Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]U.S. Navy Department, Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945,' Vol. III (NAVSHIPS 250-012), List of Naval Vessels - digitized scan hosted at shipscribe.com [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. III, List of Naval Vessels, 'Rescue Tugs (ATR)' column, p. 13
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official 1945 BuShips vessel list under 'RESCUE TUGS (ATR)' records 'ATR91-96 Transferred to United Kingdom' - confirming that ATR-94 was a U.S.-built rescue tug transferred to the Royal Navy rather than a commissioned U.S. Navy vessel in active service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Official publication confirms the transfer status of the ATR 91-96 group but gives no per-hull detail for this hull (transferred units appear in the list only as a group entry); contains no asbestos or materials information and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr94-01
-
[2]Roberts, Stephen S., 'USS ATR-41 Class' (shipscribe.com), data compiled from U.S. Navy Ships' Data, Navy List strike records, and FLC/MC disposal records [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-41 class page, Construction table row 94, Disposition table row 94, Ship Notes row 94
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ATR-94 was ordered 1943-02-25 as part of the steel rescue-tug program; keel laid 1943-05-14 at Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, TX; launched 1943-06-30; completed 1943-12-20; delivered to the Navy 1943-12-21 and transferred under Lend-Lease to the UK as HMRT FLAUNT; returned to U.S. custody 1946-04-13; struck from the Naval Register 1946-05-08; sold by the Foreign Liquidation Commission 1946-09-24 to BOSEY (Board of Supply, Executive Yuan, China); merchant names MING 102, then MING 302, later SUI JUI 203; Lloyd's (1990) reported 'continued existence in doubt.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1990
- Limitations
- Shipscribe is a private compilation by researcher Stephen S. Roberts transcribing official Navy List, Ships' Data, and disposal records - it is the most detailed published source for this hull but is a secondary compilation, not the underlying record. Conflicts with NavSource on return-custody date (13 vs 14 Apr 1946) and on merchant-sale buyer (FLC sale to Chinese government BOSEY vs 'China Merchants Steam Navigation Company' directly) and final merchant name (SUI JUI 203 vs Sui Jiu 302). No asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr94-02
-
[3]U.S. Navy Department, Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945,' Vol. III (NAVSHIPS 250-012), Auxiliaries - Ocean Tugs, Auxiliary (ATA) characteristics tables; and Shipscribe 'USS ATR-41 Class' class notes [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. III, 'Auxiliaries - Ocean Tugs, Auxiliary (ATA)' characteristics tables pp. 384-385 and machinery table; shipscribe.com/usnaux/ATR/ATR41.html class notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The steel rescue-tug design group to which ATR-94 belongs (ATR 41-49 / 91-96, same design as ATA 121-125 and ATA 170-213 per Shipscribe class notes) is documented in the official Ships' Data characteristics tables at 143'0" overall, 134'6" waterline, 33'10" beam, 13.0 knots trial speed, 835 tons trial displacement, accommodations for 5 officers and 40 enlisted, armament one 3"/50 cal. dual-purpose mount, 4-ton largest boom capacity, propulsion G.M. diesel-electric 12-278A, 1,500 shp, single screw, Fairbanks-Morse reduction gear. Shipscribe class notes record that the British requisitioned ATR 91-96 as six '143-foot ocean-going salvage tugs' (Lend-Lease Requisition BAD-1750) and that BuShips contracted with General Motors Corp. with subcontractors (Levingston for ATR 91-96) building the hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Limitations
- Design-group data, not a hull survey - ATR 91-96 appear in the official list only as a transferred group and are not individually tabulated in the characteristics tables; identical-design status for the group is per Shipscribe class notes ('identical in design to both the ATR-41 class and the preceding BAT-1 class'). No asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr94-03
-
[4]NavSource Online, ATR-94 page (navsource.net/archives/09/40/40094.htm) compared against official Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III ATR characteristics tables [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 40094 'Specifications' block vs SDB 1945 Vol. III pp. 414-415 (ATR1-40/50-89, footnoted 'Wood hulls') and pp. 384-385 (steel diesel group); NavSource 40001 (USS ATR-1) identical block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The specifications block published on the NavSource ATR-94 page (165'6" length, 852/1,315 tons displacement, Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, two Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type boilers, 1,620 bbls NSFO fuel, complement 5 officers + 47 enlisted) is the official Ships' Data spec for the WOODEN-hulled steam ATR 1-40 / 50-89 group, not for this hull. Ships' Data 1945 and the Shipscribe class notes establish that ATR 91-96 were steel-hulled 143-foot diesel-electric tugs (Design 377A type) with no steam plant; the same wooden-type spec block appears identically on NavSource's USS ATR-1 page, confirming it is a class-wide paste applied to the wrong subgroup.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943 design data; page accessed 2026
- Limitations
- Corrects a propagated secondary-source specification error; NavSource's chronology on the same page (launch, delivery, transfer, merchant names) is separately consistent with the compiled Navy record, but its specification block should not be used for this hull. No asbestos content in any source cited here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr94-04
-
[5]CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum, 'HMCS Mulgrave' official ship-history article [museum_official]
- Locator
- HMCS Mulgrave ship-history page, narrative section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- In Royal Navy service as HMRT Flaunt, the tug performed ocean-rescue/salvage work: after HMCS Mulgrave ran aground at Horta in the Azores on 1944-02-29 while en route to UK minesweeping duty, 'she was towed by HM Rescue Tug Flaunt to the Clyde in Scotland for repairs' - a documented Atlantic rescue-tow of a damaged warship in early 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Museum-published secondary history of the Canadian minesweeper; confirms the tow but not dates of Flaunt's passage or crew. Establishes wartime employment consistent with the rescue-tug role; contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr94-05
-
[6]uboat.net Allied Warships entry 'HMS Flaunt (W 152)' + shipsproject.org detailed account 'Loss of the James Eagan Layne' (convoy BTC-103, U-399) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/7420 'Notable events'; shipsproject.org/Liberty70/Liberty70_loss.html and /Wrecks/Wk_JamesEaganLayne.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- On 21 March 1945 HMRT Flaunt took aboard survivors from the American Liberty ship James Eagan Layne, torpedoed by U-399 12 miles off Plymouth (50deg13'N, 04deg05'W) in convoy BTC-103; Flaunt and HMS Atlas (W 41) sailed from Plymouth, took the crippled ship in tow, and beached her in Whitesand Bay when she began to founder - the only vessel lost from the convoy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Both sources are secondary compilations of wartime records (uboat.net compiles from Rohwer & Hummelchen-style chronology; shipsproject.org is a wreck-research site quoting Admiralty salvage reports) - not the underlying RN logs, which would be in TNA ADM series. Establishes the vessel's documented wartime employment; contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr94-06
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[7]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 scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the era and program under which this steel 1943 rescue tug was built at a U.S. Gulf Coast yard, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard naval and merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- 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, this design, or Levingston Shipbuilding, 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-hmrt-atr94-07
-
[8]Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III machinery table (steel ATR/ATA group) + Shipscribe class notes (Design 377A 'Tug, Ocean-Going, Diesel-Electric, Steel, 143 ft') [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. III machinery table, ATA121-125/146/170-213 group rows; shipscribe ATR-41 class notes ('Tug, Ocean-Going, Diesel-Electric, Steel, 143 ft')
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The design's propulsion plant is diesel-electric (G.M. 12-278A-type engines, single screw, diesel-driven generators) - it carried no boilers and no steam distribution lines. The boiler insulation and steam-line lagging pathway that dominates asbestos inference on steam-powered vessels of the era therefore does not apply to this design's propulsion plant. Era-typical asbestos uses that could remain relevant to this hull type are engine and piping gaskets, packing, friction linings on towing-winch brakes and windlass, electrical insulation, and accommodation/galley insulation - all unverified aboard this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943 design; era inference
- Population
- Construction trades (Levingston, Orange TX, 1943); RN crew 1943-1946; Chinese merchant crews post-1946
- Limitations
- Design-level inference only - no materials schedule, survey, or insulation specification for this hull was located. The absence of the steam-lagging pathway does not establish absence of asbestos aboard; it only bounds the plausible product set. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr94-08
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches (2026-09-26): opinion queries '"ATR-94"' (0 results), '"HMRT Flaunt"' (0 results), 'Flaunt' (2,390 results - all collisions on the verb 'flaunt', none vessel-related), 'Flaunt AND (tug OR vessel OR asbestos)' (78 results - all collisions, none naming this vessel); docket query '"ATR-94" OR "ATR 94"' (3 results - unrelated securities/antitrust cases matching 'ATR' as text) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hmrt-atr94-08 through sl-uss-hmrt-atr94-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation or other litigation naming ATR-94 or HMRT Flaunt was located in CourtListener's opinion and RECAP docket indexes. Every 'Flaunt' hit is a collision on the common verb; every 'ATR-94/ATR 94' hit is an unrelated alphanumeric collision.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a docketed case does not prove absence of exposure - a lend-lease hull that spent 1943-46 in RN service and was then sold abroad would generate claims (if any) against manufacturers or non-U.S. forums that would not surface as vessel-named U.S. opinions. Opinion-level 'ATR 94' (spaced) query could not be completed within the shared CourtListener pacing window; hyphenated opinion query and combined docket query provide coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr94-09
-
[10]Batch-3024 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (no entry exists for ATR-94); NavSource; Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III; Shipscribe; MARAD Vessel History Database; uboat.net; CFB Esquimalt museum; convoyweb.org.uk; CourtListener; TNA Discovery [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hmrt-atr94-01 through sl-uss-hmrt-atr94-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials specification, or court finding naming ATR-94 / HMRT Flaunt / Ming 102-302 / Sui Jui 203 was found in the public sources searched. No DANFS history exists for this hull (it was never named or commissioned in U.S. service), and no MARAD status card exists because the 1946 disposal was an overseas Foreign Liquidation Commission sale outside MC/MARAD custody records.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 U.S.-built naval auxiliary is era-consistent with asbestos-containing era materials in gaskets, packing, friction linings, and insulation. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr94-10
-
[11]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) contract/specification records; UK National Archives ADM series (RN ship logs); Lloyd's Register Foundation Heritage & Education Centre archive document lrf-pun-014738-014750-0303-c (1949 Certificate of Survey referencing 'Ming 302') [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 19 guide page; TNA Discovery catalogue (ADM 53 ship logs); hec.lrfoundation.org.uk doc lrf-pun-014738-014750-0303-c
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no research-room visit or reproduction order authorized): (a) NARA RG 19 BuShips contract records for the General Motors rescue-tug contract and Levingston hull 310 - the contracting arrangement (GM prime, yard subcontractor) means hull-level outfitting specifications may sit in contract files; (b) TNA ADM 53 ship's logs / ADM salvage records for HMRT Flaunt 1943-46 - would document her full wartime employment; (c) Lloyd's Register Foundation archive holds a 1949 Certificate of Survey for the vessel Chiao Jen that references 'Ming 302' among associated vessels - a paper trail that could corroborate the merchant-era identity chain; (d) Lloyd's Register ship entries for Ming 102/302 and Sui Jui 203 would settle the conflicting final-name record.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1990 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping and catalogue-level pointers only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether any of these files contain asbestos-relevant material for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr94-11