Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]NavSource Naval History, Service Ship Photo Archive, ATR-96 / HMRT Emphatic (W-154) / BRP Ifugao (AQ-44) page [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATR-96 entry, archive page 09/40/40096; page states 'There is no DANFS history available for ATR-96'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ATR-96 was built at Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, TX; delivered to the U.S. Navy 27 January 1944; never saw active service in the U.S. Navy; transferred under the Lend-Lease Act to the United Kingdom and commissioned as HMRT Emphatic (W-154); returned to U.S. Navy custody in 1946; struck from the Naval Register (date not stated on the page); transferred to the Republic of the Philippines in July 1948 and renamed BRP Ifugao (AQ-44); final disposition unknown. Two official Philippine Navy photographs (c. 1953) of Ifugao are archived on the page.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1979
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer archive reproducing official records and official photos; the page header labels this hull 'ATR-1 Class' and displays the wooden ATR-1-type specification block (165'6", steam triple-expansion plant) that does not describe this steel diesel-electric hull - see correction row ev-04. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr96-01
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[2]Shipscribe.com, 'USS ATA-125 (ex ATR-47)' class page - ATR-41 class construction/disposition tables and class notes (compiled from official USN records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table row ATR-96; Disposition table row ATR-96; Ship Notes ATR-96; Class Notes (BAD-1750 requisition, GM contract structure)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts) tabulation of official USN building and disposition data for the ATR-41 class: ATR-96 ordered 25 February 1943 under the Maximum War Effort program (VCNO directive 18 Jan 43 for ATR 91-100); keel laid 1 July 1943 at Levingston SB, Orange; launched 18 August 1943; completed 26 January 1944; delivered 27 January 1944 and transferred to the UK under Lend-Lease as EMPHATIC; returned to U.S. custody 13 April 1946; struck 8 May 1946; transferred 2 July 1948 to the Philippines Navy as IFUGAO; deleted 1979. Class notes: ATR 91-96 were the six '143-foot ocean-going salvage tugs' of British Lend-Lease Requisition BAD-1750; BuShips contracted with General Motors for ATR 41-49 and 91-100, GM supplying diesel engines with subcontracted hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1979
- Limitations
- Secondary tabulation of official records (NVR/Ships' Data-type building and disposition data); underlying register and contract documents not independently retrieved. No asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr96-02
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[3]uboat.net Allied Warships, 'HMS Emphatic (W 154)' and Favourite-class roster; thamestugs.co.uk 'British, French and Dutch Tugs' Emphatic W154 entry (private research compilation); en.wikipedia.org 'HMS Emphatic (W 154)' (derivative) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/7422; uboat.net class/358 (Favourite-class roster); thamestugs.co.uk/BRITISH-TUGS.php 'EMPHATIC W154' entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Royal Navy service as HMS/HMRT Emphatic (W-154), Favourite-class rescue tug, commissioned 27 January 1944: listed in the uboat.net Favourite-class roster and on the ship's uboat.net page (launched 18 Aug 1943, commissioned 27 Jan 1944, built Levingston, Orange TX). The specialist tug-history compilation thamestugs.co.uk records her as 'allocated to SNO Selsey to tow Phoenix and Whale units' during the Normandy landings (Mulberry harbour program); Wikipedia's derivative summary describes her as towing Mulberry harbour pontoons. ThamesTugs also records yard number YN312 and 534 grt / 783 dwt for this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Royal Navy Rescue Tug Service crews (T124-articles merchant seamen), 1944-1946
- Limitations
- All sources for the RN operational record are secondary specialist compilations; the Selsey/Phoenix/Whale Mulberry detail traces to thamestugs (single-source, not an official record). No UK primary record (ship's log, movement card) was retrieved - TNA ADM 53 holds RN ship's logs for 1944-46 and is the unretrieved lead. No asbestos information in any of these sources; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr96-03
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[4]NavSource ATR-96 page (mislabeled spec block) vs. shipscribe ATR-41 class header data and RN Favourite-class listings (NavSource BAT-3/HMRT Favourite sister-class page, uboat.net class data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/40/40096 spec block; shipscribe ATR41 class header (Design Navy BAT-1, 143.0' oa, GM diesel-electric, 1,500 HP, complement 43); NavSource BAT-3 page (09/38/38128) for sister-class specs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Specification discrepancy corrected: NavSource's ATR-96 page labels the hull 'ATR-1 Class Rescue Tug' and displays the wooden ATR-1-type specification block (165'6" length, 852 t light / 1,315 t full, Fulton vertical triple-expansion steam engine with two Babcock & Wilcox 'D'-type 200 psi boilers, 1,600 shp, complement 5 officers/47 enlisted). That spec block does not describe this hull. ATR-96 was one of six 143-ft steel diesel-electric rescue tugs (ATR 91-96) built to the BAT-1-derivative design: 143' oa x 33'10" x 13'2", ~600 t light / 835 t full, one General Motors 12-278A diesel-electric plant with Fairbanks-Morse reduction gear driving a single screw at 1,500 shp, complement ~43-45, armament one 3"/50 and two 20mm mounts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (construction era)
- Limitations
- Resolves a propagated spec error affecting the asbestos-relevant machinery description (diesel-electric, no steam plant or boiler lagging). Does not establish that any specific material aboard contained asbestos; the diesel-electric plant description itself comes from class-level data, not a hull survey.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr96-04
-
[5]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 hull was built (1943-44, U.S. wartime naval construction). For a diesel-electric rescue tug the period-typical applications were engine exhaust insulation, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, fire-resistant joiner/bulkhead board, and winch/towing-gear brake linings; the boiler and steam-line lagging pathway characteristic of steam auxiliaries does not apply to this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- Shipbuilders (Levingston SB, Orange TX, 1943-44); Royal Navy Rescue Tug Service crews (1944-46); Philippine Navy crews (1948-1979) - class context only
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship; 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. The application list for this hull is inference from era practice, not a documented bill of materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr96-05
-
[6]Levingston Ship Building Co. v. Pelaez, No. 07-60616, 2009 WL 577736 (5th Cir. Mar. 6, 2009) (per curiam, unreported); summarized in USDOL OALJ Law Library, Recent Significant Black Lung and Longshore Decisions #208 (Mar. 2009) [court_record]
- Locator
- DOL OALJ digest entry for the decision; opinion reported at 312 F. App'x 711
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Adjudicated asbestos-exposure record at the builder's yard (context, not this hull): in Levingston Ship Building Co. v. Pelaez, No. 07-60616 (5th Cir. Mar. 6, 2009) (unreported; 312 F. App'x 711), the Benefits Review Board/ALJ record established that Levingston ship fitter Paul Pelaez was exposed to asbestos at the Orange, TX yard in the 1960s-early 1970s and died of that exposure; his widow's LHWCA death-benefits claim was found compensable and the Fifth Circuit denied the insolvent-insurer guaranty association's petition, leaving the compensability finding intact (appellate issues were carrier designation, penalties, jurisdiction, and venue - not the exposure finding).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1960s-1970s exposure; adjudicated 2003-2009
- Population
- Levingston Shipbuilding yard workers (1960s-70s era documented)
- Limitations
- Documents adjudicated asbestos exposure at the Levingston yard in the 1960s-70s - TWO DECADES AFTER this hull's 1943-44 construction; it establishes that the builder's yard was an asbestos-exposure site in that later era, nothing about materials aboard ATR-96 or about the yard's 1943-44 practices. Unreported disposition - non-precedential. Does not establish or defeat any claim relating to this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr96-06
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 search results, queries "ATR-96" (o and r), "Emphatic" (o), qualified "Emphatic" AND (tug OR vessel OR ship OR "W-154") (o), "Ifugao" (o and r), 2026-09-26 [court_record]
- Locator
- "ATR-96": 0 opinions, 1 docket collision (flsb 22-17842); "Emphatic": 16,480 adjective collisions; "Emphatic" AND (tug OR vessel OR ship OR "W-154"): 1,776 results, top-ranked all collisions; "Ifugao": 0 opinions, 1 docket collision (nysd 23-cv-11195 exhibit)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener API v4 searches (via required authenticated helper, 2026-09-26): quoted hull-number opinion search "ATR-96" returned 0 results; quoted hull-number docket/RECAP search "ATR-96" returned 1 result - a name collision (Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Bankr. S.D. Fla. 22-17842, product/exhibit token match, not the vessel) - classified non-qualifying. Name searches: "Ifugao" opinions returned 0 results; "Ifugao" dockets returned 1 result - a collision (New York Times Co. v. Microsoft, S.D.N.Y. 23-cv-11195 copyright case; 'Ifugao' appears in a newspaper-article exhibit re the Philippine province/ethnic group, not the vessel) - classified non-qualifying. A bare "Emphatic" opinion search returned 16,480 results - the word is a common adjective in legal writing ('emphatic rejection'/'denial'); top-ranked results reviewed are all adjective collisions with no vessel reference. A qualified variant "Emphatic" AND (tug OR vessel OR ship OR "W-154") returned 1,776 results but still does not discriminate - 'vessel'/'ship' match generic admiralty and in-rem text; top-ranked results reviewed (Odyssey Marine shipwreck salvage, Whole Woman's Health, People v. Serrano, Nautilus Marine v. Exxon Mobil) are all collisions with no reference to HMS/HMRT Emphatic. A tighter variant "Emphatic" AND ("W-154" OR tug) and a "Levingston" asbestos sweep were attempted but remained blocked by the fleet-wide CourtListener pacing limiter at session end.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26 (search date)
- Limitations
- Reflects only the searches actually completed: hull-number opinion (0 hits) and docket (1 collision) searches; "Ifugao" opinion (0) and docket (1 collision) searches; the bare name search "Emphatic" (16,480 adjective collisions - high-collision wash); and the loose qualified variant "Emphatic" AND (tug OR vessel OR ship OR "W-154") (1,776 results - still undiscriminating because 'vessel'/'ship' appear in most admiralty opinions; top-ranked reviewed are all non-vessel collisions). A tighter variant "Emphatic" AND ("W-154" OR tug) and a "Levingston" shipyard asbestos sweep could not be completed under fleet-wide rate pacing - NOT an exhaustive negative finding; logged partial rather than a completed litigation sweep. Does not establish that no litigation naming this hull exists. UK-era asbestos claims (T124-crew mesothelioma) would appear in British, not U.S., dockets in any case.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr96-07
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[8]Batch-3026 search ledger (this record): NavSource ATR-96 archive; shipscribe ATR-41 class page; MARAD ShipHistory name search; NHHC/DANFS index; uboat.net; thamestugs; NPS/NRHP check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hmrt-atr96-01 through sl-uss-hmrt-atr96-15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no DANFS entry exists for ATR-96 (NavSource notes none is available, consistent with a hull never commissioned in the U.S. Navy); MARAD ShipHistory database returns no record under IFUGAO or EMPHATIC (no federal maritime custody card - the 1948 Philippine transfer did not route through MARAD/Maritime Commission custody); no NPS/NRHP/museum record exists (vessel deleted 1979, not preserved); no asbestos survey, abatement contract, or hazmat disclosure naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- 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 1943-44 USN-program steel tug is era-consistent with asbestos-containing construction materials. 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-atr96-08
-
[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships) + NARA Cartographic ship-plans guidance; UK National Archives Discovery, ADM 53 series description (Ships' Logs, 1799-2008) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 19 guide (19.8 BuShips records); https://www.archives.gov/research/cartographic/ship-plans ; TNA series ADM 53 (discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1762)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) - ship plans and construction records for USN-designated hulls incl. WWII-era 'booklet of general plans'; the Cartographic Branch holds USN ship engineering drawings through the Korea era; (b) UK National Archives ADM 53 - commissioned Royal Navy ships' logs, which would cover HMS Emphatic's 1944-46 commission if preserved (logs for this hull not confirmed in digitized series); (c) U.S. Foreign Liquidation Commission / State Department transfer records for the 1946-48 return and 1948 Philippine transfer (RG context: FLC handled surplus lend-lease returns).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1979 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents (e.g., outfitting specifications in a general-plans booklet) for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hmrt-atr96-09