renamed Kalamas 1960 (Oceanic Development Corp., Piraeus, Greek flag); stranded off Cape Arago, Oregon, 1960-09-03 (voyage Chemainus-Australia, lumber), refloated 1960-10-12, towed to Coos Bay and discharged, declared constructive total loss; sold 1961 to Terrylin Shipping Corp., Oakland, not repaired; broken up at Oakland, Calif., summer 1962 by Learner Co.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1951-1962
- Population
- Merchant crews (1951-60, multiple flags); Greenock and Sasebo conversion-yard trades (1954, 1956); Oakland scrapping trades (1962)
- Limitations
- Private merchant-register compilations, not government records; the chain is mutually consistent across independent registers and consistent with the MARAD card's 1951 sale/disposal, but individual post-1951 events are not independently corroborated by primary records here. The 1954 Greenock conversion and 1956 Sasebo lengthening are documented as events - whether they disturbed original-era insulation, and under what materials practices, is unverified inference not claimed by this row. No asbestos information in any source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 search (types o and r), authenticated queries 2026-09-29; collision opinions /opinion/4298642/, /opinion/10825990/, /opinion/551821/, /opinion/751362/; collision dockets incl. /docket/71261293/ (AFFF MDL-2873) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-elk-ix115-08 through sl-uss-elk-ix115-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener v4 sweep (authenticated, 2026-09-29). Opinion index: 'USS Elk' - 0; 'Elk IX-115' - 0; 'Elk' + 'IX-115' + asbestos - 0; 'William Winter' + asbestos - 0; 'IX-115' - 4 results, all name collisions after caption/snippet review: Linda Woodman v. State (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.], 2015, criminal appeal), Bryan Dorsey v. Robert T. Jones (Del. Ch. 2026, derivative suit re Roots Foods Holdings), Voest-Alpine Trading USA Corp. v. Vantage Steel Corp. (3d Cir. 1990, 919 F.2d 206, steel-contract dispute), William C. Lewis v. ACB Business Services (6th Cir. 1998, 135 F.3d 389, employment/ADR). RECAP docket index (type=r): 'IX-115' - 63 dockets, all name collisions; sampled hits include AFFF/PFAS MDL-2873 short-form complaints (e.g., Amarant v. 3M Co., D.S.C. 2:25-cv-11997 - firefighting-foam litigation, not asbestos), U.S. v. Bank of Cyprus, Chinese-Drywall MDL docket, bankruptcy and civil-rights dockets - 'IX-115' matches incidental internal strings (exhibit/document identifiers), none names this hull. Qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull: NONE LOCATED.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Opinion and RECAP-docket index sweeps; docket coverage is incomplete for pre-2000 merchant-marine and foreign-flag litigation, and suits that name operators rather than hulls escape name search. Two planned merchant-name opinion queries ('William Winter' + vessel/ship) remained blocked at session close by the fleet-wide pacing budget - logged as blocked in the ledger, not as 'no result.' Absence of a located opinion is not proof no claim was ever filed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-08
-
[10]Batch-4684 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcriptions; NAVSHIPS 250-012; MARAD Detail 5353 + status cards; usmm.org CalShip list; merchant register compilations; CourtListener sweeps; NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-elk-ix115-01 through sl-uss-elk-ix115-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, condition survey, or docketed case naming Elk / IX-115 / William Winter / Seapearl / Korthi / Andros County / Kalamas was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The authoritative records located - DANFS, BuShips Ships' Data 1945, MARAD ShipHistory + status cards - contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 emergency-program steam tanker is era-consistent with asbestos-containing construction, and the hull saw two documented overseas rebuilds (1954 Greenock, 1956 Sasebo) plus 1962 scrapping whose materials practices are undocumented here. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-09
-
[11]In re Joint Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation (Robinson v. United States), 891 F.2d 31 (2d Cir. 1989) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 891 F.2d 31 (No. 1547, docket 89-6109)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Second Circuit ruling addressing mesothelioma claims by a mariner aboard War Shipping Administration vessels; the court considered jurisdiction over a personal-injury claim against the United States for asbestos exposure aboard the WWII government merchant fleet and held the claims barred on discretionary-function grounds. Relevance here is limited to this hull's post-Navy custody: William Winter was WSA/Maritime Commission property in the James River fleet 1946-48 and 1949-51 and operated commercially under Maris Transportation System (1948-49) and Colonial Steamship/Orion Shipping & Trading (1951-52) before foreign flagging; her commissioned Navy service (1943-46) is a different exposure posture (feres/service-member context), not a WSA-mariner claim.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1989 (opinion); 1946-52 custody period relevant here
- Population
- WWII merchant mariners and government-fleet crews (context)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level jurisdictional ruling; does not name this hull, does not find asbestos conditions aboard any specific vessel, and establishes only the litigation posture for WWII-era government-fleet claims. Applies at most to the hull's 1946-52 government-custody/U.S.-flag merchant periods; her wartime service was commissioned Navy service, and her 1952-62 foreign-flag career falls outside the WSA frame entirely.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-10
-
[12]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 178 (US Maritime Commission), RG 248 (War Shipping Administration), RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel deck logs), and NARA merchant-vessel logbook guidance (RG 26 regional distribution) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html and /248.html; archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/merchant-vessels-pl.html; catalog.archives.gov search (no digitized IX-115 deck log located)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction orders; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs for USS Elk (IX-115), Nov 1943-May 1946 (College Park; NARA online catalog returned no digitized log for this hull on 2026-09-29); RG 178 U.S. Maritime Commission Construction Division / regional construction-director files may hold MCE hull 1904 contract and outfitting specifications for California Shipbuilding; RG 248 War Shipping Administration vessel files for the 1946-51 custody/charter periods; RG 26 merchant-vessel logbooks (post-1946 William Winter and 1951-52 U.S.-flag Seapearl periods), distributed to regional NARA facilities by port of submission.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1952 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for MCE hull 1904 or IX-115 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elk-ix115-11