Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 374-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-gosport-ix517-pkt-374-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Thomas G. Thompson (AGOR-9) - NHHC page (live URL returns 404; text verified via Wayback capture 2024-05-25) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS entry, 'Thomas G. Thompson (AGOR-9)' - full entry text; Wayback ts 20240525205035
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Laid down 12 Sep 1963 at Marinette, Wis., by Marinette Marine Corp.; launched 18 Jul 1964; sponsored by Mrs. Isabel Thompson, widow of Professor Thompson; delivered to the Navy 4 Sep 1965; transferred to the University of Washington in a ceremony at the Boston Naval Shipyard 21 Sep 1965; manned by a civilian crew under the technical control of the Oceanographer of the Navy; conducted oceanographic research supporting national programs into 1978.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1963-1978
- Population
- Civilian crew and embarked science party, UW/UNOLS era
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy ship history, but the entry ends with service 'into 1978' - predates the IX-517/Gosport era entirely. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material information. Live NHHC URL currently returns 404 (link rot documented across batches); content verified from Wayback capture http://web.archive.org/web/20240525205035/.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-01
-
[3]Stephen S. Roberts, Shipscribe 'U.S. Navy Oceanographic Research Ships (AGOR)' - SANDS (AGOR-6)/SCB 185A class data compiled from NARA RG 19 records (Entry P 62 Box 72; Entry P 26 Boxes 10, 13-14), compiled 2021-10-19 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AGOR-9 ship notes row and class notes (AGOR 9-10 paragraphs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- FY 1963-program SCB 185A ship; ordered 15 Mar 1963, keel 12 Sep 1963, launched 18 Jul 1964, in service 4 Sep 1965; loaned to University of Washington at NSY Boston 21 Sep 1965. Name THOMAS G THOMPSON cancelled 28 Apr 1989 for reassignment to new T-AGOR-23; hull reclassified IX-517 11 Dec 1989 and renamed PACIFIC ESCORT II, available for hire from NSY Mare Island; on Mare Island's Oct 1996 closure relocated to NSY Norfolk; renamed GOSPORT 7 May 1997; stricken 27 Feb 2004; sunk 14 Nov 2004 as a target in a NATO exercise. Also documents the 1962-64 naming history: UW requested the name 18 Sep 1962; SECNAV briefly assigned SILAS BENT to AGOR-9 (15 Feb - 12 Mar 1964) before the Thompson naming.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1963-2004
- Population
- Construction trades (Marinette 1963-65); civilian crews; Navy yard personnel 1989-2004
- Limitations
- Secondary scholarly compilation quoting primary records (NARA RG 19, OPNAV/SECNAV notices) with archive locators given on the page - used as a vetted transcript of the official chronology, not an independent primary source. No asbestos content. UW return-to-Navy date given only as '1989'; out-of-UNOLS-service 1988 per secondary sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-02
-
[4]University of Washington School of Oceanography, R/V Thomas G. Thompson vessel page (AGOR-23) [other_primary]
- Locator
- UW Oceanography vessels page, AGOR-23 specification block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- UW operates a different, later vessel also named R/V Thomas G. Thompson - AGOR-23, built by Halter Marine, delivered to ONR 8 Jul 1991, mid-life overhauled 2017, still in UNOLS service. The IX-517/Gosport hull is the earlier AGOR-9 returned to the Navy in 1989; the two ships and their records must not be conflated.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1991-present (successor vessel)
- Limitations
- Operator's own page documenting the successor vessel; used here only to segregate the two hulls' identities. Says nothing about the AGOR-9/IX-517 hull's materials or condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-03
-
[5]Ida Kay Jordan, 'Navy Is Renaming Ship Gosport, After Shipyard,' The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk), 7 May 1997, p. B5 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Virginian-Pilot Local section p. B5, via Virginia Tech newspaper archive (TAG 9705070439)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Norfolk Naval Shipyard's research vessel Pacific Escort was renamed Gosport - the first U.S. Navy vessel of the name, honoring the shipyard's original 1767 name - with a christening ceremony at Portside the Friday after publication (9 May 1997). Ship built 1965 as research vessel Thomas G. Thompson; used by University of Washington for hydrographic surveys; used by Mare Island as a submarine escort (hence 'Pacific Escort'); Portsmouth homeport on transfer from the closing Mare Island; returned to Portsmouth Oct 1996 after a 122-day deployment and was dry-docked for repairs and certification; about 25,000 miles steamed in the shipyard's first year of operation; civilian crew of 14 under Capt. George Fleck, capacity ~40 embarked.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1995-1997
- Population
- NNSY-era civilian crew (~14) and embarked test personnel
- Limitations
- Contemporary local press - ship-specific for the 1997 rename and NNSY operations. 'Home port since 1995' loosely conflicts with the Oct 1996 relocation date given elsewhere (also in the same article); milestone/performance figures are shipyard-supplied. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-04
-
[6]U.S. Navy News Service, 'International Flotilla Conducts SINKEX, Joint Ops' (NNS release ~2004-11-16) - mirrored text; news.navy.mil front-page capture of 17 Nov 2004 at webharvest.gov (NARA federal web harvest) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NNS041116 release body; companion Saipan release NNS041119-13 (globalsecurity mil-041119-nns01.htm)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Ex-R/V Gosport - described by the Navy as a Navy-owned 210-foot research vessel operated by Norfolk Naval Shipyard - was sunk with ex-USS Hayler in a live-fire SINKEX 12-14 Nov 2004 by the USS Saipan (LHA-2) Expeditionary Strike Group, NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic units, and aircraft, ~300 miles off the U.S. East Coast; EOD Mobile Unit 2 Det. 26 detonated positioned charges to complete the sinkings. The Navy stated it 'had satisfied environmental preparation of the ships in accordance with EPA guidance prior to sinking them.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2004-11
- Population
- SINKEX firing units and EOD personnel (post-strike; no crew aboard)
- Limitations
- Official Navy release, ship-specific for the sinking and that EPA-guidance prep occurred - but it does not itemize what hazardous materials (including any asbestos-containing material) were found aboard or removed; asbestos-specific national prep BMPs were formalized in 2006, after this sinking. Not an exposure record for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. GAO fieldwork included Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the facility that operated and maintained this hull 1997-2004.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; not hull evidence. Norfolk NSY was a GAO fieldwork yard and later operated this vessel - supports era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - per batch convention, description via product page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-06
-
[8]EPA, 'Transport of Target Vessels for Ocean Disposal' - MPRSA general permit at 40 C.F.R. 229.2 (SINKEX permit), as interpreted by the 2 Aug 1999 EPA-Navy PCB letter and the Jan 2014 Determination and Agreement; EPA/MARAD, National Guidance: Best Management Practices for Preparing Vessels Intended To Create Artificial Reefs (notice, 71 FR May 12, 2006, doc E6-7274) [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA marine-protection permitting page; FR notice https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2006/05/12/E6-7274/; draft BMP asbestos section (nepis.epa.gov 901V1500)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The regulatory regime under which ex-Gosport was prepared for sinking required removal 'to the maximum extent practicable' of materials degrading the marine environment: fuel-system flushing to essentially petroleum-free, removal of pollutants and detachable debris, sinking at least 50 nm offshore in at least 6,000 ft, and (per the 1999 EPA-Navy agreement then in force) PCB-focused material removal. The later EPA/MARAD artificial-reef BMPs (2006) state asbestos 'can be found throughout ships, from the bridge to the bottom of the bilge' and set cleanup goals of removing loose asbestos and removing or sealing accessible friable asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1999-2006
- Population
- SINKEX vessel-prep personnel (generic); marine environment
- Limitations
- Establishes the rules applied to this hull's prep, not what was found or removed aboard. The asbestos-specific BMPs post-date the Nov 2004 sinking by ~18 months; the binding regime in Nov 2004 was the MPRSA permit + 1999 PCB letter. Use as era/regulatory context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-07
-
[9]EPA CERCLA/RCRA facility records + CA DTSC Envirostor basewide documentation, Mare Island Naval Shipyard (EPA ID CA7170024775, federal facility, state-lead cleanup); EPA CERCLA five-year reviews and ATSDR Public Health Assessment (issued Jan 2004), Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth VA [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA Superfund site profile id=0902779; Envirostor basewide EBS excerpts; EPA NNSY Third Five-Year Review (semspub.epa.gov/work/03/2317256.pdf); ATSDR PR 1/26/2004
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The two naval shipyards that operated and maintained this hull during its IX-517 era are documented contaminated federal facilities: Mare Island NSY (ship's operator 1989-96) is a federal CERCLA facility under state-lead cleanup, and DTSC Envirostor basewide documentation confirms asbestos-containing material in yard buildings and steam lines (steam-line samples 30-40% asbestos; floor tile/ceiling 5-10%). Norfolk NSY (operator 1997-2004) is a federal CERCLA facility with multiple operable units under EPA five-year review and a 2004 ATSDR public health assessment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1989-2004 (hull's yard era); EPA/ATSDR records 2003-2015
- Population
- Shipyard workers and ship crews berthed/maintained at the yards (generic)
- Limitations
- Yard-level environmental documentation only - establishes that both operating facilities had documented hazardous-materials programs (ACM explicitly at Mare Island); it does NOT establish asbestos aboard this hull, exposure of anyone who served on it, or that yard work disturbed shipboard materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-08
-
[10]Batch-4825 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NVR detail pages; shipscribe NARA compilation; NavSource archive; Virginian-Pilot archive; Navy News Service; EPA/DTSC/ATSDR/GAO; CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-gosport-ix517-01 through sl-uss-gosport-ix517-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, maintenance work package, museum/managing-institution disclosure, or docketed litigation naming this hull under any designation (Thomas G. Thompson AGOR-9, IX-517, Pacific Escort II, Gosport) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- 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 1963-65 Navy-built hull that spent 1989-2004 under naval-shipyard operation and was sunk after EPA-guidance prep is era-consistent with asbestos materials aboard. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep: opinions - 'IX-517' (0); 'AGOR-9' (0); 'Pacific Escort' (0); 'Gosport' (185 hits, reviewed top-20 all name collisions); 'Gosport' AND (ship OR vessel OR navy OR naval OR asbestos) (28 hits, all predate 1997 rename - historic Gosport Navy Yard place-name collisions); 'Thomas G. Thompson' (22 hits, person-name collisions). Dockets - 'Gosport' (90 dockets, top-20 all collisions incl. a different vessel M/V Gosport Maersk). No qualifying asbestos litigation. [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-gosport-ix517-09 through -11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion-index searches returned zero results for 'IX-517' and 'AGOR-9'; 'Gosport' returned 185 hits of which the reviewed results are all name collisions (Indiana municipal cases for the Town of Gosport, party surnames, and place-name references); the ship-focused refinement 'Gosport' AND (ship OR vessel OR navy OR naval OR asbestos) returned 28 hits, every returned case predating the hull's 1997 rename and matching 'Gosport' as the historic Navy-yard place name rather than the vessel; 'Thomas G. Thompson' returned 22 hits, all person-name collisions (treasure-salvor, officeholder, and unrelated Thompson parties); the docket index returned 90 'Gosport' dockets of which the reviewed top-20 are all collisions (Indiana town matters plus a different commercial vessel, M/V Gosport Maersk). No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull under any of its names/designations was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Fleet-wide quota pacing intermittently exhausted the request budget during this session; all seven queries were completed on paced retries and are reported exactly. Reviewed results are the API's relevance-ranked top-20 for the multi-hit queries ('Gosport' 185 opinions and 90 dockets, 28-hit refinement, 'Thomas G. Thompson' 22) - deeper pages were not enumerated; a hit beyond the reviewed set cannot be ruled out absolutely, though every reviewed hit is an unambiguous collision. CourtListener covers published opinions and RECAP'd dockets; unreported cases, unindexed dockets, and settled/pled-only matters are outside its coverage regardless.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-10
-
[12]NavSource Online IX-517/Gosport photo archive: scan of OPNAV Notice 5030 of 11 Dec 1989 (AGOR-9 -> IX-517 redesignation); NARA-attributed construction photos, National Archives Identifiers 6930543 (on the ways, 2 Jun 1964) and 6930546 (inclining experiment, 5 May 1965); NNSY mooring and BQM-drone/exercise-mine launch photos [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 09/57/5709 image captions and attributions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for this hull: the OPNAV 5030 redesignation notice (primary document, scanned); NARA still-picture identifiers for builder-period photography; NNSY-era imagery documenting target-drone and mine-exercise tasking. Shipscribe's cited NARA locators (RG 19 Entry P 62 Box 72; Entry P 26 Boxes 10, 13-14) hold the SCB 185A design files.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1964-2004 (material dates)
- Limitations
- Lead list only - NavSource is a volunteer archive, and the NAIDs are contributor metadata not independently verified against catalog.archives.gov (JS-gated during this session). None of the underlying documents was retrieved; nothing here is evidence of asbestos content or exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-11
-
[13]EPA & MARAD, 'National Guidance: Best Management Practices for Preparing Vessels Intended To Create Artificial Reefs' - availability notice, 71 FR (12 May 2006), doc E6-7274; required by section 3516, FY2004 NDAA [federal_register]
- Locator
- FR-2006-05-12 doc E6-7274; draft BMP asbestos section (nepis.epa.gov ZyPURL 901V1500)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Federal guidance for preparing obsolete and decommissioned military and commercial vessels for sinking presumes asbestos aboard such hulls: 'asbestos can be found throughout ships, from the bridge to the bottom of the bilge'; cleanup goals call for removal of loose asbestos and removal or sealing of accessible friable asbestos before sinking. This hull - a 1963-65 Navy new-build sunk under the predecessor EPA-guidance regime in Nov 2004 - sits squarely in the population the guidance was written for.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2006 (guidance); presumption applies to pre-1980s hulls
- Population
- Vessel-prep/reefing workers; older-vessel population generally
- Limitations
- Class/era-level federal guidance published ~18 months after this hull's sinking; it documents what regulators presumed typical of vessels of this vintage, not a finding that asbestos was aboard this hull or remained at sinking. No ship-specific quantities, locations, or removal records are established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gosport-ix517-12