Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet mq-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced)
- Evidence ID
- uss-ibex-ix119-pkt-mq-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS (NHHC), Ibex II (IX-119) - updated entry, Robert J. Cressman, published 2022-05-25 (Wayback capture 2024-05-26; live NHHC URL returned 404 on access date - see search_ledger sl-01; same text transcribed at hazegray.org/danfs/ix/ix119.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback capture 20240526184330 of NHHC DANFS 'Ibex II (IX-119)' page; full entry text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: Nicholas Longworth was laid down 16 October 1943 at Wilmington, Calif., by California Shipbuilding Corp. under a Maritime Commission contract (M.C.E. Hull 1908); renamed Ibex 27 October 1943; launched 15 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. A. T. Olson; acquired by the Navy 13 December 1943, transferred under bareboat charter at 3:15 p.m. that day, and commissioned, Lt. Cmdr. John L. Frazer, D-V(G), USNR, in command. After West Coast shakedown, departed San Pedro 23 January 1944, reaching Noumea, New Caledonia, 18 February; operated as a floating storage ship transporting gasoline and lube oil in the South Pacific for eight months; from October 1944 until war's end operated with Service Squadron (SerRon) 8, Third Fleet. After VJ Day serviced occupation forces in the Far East; cleared Shanghai 6 April 1946 for Balboa, putting in at Wake Island 17 April to transfer Sea2c William D. Bartle to the U.S. Naval Hospital there. Decommissioned Norfolk 28 June 1946; returned to the Maritime Commission 30 June, entering Area S-4, James River group, Reserve Fleet off Lee Hall, Va., at 9:20 a.m. 30 June 1946. Withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet at 12:30 p.m. 12 January 1948 under general agency agreement to T. J. Stevenson & Co.; delivered to purchasers 3:25 p.m. 18 February 1948; renamed Helen Stevenson; sold to University of Chicago February 1957, then to Liberian interests March 1957. Namesake note: the second Ibex perpetuated the name of the Civil War vessel. DANFS data line: displacement 14,500 (limiting); length 441'6"; beam 56'11"; draft 28'4"; speed 11.0 knots; complement 176; armament 1 5-inch, 1 3-inch, 8 20mm; type EC2-S-C1.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Ship's company 1943-1946 (Navy-manned commissioned vessel)
- Limitations
- Controlling official ship history (NHHC DANFS, 2022 update); names this hull and confirms M.C.E. Hull 1908 and the bareboat-charter delivery consistent with the MARAD status card. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, survey, or crew-health information and supports no asbestos claim. The 'type EC2-S-C1' data-line notation conflicts with the vessel's MARAD status card ('TANKER / ZET1') - see correction row ev-uss-ibex-ix119-03. Commissioning shown as occurring at delivery 1943-12-13; NavSource dates it 1943-12-18 (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ibex-ix119-01
-
[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - NICHOLAS LONGWORTH, Ship History Detail 3611, incl. digitized vessel status cards (3 scans) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 3611 - status card scans 3611_6680AF.jpg (front), 3611_6680AB.jpg (reverse data strip), 59A_01.png (full card)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD vessel status card for NICHOLAS LONGWORTH (former IBEX (IX-119)): Type 'TANKER' struck through with 'ZET1' entered and 'CONVERTED TO DRY CARGO' noted; O.N. 244764; MC Hull No. 1908; built by California S.B. Corp. at Los Angeles, Cal., completed 12-13-43; 'Basis to W.S.A. 12-13-43 3:15 PM PWT @ Los Angeles, Cal.'; allocated to Navy Dept. (bareboat form BB, renamed 'IX-119') delivered Los Angeles 12-13-43 3:15 PM; entered Reserve Fleet at Lee Hall, Va. 6-30-46 9:20 AM EDT; delivered to T. J. Stevenson & Co under GAA 1-12-48 12:30 PM; sold to T. J. Stevenson & Co at Savannah, Ga. 2-18-48 and renamed HELEN STEVENSON; sold to University of Chicago 2-57; sold foreign (Liberia) 3-57. Reverse card data: 7,243 gross / 4,384 net tons; 14,230 displacement; 2,500 IHP; '2 WTB' (two water-tube boilers); DWT 10,558; length 422.8, breadth 57, depth 34.8. Database detail page types the vessel 'EC2-S-C1' / General Cargo-Break Bulk - the post-conversion configuration (see correction row).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1957 (custody record)
- Limitations
- Primary government custody/disposal record (status card scan). Covers government ownership period through the March 1957 foreign sale; post-1957 flag-state career is outside MARAD custody and not on the card. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. Handwritten entries partially legible (image-read).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ibex-ix119-02
-
[4]MARAD status card (Detail 3611) type field 'TANKER / ZET1, CONVERTED TO DRY CARGO'; NavSource IX-119 page; HyperWar Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945 IX listing; U.S. Merchant Marine Calship Liberty-tanker list (usmm.ianewatts.org/l/calship.html); MARAD sister-hull records CHARLES T. YERKES (Detail 912) and CARL R. GRAY (Detail 7200) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Status card image 59A_01.png field 2; https://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-ix.html (IX-111 through IX-129 rows); https://www.usmm.ianewatts.org/l/calship.html (MC 1900-1909 rows); https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/912 and /7200
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- As-built design type is the Maritime Commission Z-ET1-S-C3 'Liberty tanker': the vessel's own MARAD status card enters Type as 'TANKER' / 'ZET1' and the MC hull list records Calship hulls 1900-1909 (Sidney Howard through Charles T. Yerkes) as Z-ET1-S-C3 tankers delivered to the Navy as IX-111 through IX-120 - this hull is MC 1908. HyperWar's NVR-derived IX list types every Armadillo-class member (IX-111 through IX-129) Z-ET1-S-C3, and MARAD's own database types sister hulls YERKES and GRAY Z-ET1-S-C3. The 'EC2-S-C1' notation in the DANFS data line (and in MARAD's database field for this vessel, which carries post-conversion 'General Cargo / Break Bulk' characteristics and the 422.8-ft converted length) reflects the base Liberty hull design and/or the 1949 dry-cargo conversion configuration, not the as-built type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1949
- Limitations
- Correction records the controlling primary document (status card) against database-field and DANFS-line anomalies. The Z-ET1-S-C3 is itself derived from the EC2 hull form, so derivative sources repeat 'EC2-S-C1' loosely (Wikipedia carries the DANFS line). Does not affect identity, dates, or service record. No asbestos content in any cited source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ibex-ix119-03
-
[5]U.S. Maritime Commission, Instruction Manual for Operating and Maintaining 2500 H.P. Triple Expansion Marine Steam Engines, EC2-S-C1 Cargo Vessels (mirrored excerpt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Mirrored excerpt, engine-cylinder insulation section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- This hull's propulsion plant is the same Liberty-standard machinery: MARAD status card records '2500 IHP' and '2 WTB' (two water-tube boilers); NavSource's specification block lists a Joshua Hendy Ironworks triple-expansion reciprocating engine and two Babcock & Wilcox 220 psi/450 deg F boilers, 2,500 shp single screw. The USMC instruction manual for this plant family describes cylinder insulation of magnesia under sheet-iron lagging; insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and period steam-system gaskets, packing, and insulation felts commonly contained asbestos.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- Construction trades (Calship, 1943); engine-room crew 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual is titled for EC2-S-C1 cargo vessels and does not name this vessel; the Z-ET1-S-C3 tanker used the same standard machinery family but installation details differ from the cargo variant. The manual does not itself state 'asbestos' content; asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ibex-ix119-04
-
[6]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 study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency Maritime Commission program under which this Z-ET1-S-C3 hull was mass-produced in 1943 - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- 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 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-ibex-ix119-05
-
[7]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Ibex (IX-119) page; Auke Visser's Famous T-Tanker Pages, Nicholas Longworth / IX-119 register entry (aukevisser.nl id1194, citing Miramar Ship Index no. 2244764, IMO 539204) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/46/46119 (chronology + specifications); aukevisser.nl/t2tanker/t-tankers-2/id1194.htm (Miramar register block and disposal data)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-custody merchant career and final disposition: acquired by T. J. Stevenson Co. under General Agency Agreement 12 January 1948 and sold 18 February 1948; converted to dry cargo by Norfolk Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., delivered August 1949 (7,266 grt), as SS Helen Stevenson; sold to University of Chicago February 1957; sold for foreign service March 1957, reflagged Liberian as SS Elderfields (Elderfields Steamship Corp., Monrovia; T. J. Stevenson interests); sold 1961 to Marine Development & Supply SA, Monrovia (P. S. Li, Hong Kong), renamed SS Winner; sold 1964 to Winner Shipping Corp., Ltd., Monrovia (An Kuo SS Co., Taipei). Stranded at Wakanoura, Wakayama Prefecture, 10 September 1965 during a typhoon; refloated 25 September 1965; judged unseaworthy; arrived Hirao for breaking 17 February 1966, demolition begun 28 February 1966.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1948-1966
- Population
- Merchant crews 1948-1966; Norfolk SB&DD conversion yard workers 1949; breakers at Hirao 1966
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilations (NavSource; Visser quoting Miramar Ship Index), mutually corroborating and consistent with the MARAD status card through the 1957 foreign sale; no flag-state or breaker documentation was retrieved. The 1949 Norfolk conversion and the 1965 grounding/1966 demolition rest on these registers, not primary records. No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ibex-ix119-06
-
[8]Batch-4688 search ledger (this record): DANFS (hazegray mirror); MARAD ShipHistory 3611 + status cards; NavSource; HyperWar IX list; usmm.org Calship tanker list; Auke Visser/Miramar register; NARA online deck-log list; NHHC site search; CourtListener name/hull searches; general web search for asbestos claims [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ibex-ix119-01 through sl-uss-ibex-ix119-17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum or government materials statement, or docketed asbestos case naming Ibex/IX-119 or any of the hull's merchant names (Nicholas Longworth, Helen Stevenson, Elderfields, Winner) was found in the public sources searched - see search_ledger. No asbestos claim appears in competitor/secondary web content for this hull either.
- 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 1943 emergency-program steam tanker is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and packing. Hull was scrapped abroad in 1966; no surviving fabric exists to survey. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ibex-ix119-07
-
[9]NARA Navy deck-log holdings and digitization guidance; RG 24 (Logs of U.S. Naval Ships and Stations) and RG 178 (Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (digitized list, Ibex absent); https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no spend authorized): (a) U.S. Navy deck logs for IX-119, Dec 1943-Jun 1946, are held in RG 24 at NARA II, College Park; the hull does not appear on NARA's published list of fully digitized deck logs as of 2026-09-29 - logs would record coaling/fuel-transfer operations, refits, and any battle-damage or material events relevant to disturbance of installed materials. (b) RG 178 Maritime Commission records may hold construction/outfitting specifications for MC hull 1908 under the Calship contract. (c) Post-1957 Liberian flag records and the 1965-66 Japanese casualty/breaking documentation are outside U.S. federal archives.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1966 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for hull 1908 is unknown until surveyed in person. Deck-log digitization status may change as NARA processes the VA-era scanning backlog. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ibex-ix119-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket searches (via authenticated fleet helper cl-auth-search.py), 2026-09-29 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ibex-ix119-07 through -10 and -15 through -17
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos or vessel-related litigation located for this hull under any searched name. 'USS Ibex' opinion search: 0 results. 'IX-119' opinion search: 6 results, all name collisions - bar discipline (State ex rel. Oklahoma Bar Ass'n v. Bolusky), family/administrative (Bermudez Rivera v. Departamento de la Familia), criminal (Woodman v. State), commercial (Bobrow Palumbo Sales v. Broan-Nutone), consumer/financial (Debry v. Transamerica), labor (Connell Construction v. Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 100); none involves a vessel, maritime activity, or asbestos - the token match is in reporter-citation or record text, not party/ship identity. 'Nicholas Longworth' opinion search: 48 results; all 40 inspected hits are collisions with the 19th-century Cincinnati landowner's estate/land litigation (e.g., William F. Raymond's Lessee v. Nicholas Longworth, U.S. Supreme Court 1852; Taylor v. Longworth, U.S. Supreme Court 1840) or unrelated persons. 'Helen Stevenson' opinion search: 4 results, all personal-name/surname collisions (Stevenson v. Superior Court; Washington v. Waring; Stevenson Trust; Billiot v. Epps). 'Ibex' docket search: 986 results, all IBEX-named business entities (IBEX International, Ibex Construction, Ibex Engineering, Ibex Global et al.). 'Winner' + ship opinion search: 1,304 results, all common-word/corporate-name collisions. 'Elderfields' opinion search: 6 results, all collisions with the Long Island place/entity name in New York property litigation (e.g., Hoisting Machinery Co. v. Elderfields Reservation, Inc., 1921) or incidental text matches. No hit at any stage was classified as qualifying asbestos litigation, other vessel litigation, or anything beyond name collision/no result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Coverage is CourtListener's opinion and RECAP/docket repositories only - state-court filings not in RECAP, non-digitized dockets, settled/unfiled claims, and asbestos bankruptcy-trust claims are outside coverage, so absence here does not prove no claim was ever filed. Exact-phrase queries produced high-collision name matches; classification relied on case subject matter (none maritime or asbestos). The 'IX-119' token context inside collisions was not text-verified (pacing) - subject matter excludes vessel relevance. 'Nicholas Longworth' pagination: 40 of 48 hits inspected across two pages, all collisions; the final 8-hit page was unreachable under fleet pacing - logged as an inspection gap on a uniformly colliding result set, not a negative result.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ibex-ix119-09