Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet me-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Ford | Hull: FFG-54 | Designation: guided-missile frigate
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ford-ffg54-pkt-me-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Ford (FFG-54) (NHHC, Mark L. Evans, last reviewed 11/18/13; live NHHC page serves 404 - Wayback capture 2022-11-03 cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Ford (FFG-54)', namesake biography + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Gunner's Mate Patrick Osborne Ford (born San Francisco 2 May 1942; killed 21 June 1968 as aft machine-gunner aboard PBR-750 on the upper My Tho River near Cai Be, TF-116 River Squadron 5; posthumous Navy Cross). Ship laid down 16 July 1983 at San Pedro, Calif., by Todd Shipyards Corp., Los Angeles Division; launched 23 June 1984, sponsored by Mrs. Jonda R. MacFarlane; commissioned 29 June 1985, Cmdr. Joseph F. Eckler in command. First deployment WestPac/Middle East Force 17 Aug 1987-17 Feb 1988 including Operation Earnest Will (reflagging 11 Kuwaiti tankers). WestPac/Persian Gulf/Indian Ocean deployment 13 Nov 1990-13 May 1991 including Desert Shield/Desert Storm 28 Jan-18 Mar 1991: plane guard and shotgun duties for carriers Midway (CV-41), Ranger (CV-61), Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) during 34 continuous days of flight operations; interdicted more than 90 merchant ships. Inactivated 19 August 2013; decommissioned 31 October 2013.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1983-2013
- Population
- Todd Shipyards LA Division construction trades 1983-85; ship's crew 1985-2013
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, build record, and service history, not materials or asbestos content. Entry states 'Detailed history under construction' and was last reviewed 11/18/13 - predates the 2019 sinking. Live NHHC URL returns 404; verbatim text captured via Wayback Machine.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ford-ffg54-01
-
[3]Naval Vessel Register, FFG-54 detail page (nvr.navy.mil; Wayback capture 2015-12-14) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship detail page FFG54.htm (status block + construction dates block)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR record for this hull (UIC 21235, class FFG 7): award date 05/22/1981; builder TODD SHYDS/LA DIV; keel date 07/16/1983; launch 06/23/1984; delivery 05/31/1985; commission 06/29/1985; inactivation 08/19/2013; decommission 10/31/2013; stricken 10/31/2013; status 'Stricken, to be disposed of'; berth NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office, Bremerton, WA.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1981-2015 (record currency)
- Population
- Ship's crew; NAVSEA inactive-ships maintenance personnel at Bremerton
- Limitations
- Official register data - dates and custody only; no materials, hazmat, or asbestos content. NVR keel date 07/16/1983 agrees with DANFS and conflicts with the 07/11/1983 figure in secondary sources (Navsource, Wikipedia) - carried in gaps. Current NVR site no longer hosts a live FFG-54 page; Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ford-ffg54-02
-
[4]USS Ford (FFG-54) Command History for 1996, CO-to-Director of Naval History submission per OPNAVINST 5750.123 (NHHC archives; live NHHC URL 404 - Wayback capture 2025-12-14 cited) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Command History for 1996, Enclosures (1)-(3): Command Composition and Organization, Chronology, Narrative
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous command history for this hull: Ford is 'the forty-eighth of the fifty-one ship Oliver Hazard Perry Class Guided Missile Frigates'; propulsion is 'a computer controlled LM 2500 gas turbine power plant'; crew consists of 17 officers, 15 chief petty officers and 177 junior enlisted, plus a dual-aircraft LAMPS III detachment adding 6 officers, 1 CPO and 14 enlisted. 1996 deployment with Nimitz battle group as primary Maritime Intercept Operations platform in the North Arabian Gulf (31 ships intercepted, 16 boarded, 8 diverted); Taiwan-area presence during the March 1996 cross-strait crisis; homeport Naval Station Everett, WA.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1996
- Population
- Ship's crew ~209 (17 officers + 15 CPO + 177 enlisted) plus ~21-person embarked LAMPS detachment, 1996
- Limitations
- Primary crew-figure source for this record (supersedes Navsource's 13/206 design figure - variant carried in gaps). Documents ship organization and operations, not materials or asbestos. Gas-turbine plant confirms absence of a boiler/steam-lagging pathway but does not itself document presence or absence of asbestos materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ford-ffg54-03
-
[5]Navy-produced story republished by Military.com, 'USS Ford Sailors Finish Ship Decommissioning Preps' (NAVSTA Everett dateline, Oct 24, 2013) + Everett Herald (HeraldNet), 'Final salute to USS Ford at Naval Station Everett' (Oct 31, 2013) and 'Everett-based USS Ford's service will soon end' (Oct 22, 2013) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Military.com republication body (NAVSEA ISMO acceptance, commissioning line); HeraldNet Oct 31 2013 story (ceremony, basing duration, crew reassignment); HeraldNet Oct 22 2013 story (crew figure 131, CARAT 2011)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Decommissioning/disposition record for this hull: Navy-produced story records 'Ford was commissioned June 29, 1985, in Long Beach, Calif.' and names Naval Station Everett 'her homeport'; the ship reached final acceptance to NAVSEA's Inactive Ships Management Office on 22 Oct 2013 after ~2.5 months of gear removal, long-term layup securing, and preparation for tow to the Bremerton Inactive Ship Facility; decommissioning ceremony 31 Oct 2013 at NAVSTA Everett with ~320 attendees (14 plank-owners, 7 former COs, 13 members of the namesake's family; final CO Cmdr. Joseph Shuler). Everett Herald adds: one of three frigates based at NAVSTA Everett, 'based in Everett for nearly 20 years,' ~130 crew at decommissioning reassigned to other duty stations, last deployment 2011 WestPac CARAT; U.S. Pacific Fleet announced transfer to inactive reserves 6 Nov 2013.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1985-2013; inactivation sequence Aug-Nov 2013
- Population
- Ship's crew (~130 at decommissioning); NAVSEA ISMO layup workers
- Limitations
- Covers basing and end-of-service disposition only; no materials or asbestos content. The precise 3 Sep 1994 homeport-change date comes from Navsource (secondary archive) - official/press sources verify only 'nearly 20 years' at Everett (~1994). End-strength ~130-131 (HeraldNet stories) reflects skeleton crew at decommissioning, not design complement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ford-ffg54-04
-
[6]Navy News Service via DVIDS, 'U.S., Republic of Singapore Navies Launch Historic SINKEX for Pacific Griffin 2019' (Cmdr. Logistics Group Western Pacific, story 345165, posted 2019-10-02); corroborating detail from Navy Times, 'LCS fires ship-killing missile during ex-frigate Ford's SINKEX' (Oct 2, 2019) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DVIDS story 345165 body text (SINKEX description; hulk-preparation paragraphs); Navy Times article body (Bremerton stripping; Sioux/Grasp tow; HSC-25 and Key West details)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Official Navy account of this hull's disposal: ex-Ford sunk 1 October 2019 ~170 nautical miles off Guam in at least 1,000 fathoms during Pacific Griffin 2019 - Naval Strike Missile from USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10), Harpoons from RSS Formidable and RSS Intrepid, VP-1/VP-5/VP-47 maritime patrol aircraft, USAF 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron B-52s, HSC-25 MH-60S Hellfire fire, and a submarine (reported as USS Key West; Navy did not disclose which munition sank the hulk). Per NNS, prior to transport each SINKEX hulk undergoes 'a rigorous cleaning process, including the removal of all polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 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. Petroleum is also cleaned from tanks, piping and reservoirs'; remediation is inspected and certified in writing by a Navy environmental, safety and health manager and QA supervisor per EPA requirements. Navy Times corroborates: stripped at Bremerton of PCBs, transformers/capacitors, trash, mercury and petroleum, leaving 'nothing more than a shell' for NAVSEA certification; towed by MSC tug Sioux and transferred at sea to salvage ship Grasp off Hawaii 9 Sept 2019 (tow could not enter Hawaii for environmental reasons).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2019
- Population
- NAVSEA/MSC personnel preparing and towing the hulk 2013-2019
- Limitations
- Documents hazmat stripping of this hull before sinking - but the documented removal list covers PCBs, mercury, petroleum and floatables; asbestos does not appear in the documented preparation scope and the MPRSA permit regime does not regulate it (see ev-06). This record establishes what was removed, not what the hull contained; it does not document or rule out asbestos aboard. Navy's signed PCB survey/certification for this hull is not public.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ford-ffg54-05
-
[7]U.S. EPA - Department of the Navy, 'SINKEX 2014 Determination and Agreement' under the MPRSA general permit 'Transport of Target Vessels,' 40 C.F.R. 229.2 (epa.gov PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA 2014 SINKEX Determination and Agreement, sections on vessel preparation/PCB removal + Attachment 1
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The EPA-Navy agreement governing SINKEX vessel preparation (the program under which ex-Ford was sunk): requires a PCB survey and sampling of each SINKEX vessel, removal to the maximum extent practicable of materials that may degrade the marine environment, all transformers containing >=3 lb liquid PCBs, and readily detachable solid PCB items; caps residual PCBs at a 100-lb worst-case estimate; petroleum cleaned from tanks, piping and reservoirs. Attachment 1 lists potential PCB-containing shipboard materials (insulation, wires, felts, rubber gaskets).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2014 (agreement); applied to Ford sinking 2019
- Population
- SINKEX hulk preparation workers (program-wide)
- Limitations
- Program-level regulatory document - does not name Ford and establishes only the prep protocol that governed its 2019 sinking. Full-text review confirms the agreement contains zero asbestos provisions: the MPRSA ocean-dumping permit governs marine pollutants (PCBs), not asbestos, so SINKEX certification documents cannot evidence asbestos abatement aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ford-ffg54-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 report body, shipbuilding-scope letter response and policy narrative
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos phase-out timeline: product specifications for thermal insulation were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials; the Navy's policy to eliminate use of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials where suitable alternates were designated issued October 1975; pre-purchased asbestos materials had already been installed in ships under construction, so 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978'; the October 1975 policy removed only damaged insulation or insulation disturbed by repairs, modified January 1979 to selectively replace insulation in high-maintenance areas; and 'a few shipboard applications' remained for which no acceptable asbestos-free substitutes had been identified.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1973-1979 (policy window)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; new-construction and overhaul trades (program era)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation, not hull-specific - Ford (laid July 1983) postdates the last documented asbestos-insulated delivery by ~5 years, which reduces but does not eliminate the likelihood of asbestos aboard, and does not establish presence or absence on this hull. gao.gov blocks automated full-text fetch (HTTP 403); verbatim language confirmed via indexed report text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ford-ffg54-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated, fleet-paced): type=o queries "USS Ford" and "FFG-54"/"FFG 54"; type=r queries "USS Ford" and "FFG-54"/"FFG 54" [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search API results; Garlock ECF 3445-1 (storage.courtlistener.com recap PDF, 186 pp) full-text grep for 'Ford'
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull. Opinion search returned zero hits for "USS Ford" and zero for "FFG-54"/"FFG 54". Docket search returned 9 hits for "USS Ford" and 2 for "FFG-54" - all name collisions or non-qualifying: United States v. Awwad (E.D. Va. 2:14-cr-00163) and Awwad v. Willis (W.D. Tex. 3:17-cv-00213) concern espionage targeting USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78); In re Garlock Sealing Technologies (Bankr. W.D.N.C. 10-31607) matches 'USS Ford' only in a 2013 estimation-trial transcript describing CVN-78 carrier construction at Newport News (verified by full-text pull of ECF 3445-1); Defense for Children International-Palestine v. Biden (N.D. Cal. 4:23-cv-05829) matches a CVN-78 deployment exhibit; Wai Ola Alliance v. U.S. Dept of the Navy (D. Haw. 1:22-cv-00272) matches 'FFG-54' in an environmental-exhibit vessel list - not asbestos litigation; Villa Chardonnay bk (S.D. Cal. 25-04245), Gary bk (N.D. Ill. 08-07234), Northwest Territorial Mint bk (W.D. Wash. 16-11767), Renteria v. United States (M.D. Fla. 8:10-cv-02378, sec.2255), and Clark v. Anti-Defamation League (N.D. Ga. 1:24-cv-00482) are non-asbestos dockets with incidental matches.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Docket-text matches were classified by matched-document review; where context was not visible in search snippets (Renteria, Gary, Clark, Villa Chardonnay, NW Territorial Mint), the dockets are non-asbestos case types and are classified non-qualifying rather than verified negative on content. Absence of docketed litigation does not establish that no claim was ever filed or settled off-docket.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ford-ffg54-08
-
[10]Batch-4652 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC (Wayback), Naval Vessel Register (Wayback), NHHC command-operation-report archives, NARA deck-log guidance, EPA SINKEX agreement, GAO HRD-80-2, U.S. Pacific Fleet/Navy-produced and Everett Herald decommissioning coverage, MSC/Navy SINKEX coverage, CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ford-ffg54-01 through sl-uss-ford-ffg54-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure naming asbestos, museum/owner ACM disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming FFG-54 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The documented SINKEX preparation for this hull (ev-05) removed PCBs, mercury and petroleum under a marine-pollutant permit that does not regulate asbestos.
- 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 - GAO HRD-80-2 notes residual shipboard applications lacked substitutes in this era. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ford-ffg54-09