Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]Naval Vessel Register entry, HAYLER (DD 997), NAVSEA (Wayback captures 2004-10-20 and post-disposal; live NVR no longer serves detail pages for disposed hulls) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship detail page, HAYLER (DD 997) - status, builder, dates, dimensions, propulsion, accommodations fields
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR record for this hull (UIC 21416, class DD 963): builder INGALLS SB CORP/MS; award date 09/29/1979; keel 10/20/1980; launched 03/02/1982; delivery 02/10/1983; commissioned 03/05/1983; decommissioned 08/25/2003; stricken 04/06/2004; propulsion type gas turbines; 2 propellers; accommodations officers 31 / enlisted 321; steel hull, aluminum superstructure; overall length 563 ft; full displacement 9,884 tons. Status progression: 'Stricken, to be disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise' (04/06/2004, berthing at NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office, Philadelphia) then 'Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise' (status changed 11/14/2004).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979-2004
- Population
- Ingalls Shipbuilding construction workforce 1980-1983; crew 1983-2003
- Limitations
- Registry data only - no materials, insulation, or asbestos content information. Accommodations figures are design berthing, not wartime manning. The archived Oct-2004 capture still showed pre-sinking status; the post-disposal capture records status changed 11/14/2004, bracketing the 11/12-14 SINKEX rather than a single verified sinking date (Navy photo captions give 11/13 for ex-Hayler).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hayler-dd997-01
-
[2]Navy News Service release NNS030819-08, 'Hayler Set to Decommission' (19 Aug 2003, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Public Affairs; mirrored at globalsecurity.org) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NNS release text, paragraphs 1-6
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy release naming this hull: decommissioning ceremony 10 a.m. 25 Aug 2003 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va.; final deployment (April 4 - June 6, 2003) was U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command counter-drug detection and monitoring in the eastern Pacific, during which the ship disrupted a 600 kg cocaine transfer and rescued 75 passengers from a distressed vessel; prior deployment was with USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Carrier Strike Group, April 2002, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom - 'the first Navy warship to perform Maritime Interdiction Operations in the Mediterranean in more than 20 years'; built at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss., commissioned March 5, 1983; commanding officer at decommissioning Cmdr. Mark Hellstern.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2002-2003
- Population
- Crew 2002-2003 deployments
- Limitations
- Public-affairs release - verifies service events and decommissioning, not materials aboard. Covers only the ship's final years; earlier service history is not detailed in this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hayler-dd997-02
-
[3]Navy News Service release NNS041116-18, 'International Flotilla Conducts SINKEX, Joint Ops' (16 Nov 2004; mirrored at globalsecurity.org) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NNS release text - target list, participants, EODMU-2 role, EPA-preparation sentence; Navy photo captions via NavSource index
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Official Navy release documenting this hull's disposal: ex-USS Hayler (Spruance-class destroyer) and ex-R/V Gosport (IX-517) were sunk Nov. 12-14, 2004 in the western Atlantic by units of the USS Saipan (LHA 2) Expeditionary Strike Group, NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic ships (HNLMS Witte de With, HMCS Ville de Quebec, SPS Navarra, USS Simpson), HS-3 Seahawk helicopters and P-3C aircraft, using Hellfire missiles and 76/57/30/25mm gunfire; Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 2, Det. 26, completed the sinkings by 'detonating positioned explosives along the hull.' On environmental preparation: 'The Navy had satisfied environmental preparation of the ships in accordance with EPA guidance prior to sinking them.' Released Navy photo captions of the exercise (041112-N/041113-N series, indexed at navsource.org/archives/05/997.htm) identify Hayler as 'the last Spruance-class of destroyers built by the Navy,' place the exercise 300 miles off the U.S. East Coast, and date the EODMU-2 demolition aboard ex-Hayler to 13 November 2004.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2004
- Population
- Pre-sinking environmental preparation workforce; exercise personnel
- Limitations
- Confirms EPA-guided environmental preparation occurred before sinking but does not specify which materials were removed or retained, whether asbestos-containing material was present aboard, or the extent of any pre-sinking abatement. Sinking date is the Navy-caption 13 Nov within the release's Nov. 12-14 exercise window.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hayler-dd997-03
-
[4]71 Fed. Reg. 27716 (12 May 2006), 'National Guidance: Best Management Practices for Preparing Vessels Intended To Create Artificial Reefs' (EPA/MARAD, per NDAA FY2004 section 3516; draft noticed 69 Fed. Reg. 46141, 2 Aug 2004) [federal_register]
- Locator
- Federal Register notice E6-7274, Summary and Background sections; EPA BMP guidance Table of materials of environmental concern
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The statutory/regulatory framework behind the 'EPA guidance' referenced in the ex-Hayler SINKEX release: section 3516 of the FY2004 NDAA required joint EPA/MARAD national best-management-practices guidance for preparing obsolete vessels for sinking; the guidance identifies asbestos among the 'materials of environmental concern' to be addressed in pre-sinking cleanup, along with fuels/oils, PCBs, paints, debris, mercury and refrigerants. Draft guidance was published for comment 2 Aug 2004 - three months before ex-Hayler's sinking - and the final guidance issued May 2006.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2004-2006
- Limitations
- Framework document only - does not document what preparation was actually performed on ex-Hayler, whether ACM was found aboard, or what was removed vs. sunk. The final BMP guidance postdates the sinking; the Navy's November 2004 preparation would have followed the Aug-2004 draft and prior Navy-EPA sinking-exercise practice.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hayler-dd997-04
-
[5]GAO HRD-80-2 (Oct 1979), 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' Enclosure I: CNO letter Ser 4542/318054 (5 Jan 1979) with Attachment 1, 'List of U.S. Navy Ships Delivered Since 1973 or Under Construction (Ship Class, Name and Hull Number and Status of Thermal Insulation)' (gao.gov returns 403 to automated fetch; full text retrieved via Internet Archive capture) [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 pp. 4-6 (Enclosure I letter) and Attachment 1 p. 8 (DESTROYER - DD table)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Contemporaneous Navy documentation on asbestos thermal insulation in the DD-963 (Spruance) class: 'the first eleven of our new DD 963 class ships' carried asbestos thermal insulation, delivered 'as late as May 1978' - Attachment 1 lists SPRUANCE through JOHN YOUNG (DD-963 to DD-973) as asbestos thermal insulation and COMTE DE GRASSE through FLETCHER (DD-974 to DD-992) as asbestos-free thermal insulation. The letter documents that insulation specifications were revised to asbestos-free by late 1973 and the Navy's 'no-asbestos policy statement, NAVSEAINST 5100.2 of 24 October 1975' issued thereafter. This hull (DD-997) is the last of the class, contracted 29 Sep 1979 and laid down 20 Oct 1980 - within the documented asbestos-free-thermal-insulation cohort and five years after the no-asbestos policy.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1972-1979 (document scope)
- Population
- Ingalls Shipbuilding construction trades; crews of DD-963-class hulls
- Limitations
- Class/era evidence, not a hull-specific finding: DD-997 does not appear in the Attachment 1 table, which was compiled January 1979 before this hull's contract award; the asbestos-free status of this hull's thermal insulation is inferred from the documented class transition and the Oct-1975 policy, not a named-hull entry. Covers thermal insulation only - says nothing about other materials aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hayler-dd997-05
-
[6]GAO HRD-80-2 (Oct 1979), Enclosure I: CNO letter Ser 4542/318054 and Attachment 1, Note 1 (residual asbestos applications) [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 Enclosure I (opening paragraphs) and Attachment 1, Note 1 (p. 12)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The same Navy letter documents asbestos applications that persisted Navy-wide even as thermal insulation went asbestos-free: 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos,' with the mineral found in electrical resistors, floor/deck tiling, galley-range electric cabling, piping-system gaskets and packing, and equipment brakes and clutches - 'it is nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral.' Attachment 1, Note 1 adds that 'in addition to the exceptions noted for specific ships, asbestos is also used in shipboard applications for which no suitable (asbestos-free) substitutes have as yet been designated, i.e., gaskets and pipe hanger liners.'
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1983 (applicable construction window)
- Population
- Navy ship crews and shipyard trades, era 1975-1983
- Limitations
- Fleet-wide statement circa 1979 describing typical residual applications - not verified aboard this hull, which is not individually listed in the source. Establishes plausible product categories only; no quantities, locations, or hull-specific confirmation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hayler-dd997-06
-
[7]UPI wire, 7 Jul 1988, 'Rescuers suspended the search for up to 166 workers missing from a blazing North Sea oil platform' (Aberdeen); corroborated by TIME, 'Disaster Screaming Like a Banshee' (18 Jul 1988) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- UPI archive story text (coast guard attribution paragraphs); TIME archive story
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous press names this hull: during the Piper Alpha oil-platform disaster (6-7 July 1988, North Sea, 120 miles northeast of Aberdeen), 'Overall command of the rescue operation was taken by the American warship, USS Hayler, aided by vessels from Britain, Canada, West Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium'; TIME reports 'a seven-unit NATO naval force led by the U.S. destroyer Hayler' joined the rescue mission.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1988
- Population
- Crew, July 1988
- Limitations
- Verifies a service event only - no material/asbestos content. The NATO-warship rescue role is consistent with secondary-source accounts of her Standing Naval Force Atlantic flagship assignment that summer; the flagship role itself is not stated in these articles.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hayler-dd997-07
-
[8]U.S. Navy Fact File, 'Destroyers - DD, DDG' (updated 3 Dec 2004, Public Affairs Office, Naval Sea Systems Command; Internet Archive capture) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Navy Fact File 'General Characteristics, Spruance class' section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy class characteristics for the Spruance class to which this hull belongs: builder Ingalls Shipbuilding; power plant 'Four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines, two shafts, 80,000 shaft horsepower' - 'the first large U.S. Navy warships to employ gas turbine engines as their main propulsion system' (no boilers or steam plant); listed crew 30 officers, 352 enlisted. The same fact file records the class-wide upgrade program adding Mk-41 vertical launchers on 24 class ships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-2004
- Population
- Spruance-class crews (class standard)
- Limitations
- Class-level official data - propulsion and crew figures are class-standard values, not this hull's measured fit or actual manning; the hull's NVR accommodations entry (31 officers/321 enlisted) and secondary figures (19/315) differ, carried in gaps. The VLS upgrade program is documented class-wide; this hull's specific 1991-92 BIW-Portland overhaul remains secondary-sourced (gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hayler-dd997-08
-
[9]NHHC Archives - ship command histories / command operation reports (OPNAVINST 5750.12 series) and pre-sinking vessel survey leads [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Archives catalog (command histories); NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office (Philadelphia) records
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not yet retrieved: (1) DANFS does not cover this hull (built past the project's coverage), but NHHC Archives hold annual ship command histories; the digitized NHHC command-operation-report collection does not include a hayler-dd-997 entry, so the paper series for 1983-2003 is an on-request lead likely to document the 1988 Rhon collision repair, the 1991-92 Bath Iron Works (Portland) overhaul/VLS installation, and any asbestos-abatement tasking. (2) The Navy's pre-sinking environmental survey/report for this hull (prepared under EPA-guided SINKEX protocol, referenced in NNS041116-18) would be the authoritative record of materials present at disposal - retrievable via NAVSEA Inactive Ships Program records or FOIA.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1983-2004
- Limitations
- Leads only - nothing from these holdings was retrieved or reviewed; their contents are unverified and may not exist in retrievable form.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hayler-dd997-09
-
[10]CourtListener litigation sweep: 'USS Hayler', 'DD-997', 'Hayler' (opinion + docket indexes) [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py helper (authenticated v4, type=o and type=r) - fleet pacing stand-down
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Authenticated CourtListener sweep (ship-specific queries): 'DD-997' (type=o) - 0 opinions; 'USS Hayler' (type=o) - 0 opinions; 'USS Hayler' (type=r, RECAP docket index) - 0 dockets. No published opinion or indexed docket names this hull. Bare-surname queries ('Hayler', type=o/r) were blocked by fleet-wide pacing stand-down; a complaint referencing the ship as 'Hayler' only (without 'USS') or a surname-bearing party could exist unexamined.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Ship-specific sweep is a genuine negative: asbestos complaints conventionally name the vessel 'USS Hayler' or 'DD-997', both of which returned zero. Residual risk is the bare-surname band - a pleading using 'Hayler' unadorned - which stayed blocked; low likelihood, honestly logged rather than assumed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hayler-dd997-10