Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]Shipscribe (S.S. Roberts), USS ATR-41 class page - construction table, disposition table, and per-ship notes, compiled from official U.S. Navy and Maritime Commission records [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR41.html construction table row 'ATR-95 (HMRT CHEERLY)', disposition table row 95, and Ship Notes entry for ATR-95
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ATR-95 (HMRT CHEERLY): ordered 25 Feb 1943 under British Lend-Lease Requisition BAD-1750 (six '143-foot ocean-going salvage tugs,' ATR 91-96); keel laid 11 Jun 1943 at Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, TX; launched 23 Jul 1943; completed and delivered 18 Jan 1944; transferred to the UK under Lend-Lease as CHEERLY; returned to U.S. custody 19 Feb 1946; struck 12 Apr 1946; sold by the Foreign Liquidation Commission 24 Sep 1946 to BOSEY (Board of Supply, Executive Yuan, China).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Construction trades at Levingston, Orange, TX (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary source reproducing official register data; underlying BuShips/MC documents not directly examined. Column 'Commiss.' is blank for ATR-95, consistent with never entering U.S. service. Post-sale merchant identity/fate not recorded in the ship note.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr95-01
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[2]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, HMRT Cheerly (W-153) ex ATR-95 page [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/40/40095.htm - chronology lines and class specification block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Confirms the U.S. register trail: ATR-95 was transferred under the Lend-Lease Act to the United Kingdom as HMRT Cheerly (W-153); 'ATR-95 never saw active service in the US Navy'; returned to U.S. Navy custody 19 Feb 1946; struck from the Naval Register 12 Apr 1946; sold for commercial service in 1948; final disposition fate unknown. Page also states 'There is no DANFS history available for ATR-95' - no Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships entry exists for this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation. Contains errors corrected elsewhere in this record: the 'Delivered to the US Navy, 18 January 1943' date precedes the documented launch (23 Jul 1943) and conflicts with Shipscribe's completed/delivered 18 Jan 1944; the 'sold for commercial service in 1948' line conflicts with Shipscribe's FLC sale to BOSEY 24 Sep 1946 (a 1948 commercial transfer is not excluded - the two may describe successive events); the specification block on this page shows the steam plant of the different wooden ATR-1 type and is misapplied to this diesel-electric hull (see ev-03).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr95-02
-
[3]Shipscribe ATR-41 class machinery block ('1 screw, G.M. diesel electric', 1,500 HP, 13 kts, complement 43, 600 lt/835 max tons, 143.0' oa) and class note that BuShips contracted with General Motors to build ATR 41-49 and 91-100 'with G.M. providing the diesel engines and subcontractors building the hulls'; corroborated by thamestugs.co.uk Cheerly entry ('2x GM 12-278A diesel-electric engines, single screw, 1,500 SHP') [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe ATR41.html class header 'Machinery' + Class Notes paragraph on GM contract; thamestugs.co.uk BRITISH-TUGS Cheerly entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- This hull's propulsion was diesel-electric, not steam: single screw driven by a General Motors diesel-electric plant rated 1,500 hp (tug specialist chronology specifies two GM 12-278A engines). NavSource's ATR-95 page and Wikipedia's HMS Cheerly infobox both display a steam specification (vertical triple-expansion engine with two 'D'-type boilers) - that is the machinery of the wooden ATR-1-type rescue tugs, a different design, misapplied to this steel BAT-1-design hull. This hull had no boilers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Correction rests on the Shipscribe class machinery line plus the class narrative naming GM as engine contractor for ATR 91-100, corroborated by a tug-specialist compilation; the underlying contract/engineering drawings were not examined. Per-hull machinery variations within the class cannot be excluded from the sources at hand, but none is indicated for ATR-95.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr95-03
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, HMS Cheerly (W 153) entry; corroborated by thamestugs.co.uk British Tugs/Mulberry pages (convoy chronology) and Industrial History of Hong Kong Group AFD18 article (Hong Kong attachment) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/7421.html; thamestugs.co.uk BRITISH-TUGS.php 'CHEERLY W153' entry and MULBERRY-TUGS page; industrialhistoryhk.org 'Admiralty Floating Dock No.18 - in HK 1945 to 1955'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Royal Navy service as HMRT/HMS Cheerly (W 153), Favourite class: commissioned 18 Jan 1944 (uboat.net). Allocated to SNO Selsey to tow Phoenix and Whale Mulberry-harbour units; rescue-tug work on Seine Bay-to-Southend convoys FTM19 (departed 26 Jun 1944), FTC25 (3 Jul 1944), and FTC83 (30 Aug 1944); departed Southend 18 Dec 1944 in convoy ON273 noted as rescue tug bound for Gibraltar (thamestugs chronology; ON273's sailing is independently documented). In 1945, with sister HMRT Advantage (ex ATR-41), towed Admiralty Floating Dock No. 18 eastward - Cochin to Darwin 9 Apr-24 May 1945 as part of convoy WO 4A, on a tow sequence of roughly 14,000 miles from Glasgow; Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, British Pacific Fleet commander, thanked both crews at Darwin. Continued with AFD18 to Hong Kong (dock arrived Nov 1945); Cheerly is named as one of AFD18's two tugs in Hong Kong.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-01 to 1946-02
- Population
- Royal Navy crew (approx. class complement 43), 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary sources (uboat.net, thamestugs, Industrial History of HK Group article by Hugh Farmer quoting Stephen Davies, and the USS Advantage article's RN-movement-derived chronology); not verified against Admiralty movement cards or logs at The National Archives. The convoy assignments and the AFD18 tow are mutually corroborating across independent compilations but remain secondary-source claims. 'Glasgow-to-Darwin' wording describes the overall dock-tow sequence; Cheerly's documented leg is Cochin-Darwin within convoy WO 4A.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr95-04
-
[5]Shipscribe ATR-41 class data (design: Navy BAT-1; GM diesel-electric machinery) applied to this hull's documented plant; era product-typology inference [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe ATR41.html class machinery/design lines applied to row 95
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a 1943-wartime-built, all-steel, 143-foot diesel-electric ocean tug built at Levingston, Orange, TX, at the peak of wartime asbestos use in U.S. shipbuilding. No boilers or steam plant are present on this design. Typical asbestos applications for the type and era: diesel exhaust-manifold and muffler lagging; engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation; flange gaskets and machinery packing; joiner and accommodation insulation; brake linings on the towing winch and windlass.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1946+
- Population
- Construction trades at Levingston (1943-44); Royal Navy crew (1944-46); merchant crews post-1946
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-level asbestos record, material list, or survey located for this hull or any ATR-41-class member. Establishes no product presence, quantity, or exposure for any individual aboard this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr95-05
-
[6]Gun RT, Pratt N, et al., 'Asbestos-related cancer in naval personnel: findings from participants in the British nuclear tests 1952-1967,' Scientific Reports (2023) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Scientific Reports s41598-023-44847-4, introduction and discussion
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed cohort finding: asbestos-containing materials were present in British naval vessels throughout the twentieth century, and the greatest likelihood of onboard exposure was engine-room personnel whose maintenance work disturbed asbestos on pipework and machinery - the era context for this hull's Royal Navy service period as an engine-room-crewed tug.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1952-1967 cohorts; hull's RN service 1944-1946
- Population
- Royal Navy personnel (general, later era)
- Limitations
- Context only - the study cohorts served in the 1950s-1960s, after this vessel left Royal Navy service (Feb 1946); the paper does not name this hull, this class, or wartime rescue tugs. It supports only the general proposition that RN vessels carried ACM, not that this hull did.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr95-06
-
[7]Levingston Ship Building Co. v. Pelaez, 312 F. App'x 711 (5th Cir. 2009) (unpublished), No. 07-60616, decided 6 Mar 2009 - summarized in U.S. DOL OALJ Law Library, Recent Significant Black Lung and Longshore Decisions No. 208 (Mar 2009) [court_record]
- Locator
- DOL OALJ BLNW032009 summary; opinion text at 312 F. App'x 711 / 2009 WL 577736
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Yard-level asbestos litigation documented at the builder: ship fitter Paul Pelaez worked at Levingston Shipbuilding in the 1960s and early 1970s 'where he was exposed to asbestos' and died of that exposure in 2002; the ALJ found a prima facie compensable LHWCA death-benefit claim with Levingston as the last responsible employer, and the Fifth Circuit denied the insurer's petition (opinion unpublished). Confirms asbestos exposure occurred at the Levingston yard, though in a later era than this hull's 1943 construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- exposure 1960s-70s; litigation to 2009
- Population
- Levingston Shipbuilding workforce (1960s-70s era documented)
- Limitations
- Builder-yard context only - names the shipyard, not this hull; worker's exposure period (1960s-70s) postdates ATR-95's construction by ~20 years. Unpublished opinion, cited as a factual record of yard litigation, not as legal authority. Disposition: insurer's petition for review denied; underlying ALJ finding of compensable asbestos-exposure death stood. Does not establish anything about materials aboard ATR-95.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr95-07
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[8]CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP docket searches via authenticated fleet helper [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hmrt-atr95-07 through sl-uss-hmrt-atr95-09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep returned no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull. Opinions: '"ATR-95"' 0 hits; '"ATR 95"' 0 hits; 'Cheerly' 4 hits, all docketed copies of Pleasants v. Pendleton, 6 Va. 473 (Va. 1828) - an antebellum contract case, name collision only. RECAP dockets: combined '"ATR-95" OR "ATR 95" OR Cheerly' returned 6 dockets, all name collisions (criminal, Live Nation, NFL concussion MDL, individual parties) - none vessel- or asbestos-related.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Name/hull-number match search cannot prove no filing exists - pleadings that omit the hull name or index only a party name would not surface; RECAP coverage is incomplete for older federal dockets and state courts. 'Cheerly' is a live surname/given name, so future hits will keep colliding; classify any new hit against the vessel, not the string.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr95-08
-
[9]Batch-3025 search ledger (this record): NavSource, Shipscribe, uboat.net, thamestugs, Industrial History of HK Group, TNA Discovery, NARA catalog, CourtListener, general web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hmrt-atr95-01 through sl-uss-hmrt-atr95-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, Board of Trade/Admiralty material record, or docketed case naming ATR-95 / HMRT Cheerly (W-153) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No law-firm 'Navy ships' list enumerating this hull was located either.
- 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 steel tug of this type is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and brake linings. Does not establish or defeat any individual exposure or eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr95-09
-
[10]The National Archives (UK) Discovery API name search; U.S. NARA catalog API; unexamined archival series [other_primary]
- Locator
- discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk API results for 'Cheerly' (50 hits, all 1800s-era); catalog.archives.gov API v2 query '"ATR-95"' (empty response)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not yet retrieved: (1) TNA Discovery name search for 'Cheerly' surfaces only the Napoleonic-era sloop HMS Cheerly (1804-1815, e.g., ADM 51/2170 captains' logs) - a name collision; WWII HMRT Cheerly records were not surfaced by name but likely exist under ADM 53 (ship's logs), ADM 199 (war records), or ADM 1 series. (2) U.S. NARA holds lend-lease transfer files and FLC disposal records documenting the 24 Sep 1946 BOSEY sale; catalog API query 'ATR-95' returned no usable result. (3) The China Merchants/BOSEY 'MING'-series merchant identity of this hull, if any, would appear in ROC-era shipping registers.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Unverified leads only - TNA's name-indexed coverage of WWII-era ADM logs is incomplete and this tug's logs may be indexed under pennant or flotilla rather than name; nothing retrieved was examined. No asbestos content is asserted to exist in any of these records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr95-10