Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), USS General Omar Bundy (AP-152), Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division (HyperWar transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS AP-152 entry, full text (namesake bio, characteristics line, service narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- AP-152 (cl. General G. O. Squier; type C4-S-A1; dp. 17,250; l. 522'10"; b. 71'6"; cpl. 356; troops 3,823) was launched 5 August 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser Co., Richmond, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. Lawrence Wainwright; acquired and commissioned 6 January 1945. WWII service: Southwest Pacific lift March-May 1945 (Pearl Harbor, Ulithi, Guam; 200 Japanese POWs debarked at Pearl Harbor 3 May); Atlantic crossing, embarked 2,800 troops at Marseille, arrived Manila 6 August 1945; Magic Carpet repatriation runs to Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco through December 1945; 1946 rotation calls at Japan and Manila. Decommissioned 14 June 1946 and delivered to the Maritime Commission the next day; struck from the Navy list 8 October 1946; transferred to the War Department 30 August 1946 and carried troops for the Army until returned to the Maritime Commission 12 December 1949; berthed James River NDRF until delivered to Bethlehem Steel Corp. 10 April 1964; converted to a freighter and operated as Portmar.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1964
- Population
- Ship's complement (356) and embarked troops (up to ~3,800/lift), 1945-1946
- Limitations
- Official Navy narrative history; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials content and supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC DANFS page returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-25 (same NHHC link rot noted in Batch-01 report); HyperWar transcription of the DANFS text is cited. DANFS does not give a laid-down date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-01
-
[2]U.S. Coast Guard, Marine Casualty Report USCG-16732/11486, SS POET (O.N. 294731): Disappearance in the Atlantic Ocean after departure from Cape Henlopen, Delaware, on 24 October 1980 with loss of life (Marine Board of Investigation report and Commandant's action, 1982-04-12); cataloged at TRID accession 00649835 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Report sections: Findings of Fact 1 (Summary), 2 (Vessel Data), 4 (General Description), 10 (Inspections of Hull, Machinery, and Equipment), Conclusions 1-3; Commandant's action memo
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Federal casualty report establishes the hull's full identity chain and material history: 'POET (ex-PORT, PORTMAR, GENERAL OMAR BUNDY (AP-152))', U.S. Official No. 294731; built December 1944 by Kaiser Comp., Inc., Richmond CA Shipyard No. 3; steel, welded part-riveted C4-S-A1 hull; converted April 1965 at Bethlehem Steel Corp., Shipbuilding Division, Sparrows Point, MD, for cargo service for Calmar Steamship Corp.; steam turbine powered, two boilers, single screw, 9,900 hp. Documents the 1976-1980 inspection/repair record (ABS Special Survey No. 6 of hull 6/77; Dec. 1976 and Mar. 1980 hull gaugings; Mar. 1980 ABS boiler survey; USCG biennial/drydock inspection Feb-Mar 1980 at Orange and Beaumont, TX; permanent repairs to No. 1 hatchcover and a cement-sealed shell indent deferred to next scheduled drydocking). Loss narrative: departed Girard Point, Philadelphia 0120 on 24 October 1980 with a Food for Peace Act cargo of #2 yellow corn (charter figure 13,750 metric tons; ~13,500 long tons) for Port Said, Egypt; last communication midnight 24 October; no distress signal, debris, or survivors ever found; the 34 crewmen aboard are missing and presumed dead; probable loss during peak storm conditions ~0000 26 October near 38 deg 30 min N, 64 deg W. Board could not determine proximate cause; credible possibilities: capsize in following/quartering seas, flooding of No. 1 hold through the deferred-repair hatchcover, or undetected structural failure. Commandant judged loss of hull integrity most probable, citing the vessel's age, deferred repairs to underwater hull and topsides, and storm severity.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1982 (record scope); loss October 1980
- Population
- Merchant crew (34 at loss); shipyard/repair personnel at Bethlehem Sparrows Point (1965 conversion) and later repair ports
- Limitations
- The most detailed official document on this hull (76 pp., OCR'd and keyword-checked by this batch): it contains NO mention of asbestos, insulation, or lagging - it establishes construction, conversion, condition, and loss facts only, and supports no asbestos claim. Scanned-copy mirror hosted by maritimesafetyinnovationlab.org (report content verified consistent with TRID catalog abstract); a .mil original was not located online. Report's 'built December 1944' is a completion/delivery date; keel-laying date not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-02
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - GENERAL OMAR BUNDY (AP-152), Detail 1837 (incl. digitized status card images) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 1837 - Vessel Information, Milestones table, Shipwreck Information panel
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Authoritative custody record: Official No. 294731; built 1944 by Kaiser Company; C4-S-A1 AP transport, 522.84 ft x 71.5 ft, 13,000 gross tons. MARAD milestones: fleet entry/acquisition 12 December 1949; disposition/withdrawal 10 April 1964 under 'EXCHANGE PROGRAM'. Shipwreck module: incident date 24 October 1980, owner/operator Hawaiian Eugenia Corp., cause 'Sunk - No Further Info', 'Sunk at an unknown date and location.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1949-1980
- Limitations
- Custody/milestones record only; 'historical narrative' field is empty and the record contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information. Status-card images are posted but were not transcribed this batch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-03
-
[4]National Transportation Safety Board, Marine Accident Report NTSB-MAR-81-06, Disappearance of U.S. Freighter SS POET in North Atlantic Ocean about October 25, 1980 (adopted; published 1981-06-23, 96 pp., TRID accession 00649616); safety recommendations M-81-55 through -61 issued 1981-07-14 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NTSB rec letters M-81-55 through -61 (ntsb.gov PDF, issued 1981-07-14); TRID record 388158 for NTSB-MAR-81-06
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- NTSB's independent investigation documents the loss: the 523-ft freighter SS POET disappeared in the North Atlantic about 500 nautical miles east of Delaware Bay on October 25 or 26, 1980; no distress signal heard; no trace of ship or its 34-person crew found; estimated loss $4,250,000. Probable cause undetermined; calculations indicate possible sudden capsizing due to synchronous rolling; owner's delay (until 3 November) in reporting the vessel missing and the Coast Guard's delayed search start (8 November) decreased the probability of finding survivors. Recommendations M-81-55 through -61 (to FCC, USCG, and others) addressed EPIRB carriage/frequencies and satellite alerting, feeding into the SARSAT program.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1980-1981
- Population
- Merchant crew (34 at loss)
- Limitations
- Documents the casualty and the regulatory response it triggered; contains no asbestos or materials-fiber content and supports no asbestos claim. Recommendation letter PDF verified at ntsb.gov; full 96-page report not separately retrieved (TRID abstract used for the report's findings).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-04
-
[5]Hartford Fire Insurance Co. v. Calmar Steamship Corp., 404 F. Supp. 442 (W.D. Wash. 1975), CourtListener opinion 2131703; affirmed, Portmar, SS, 554 F.2d 1070 (9th Cir. 1977), CourtListener opinion 345300 (https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/345300/portmar-ss/) [court_record]
- Locator
- 404 F. Supp. 442 (opinion text, COGSA/stevedore analysis); 554 F.2d 1070 caption (9th Cir. 1977)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Adjudicated commercial litigation involving this hull in its merchant identity SS Portmar (O.N. 294731): consolidated COGSA actions by Weyerhaeuser and its cargo insurer over two deck-cargo losses off California - lumber lost over the port side at No. 2 hatch on 29 April 1972 (23.5 hours out of Coos Bay for the east coast via Panama) and lumber/plywood lost at Nos. 2-3 hatches on 11 March 1973. The district court found Calmar's supplied chain lashings unfit, held Calmar liable for breach of the due-diligence/seaworthiness duty, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed in 1977 (554 F.2d 1070, memorandum 'AFFIRMED').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1972-1977
- Population
- Portmar deck/engine crew and Coos Bay stevedores (1972-73 voyages)
- Limitations
- Merits-level commercial/cargo ruling, not an exposure or asbestos finding; establishes the vessel's employment, deck-stowage arrangement, and 1972-73 operating history only. Hull attribution is by the name/official-number timeline: the prior Calmar Portmar (ex-SS Joseph B. Eastman, O.N. 246063) was laid up in the James River in 1964 and scrapped 1971, so 1972-73 Portmar voyages can only be this hull. CAUTION: earlier 'Portmar' litigation on CourtListener (Calmar v. Scott war-risk cases re the 1919 freighter; Moore-McCormack v. S.S. Portmar, 249 F. Supp. 464 (S.D.N.Y. 1966), re the 24 January 1961 East River collision) concerns different hulls - see batch report name-collision table.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-05
-
[6]Gibbs v. Hawaiian Eugenia Corp., 966 F.2d 101 (2d Cir. 1992), CourtListener opinion 584201 (also cluster 9008752); citing In re Petition of Carol A. Gooden, 1982 A.M.C. 1388 (E.D. Pa. 1982) [court_record]
- Locator
- 966 F.2d 101 opinion text (background, subrogation analysis, disposition); cluster 584201/9008752
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published appellate litigation arising from the loss of this hull as SS Poet: Lloyd's underwriters paid owner Hawaiian Eugenia Corp.'s ~$1.1M insured freight claim after the ship's October 1980 disappearance, then sued over subrogation rights the owner allegedly destroyed by releasing the Egyptian charterers. S.D.N.Y. granted underwriters summary judgment (771 F. Supp. 638, 1991); the Second Circuit REVERSED and remanded for a determination whether the release actually prejudiced underwriters' rights (opinion by Newman, J.). The opinion also verifies that the owner instituted a limitation-of-liability action for all claims relating to the loss: In re Petition of Carol A. Gooden, 1982 A.M.C. 1388 (E.D. Pa. 1982).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1980-1992
- Limitations
- Marine insurance/charter-freight dispute and a limitation-of-liability proceeding - both classify as OTHER LITIGATION, not exposure or asbestos findings. Per litigation-stage discipline, disposition is described exactly: trial-level summary judgment for underwriters REVERSED and REMANDED; no merits finding for either side is final. The E.D. Pa. limitation proceeding is verified only as cited in this opinion (A.M.C. report and docket not independently retrieved); its outcome is not stated here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-06
-
[7]UPI wire report carried in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin (November 1980), 'Inquiry Begins on Lost Ship; $8.5 Million in Lawsuits Filed' (Philadelphia) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Honolulu Star-Bulletin page scan (newspapers.com 271624205), UPI story text
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Wire-service reporting documents that wrongful-death suits seeking ~$8.5 million were filed in federal court in New Orleans against the Poet's owner, Hawaiian Eugenia Corp., by families of three lost crewmen, revealed on the first day of the Coast Guard Marine Board inquiry; attorneys for other families said more suits were pending.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1980-1981 (as reported)
- Population
- Estates/families of the 34 lost crewmen
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage reporting only: filings documented via reputable press; dockets not located on CourtListener (1980-era federal civil filings predate RECAP coverage) and outcomes are unverified. A law-firm webpage's claim of a 'substantial settlement' was located but EXCLUDED - marketing source, unverifiable.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-07
-
[8]U.S. Congress, House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries: 'Disappearance of the S.S. Poet' hearings, 97th Cong., 1st sess., 9 April and 24 June 1981 (G.P.O. 1981); and 'Report on the Disappearance of the U.S. Flag Freighter SS Poet in October 1980' (G.P.O. 1982) - TRID accession and library-catalog records [other_primary]
- Locator
- TRID record 399527; Online Books Page ha007402407 (HathiTrust page images); BiblioCommons catalog record for the 1982 committee report
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Congressional oversight record exists and is ship-specific: the Committee held two hearing days (9 April, 24 June 1981) 'on the fate of the U.S.-flag freighter, the S.S. Poet, which disappeared with all hands aboard,' and issued a committee report (G.P.O. 1982). The TRID abstract documents that the vessel carried 34 men and 13,500 long tons of yellow corn bound for Port Said. Hearing transcript page images exist on HathiTrust.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1981-1982
- Population
- Congressional witnesses (USCG, ABS, NCB, crew families) - as recorded
- Limitations
- Bibliographic existence and subject verified via TRID and library catalog records; transcript contents were NOT reviewed this batch, so no substantive finding is drawn from the hearings. Whether testimony addressed insulation/asbestos aboard the hull is unknown - flagged as the strongest remaining documentary lead for this hull (federal inspectors and surveyors testified).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-08
-
[9]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 C4-S-A1 transport was mass-produced at Kaiser Richmond in 1944, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- 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 its class 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-general-omar-bundy-ap152-09
-
[10]Associated Press wire, 'Ship to become second largest intentional reef' (May 2009), on artificial-reef preparation of the ex-USNS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10); corroborating AP report via Fox News; MARAD ShipHistory Detail 1821 confirms the ship is ex-USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), Kaiser-built C4-S-A1 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- AP wire text (NBC News id wbna30928775; Fox News republication); MARAD Detail 1821 (hull identity)
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- A sister hull of identical class and builder - ex-USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), later USNS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10), Kaiser Richmond C4-S-A1 - required documented contaminant removal before its 27 May 2009 sinking as an artificial reef off Key West: AP reporting states workers removed 81 bags of asbestos along with 193 tons of carcinogenic substances, ~1 million feet of wire, and 185 drums of paint chips (a companion account quantifies the asbestos as 71 cubic yards), performed at two Norfolk shipyards under permits from 18 agencies. Demonstrates that friable/installed asbestos survived aboard this class of 1944-era transports into the 21st century.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2008-2009
- Population
- Norfolk shipyard abatement workers (2008-09, sister hull)
- Limitations
- Sister-hull abatement, NOT this hull - class-level corroboration only; does not establish that asbestos was or remained aboard AP-152. Press-reported figures differ between wire versions (81 bags vs. 71 cubic yards); both are reported as published, not adjudicated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-10
-
[11]California DTSC Site ID 400137001, Kaiser Richmond Shipyard / Richmond Harbor Restoration Project - site environmental record (as tracked in Atlas shipyards.json, yard_id 'kaiser-shipyards') [other_primary]
- Locator
- DTSC project page; shipyards.json 'kaiser-shipyards' entry
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The builder yard is a documented asbestos-associated site: the former Kaiser shipyard complex at Richmond, CA (which built 747 vessels 1940-1945 at peak employment of 90,000+) carries asbestos-containing materials documented in soils and structures under California DTSC cleanup tracking.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1940-1945 (operations); remediation era
- Population
- Kaiser Richmond wartime workforce (site-level)
- Limitations
- Yard-level environmental record about the construction site, not the vessel; establishes builder-yard asbestos context only and does not document this hull's materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-11
-
[12]Batch-2080 search ledger (this record): DANFS (HyperWar mirror); USCG-16732/11486 full-text OCR keyword scan; MARAD ShipHistory 1837; NTSB-MAR-81-06 and rec letters; CourtListener opinion searches 'General Omar Bundy', 'AP-152', 'SS Poet', 'Portmar'; NVR; NHHC live page [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull in any of its four identities was found in the public sources searched. Notably, the single most detailed federal document on this ship - the 76-page USCG Marine Casualty Report covering construction, conversion, boiler surveys, repair history, and hull condition - contains zero mentions of asbestos, insulation, or lagging (full-text OCR keyword scan). CourtListener returned zero opinions for 'General Omar Bundy'; 'AP-152' hits were all docket-number collisions; 'SS Poet' and 'Portmar' hits classify as non-asbestos commercial litigation or name collisions with two earlier Calmar Portmar hulls (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 steam transport is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, and the hull is unreachable on the seafloor, so no survey is possible. This finding establishes only that no public ship-specific asbestos document was located; it does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-12
-
[13]NARA record-group mapping: RG 24 (Navy deck logs, incl. AP-152 1945-46); RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission construction records for MC hull 704); RG 26 (USCG merchant-vessel documentation files for O.N. 294731 - conversion plan review, COI file, casualty correspondence); House committee hearing/report records (97th Cong.) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/178.html ; /groups/026.html ; NARA deck-log and merchant-vessel research guides
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no research-room visit or reproduction order authorized): NARA RG 24 holds WWII-era Navy deck logs which would cover AP-152's 1945-46 commissioned service; RG 178 Maritime Commission construction files may hold the Kaiser contract and outfitting specifications for MC hull 704 (the likeliest source of as-built insulation specification); RG 26 USCG merchant-vessel files for Official No. 294731 would hold the 1964-65 conversion plan approvals, COI file, and casualty correspondence; congressional committee records hold the 1981 Poet hearing exhibits and staff files behind the printed transcript.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1944-1982 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping 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-general-omar-bundy-ap152-13
-
[14]shipscribe.com, 'USS General G. O. Squier (AP-130) Class' - secondary compilation of BuShips Ships' Data and Maritime Commission program records for the class [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe AP-130 class page, design/construction narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class-program context: the Maritime Commission contracted for 30 C4-S-A1 transports at Kaiser's five-basin Richmond No. 3 yard between January and March 1942 as part of a 50-ship Army transport program (the future AP 110-159); the design was deliberately kept close to a cargo-ship configuration so the hulls could convert to commercial cargo carriers after the war - the origin of this hull's 1965 Portmar conversion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Limitations
- Secondary scholarly compilation (shipscribe transcription of BuShips/MC data), not the underlying official document; class-program context only - nothing about this specific hull's construction contract, and no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-general-omar-bundy-ap152-14