Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 376-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (with flagged ex-hull conflict)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ix-531-ix531-pkt-376-packet-md
-
[2]Naval Vessel Register, Ship Details - NO NAME (IX 531) (ex - YP 679), UNCLASSIFIED MISCELLANEOUS, UIC 40755 (page last updated 2007-04-03; Wayback capture 2020-10-28, live URL now redirects to NVR main page post-disposal) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL_IX_531.HTML, Vessel Status + Milestone Dates + Physical Characteristics + Comments blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR lists NO NAME (IX 531) (ex - YP 679), class 'unclassified miscellaneous', UIC 40755, builder Peterson Builders Inc.: award 05/25/1983, keel 04/18/1984, launch 12/11/1984, delivery 06/03/1985, stricken 03/29/2007, status 'Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration' with date status changed 03/29/2007. Physical characteristics: 108 ft overall / 102 ft waterline, 24 ft extreme beam / 21 ft waterline, 8 ft max navigational draft, 172 t light / 176 t full / 4 t deadweight; 'Wood hull, aluminum superstructure'; 2 propellers, propulsion type Diesel Engines; accommodations 2 officers + 4 enlisted. Comment field: 'MARAD TRANSFERRED CRAFT TO US MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY, KINGS POINT, NY (USMMA).'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1983-2007
- Population
- Craft crew (2 officers + 4 enlisted accommodations); USNA midshipmen trainees
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, milestone dates, disposition, and physical characteristics. Blank commission field confirms the craft was never commissioned; 'USS' styling in this record's title is conventional. Establishes no asbestos information. The NVR does not record the YP-679 -> IX-531 reclassification date (carried from secondary sources elsewhere in this record).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-01
-
[3]GSA Auctions (gsaauctions.gov, U.S. General Services Administration federal surplus property) - '1985 LIBERATOR VESSEL,' sale lot at U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY (auction 305904, Nov 14-29, 2024, closing bid $65,500; relisted auction 308196, Dec 12-27, 2024, closing bid $57,250) [other_primary]
- Locator
- gsaauctions.gov preview 305904 (Nov 14-29, 2024) and 308196 (Dec 12-27, 2024), Description field
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The official federal-surplus listing for this hull declares its hazardous-materials status: 'PCBs: No, Asbestos: No, Lead Based Paint: No. Seaworthy: Yes. Navigable: Yes.' Description: '1985 Liberator, Make: Peterson Boat Builders, Model: YP-679 Vessel, Type: Yard Patrol YP, Hull Material: Wood, Hull ID: YP-679, Length: 108FT, Beam 27FT, Draft: 7FT, Gross Tonnage: 200 Tons. Main Engines (2): Detroit Diesel 12V71. Reportedly rebuilt in 2017. Reported to run. Condition unknown. Generator Engines (2): Detroit Diesel 3V53. Reported to run. ... Last shipyard period spring 2020 at Mystic Seaport. Liberator which was originally built in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin. ... Maintenance includes: New shafts, reconditioned propellers, topside and underwater hull paint, refastening of planking, rudder bearings, rudder seals, windlass overhaul and reconditioned anchor windlass. ... No builders certificate or original title available. Has not been registered and not inspected by the coast guard. Repairable condition. Repairs may be required.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2024
- Population
- Prospective purchasers/removal contractors (2024-2025)
- Limitations
- This is a seller/custodian hazmat declaration on a federal disposal listing - a form entry by the disposing agency (USMMA/MARAD property custodian), not a formal asbestos survey, bulk-sampling report, or certified inspection. 'Asbestos: No' records that the custodian declared no asbestos; it does not independently prove absence, and the same listing elsewhere hedges ('Condition unknown', 'Repairable condition'). Whether the November or December 2024 auctions resulted in an award is unconfirmed (reserve price undisclosed). This is the only ship-specific asbestos statement located for this hull; no contrary ACM-positive record was found.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-02
-
[4]NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries, 'The Afloat Lab' (sanctuaries.noaa.gov, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries) - ONR Afloat Lab platform page for the Hunt for the Alligator project [other_primary]
- Locator
- sanctuaries.noaa.gov/alligator/m_afloatlab.html - 'The Afloat Lab' narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NOAA's official project page: the Afloat Lab 'was built in 1985 and served as one of several Yard Patrol (YP) craft used by the US Naval Academy for seamanship and navigation training until it was found to be in excess in 1999'; ONR 'took custody of YP 679 as a scaled down "surface combatant" for dedicated duty as a Science and Technology demonstrator'; the craft 'has the same machinery, electronics and navigation systems as the Navy's large fleet ships'; home port was the Annapolis Naval Station Small Craft Facility; ONR was 'owner and sole custodian' with Anteon Corporation contracted to operate the vessel; the 'Starfish' nickname derives from the demonstrated Network Fragment Healing self-healing technology. The craft supported NOAA's 2004 week-long Hunt for the Alligator expedition off Cape Hatteras searching for the Civil War-era submarine lost in 1863.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1985-2005
- Population
- ONR/Anteon contract operating crew; NOAA and ECU embarked researchers
- Limitations
- Official federal source for the ONR era and the 1999 excess finding; written c.2004-2005 for the Alligator project, so it predates the IX-531 designation's use in practice and carries no disposal information. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-03
-
[5]U.S. National Archives, Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files - official USN imagery of 'ONR STARFISH (YP 679), the Afloat Lab,' 2004-2006 (NARA still-picture holdings, accessed via the nara.getarchive.net mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- nara.getarchive.net item pages citing 'Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files'; corresponding navy.mil photo numbers 04/05/06-N-7676W series
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NARA's Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files series holds released U.S. Navy photographs of the ONR Afloat Lab YP-679 'Starfish' including: docked at South Street Seaport Pier 17 for New York's 18th annual Fleet Week (May 2005, photos 050524-N-7676W-052 / 050529-N-7676W-006), moored at Alexandria, VA (June 2005, 050619-N-7676W-006), alongside ex-USS Wisconsin at Nauticus, Norfolk for Harborfest (June 2005, 050613-N-7676W-125), Baltimore Inner Harbor visits (2003, 2006), Ocracoke, NC during the Hunt for the Alligator expedition (Aug 2004, 040824-N-7676W-041), and repainting at Naval Station Annapolis (Mar 2005, 050315-N-7676W-069) - all by Navy photographers (JOCS John F. Williams and ONR staff). Captions document public-outreach port calls and the ONR demonstrator role.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2003-2006
- Population
- Embarked researchers and tour visitors (2004-2006)
- Limitations
- Imagery holdings confirm the ONR-era operations described elsewhere; captions are public-affairs products. Photographs show no hazardous-materials information. The getarchive.net site is a third-party mirror of NARA holdings - the authoritative repository is NARA Still Pictures, College Park. Photograph numbering ('YP-679') continued in Navy captions after the IX-531 reclassification, consistent with the craft's nameless IX status.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-04
-
[6]National Defense Magazine, 'Former Classroom Vessel Becomes Floating Navy Lab,' Harold Kennedy, December 2002 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- nationaldefensemagazine.org article body (Dec 2002 issue)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporary trade-press account of the ONR conversion: the Afloat Lab 'YP679' is 'a 108 foot-long wooden-hulled yard patrol craft, built in the mid-1980s by Peterson Builders, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis.'; 'the academy retired the craft in 1998'; ONR used a $1.5 million congressional plus-up in its 1999 budget to refurbish her, including hull repairs and replacement of 'a lot of sea-water valves, which were in a very poor condition'; Anteon Corporation operates her under ONR contract; mission is at-sea testing of fleet technologies under salt, vibration, and wave motion; the 'Starfish' nickname comes from the survivable automation technology (SAT) self-healing network; 185 sensors/actuators controlled by 83 computers plus a 360-degree mast camera for force protection; roughly $1 million/year to operate.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1998-2002
- Population
- Anteon contract operators; ONR program staff (Capt. Sharon Elaine quoted as program manager)
- Limitations
- Reputable defense-trade press, not an official record; its 'retired 1998' date sits alongside NOAA's 'found to be in excess in 1999' - the academy-retirement-to-excess sequence spans 1998-1999 across sources (flagged in gaps). Confirms wood hull and Sturgeon Bay build consistent with NVR. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-05
-
[7]NavSource Naval History, Service Ship Photo Archive - YP-679 (YP-676 Class Training Craft) page (registry-derived chronology and Navy photo captions; Gary P. Priolo / David L. Wright) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/14/31679.htm - chronology block and specifications table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Registry-derived chronology (each adopted fact cross-checked against NVR where fields exist): contract awarded 05/25/1983; laid down 04/18/1984; launched 12/11/1984; delivered and placed in service at US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD 06/03/1985; 'Reclassified IX-531, 07 August 2001'; assigned to ONR as 'Afloat Lab,' unofficial nickname 'Starfish'; 'Placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register, 29 March 2007' (matches NVR); transferred to US Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY, renamed T/V Liberator; 'Placed out of service, 2024'; listed for sale by GSA Auctions November 2024, re-listed December 2024 (matches the two GSA auctions retrieved). Specs: 176 t max, 108 ft, 24 ft beam, 8 ft draft, 12 kts, complement 2 officers + 4 enlisted, 1,800 nm, two 12V-71N Detroit diesels, two propellers, 437 shp. Page explicitly notes: 'There is no DANFS history record for YP-679 / IX-531.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1983-2024
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not itself an official source; milestones cross-check against NVR exactly (award/keel/launch/delivery/strike). The IX-531 reclassification date of 2001-08-07 and the 2024 out-of-service date are NavSource-only - flagged in gaps; official photo captions kept using 'YP-679' through 2006 despite the 2001 reclassification. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-06
-
[8]U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 'T/V Liberator' waterfront page (usmma.edu, via Wayback capture 2024-05-26; live page since removed) + USMMA Catalog AY 2026-27, waterfront section [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture of usmma.edu/academy-life/waterfront/tv-liberator (last updated 2022-01-26 per page); usmma.edu AY 2026-27 Catalog PDF, waterfront paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USMMA's official page: 'After serving as a training vessel at the United States Naval Academy, and then the Office of Naval Research, the Academy secured T/V Liberator in 2007. T/V Liberator serves as one of our most versatile operational platforms, regularly getting underway with Midshipmen. She can often be found cruising the waters of Long Island Sound and Southern New England,' stationed at Hague Basin's renovated Mallory Pier. The AY 2026-27 USMMA Catalog still lists 'T/V LIBERATOR, a 108-foot former naval training vessel' among waterfront vessels alongside T/V Kings Pointer and T/V Elizabeth Ann.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2007-2025
- Population
- USMMA midshipmen and waterfront staff (2007-2024)
- Limitations
- Confirms USMMA custody and training role 2007 onward, consistent with the NVR comment that MARAD transferred the craft to USMMA. The catalog's continued listing post-dates the GSA auctions - either the craft remained at Kings Point or the catalog text is stale; sale outcome unconfirmed (flagged in gaps). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 search, authenticated via cl-auth-search.py - run 2026-09-29 [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py runs on 2026-09-29; search_ledger rows sl-uss-ix-531-ix531-12 through sl-uss-ix-531-ix531-15
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion searches run 2026-09-29 via the authenticated helper: 'IX-531' returned 1 hit - Litman v. George Mason University, 156 F. Supp. 2d 579 (E.D. Va. 2001), CL opinion 2318011 - classified NAME COLLISION (unrelated university employment dispute; the 'IX-531' string is not a vessel reference); 'YP-679' returned 0 (verified null); 'YP 679' (unhyphenated) returned 0; 'Afloat Lab' returned 0. No published opinion names the vessel, asbestos-related or otherwise.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Coverage gap, not a clean null: opinion-level exact-phrase coverage is complete for the hull identifiers and the ONR-era name, but the vessel-qualified 'T/V Liberator' query (the bare name 'Liberator' is high-collision and not meaningful alone) and RECAP docket-level (type=r) surfaces were stood down by the fleet pacing limiter before running - pleading-stage references below opinion level are unexamined. The stand-down is the hourly/burst budget, not the daily quota; retry remains an open action.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979), incl. enclosure: Department of the Navy letter Ser 4542/318054, 5 Jan 1979 [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 report text + CNO letter of 5 Jan 1979 (enclosure 1)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Navy's own era statement (enclosure to the GAO report): product specifications for thermal insulation were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials and the Navy's formal policy eliminating use of asbestos where substitutes were designated issued October 1975, but asbestos purchased/installed before the change meant some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978; 'there remain a few shipboard applications where technically acceptable substitute asbestos-free materials have not yet been identified. Therefore, all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos' - naming piping-system gaskets and packing, equipment brakes and clutches, deck/floor tiling, electrical resistors in Navy electronic equipment, and cabling in galley ranges; 'it is nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral.' GAO summary: 'although all ships contain some asbestos in such components as clutches and electric cables, most ships delivered in the last several years or now under construction have little or no asbestos as thermal insulation.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1973-1979 (policy period)
- Population
- Shipyard workers and crews, fleet-wide (context)
- Limitations
- Era/fleet-level documentation, not a hull record: it does not name this craft and does not establish what materials were installed aboard this 1985-delivered hull. Applied here it supports only that thermal-insulation asbestos was unlikely (post-phase-out build) while minor ACM components remained plausible - inference, not ship-proven; the custodian's 2024 'Asbestos: No' declaration (ev-02) is the ship-specific statement. Full text retrieved via firecrawl extraction (plain fetch returns HTTP 403).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-09
-
[11]NAVSEA FOIA Electronic Reading Room - 'Asbestos Related Files' (qualified-products lists for asbestos-containing shipboard materials) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSEA reading room, Asbestos Related Files table (document numbers and coverage dates)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- NAVSEA's official asbestos document library shows asbestos-containing materials remained in Navy qualified-product specifications across this craft's construction era: compressed asbestos sheet gasket material (QPL-17472, through 1972), spiral-wound metallic-asbestos gaskets for boilers and piping (QPL-15342, 1961-1974; QPL-21022, 1969), asbestos packing rod symbols (QPL-17340/17349, through 1968; QPL-46 packing asbestos sheet, through 1981), asbestos pipe-covering thermal insulation (QPL-2781, 1951-1993), deck coverings to 1978-79, and the transition spec MIL-I-24244 -> MIL-I-24244A (1974-1976) for thermal insulation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-1996 (list coverage)
- Population
- Construction trades and crews, fleet-wide (context)
- Limitations
- Demonstrates that asbestos products stayed procurable/spec-compliant during the 1984-1985 build window - context for what could have been specified aboard, not evidence of what was installed. None of these lists names this hull; era documentation only, does not establish ship-specific presence or absence of ACM.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-10
-
[12]Batch-4838 search ledger (this record): NVR, NOAA sanctuaries, NARA CMSDPF imagery, National Defense, NavSource, USMMA page + catalog, GSA auction listings 305904/308196, GAO HRD-80-2, NAVSEA asbestos reading room, CourtListener, live-web asbestos sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ix-531-ix531-01 through sl-uss-ix-531-ix531-17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Beyond the GSA custodian declaration (ev-02), no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract or specification, industrial-hygiene report, hazmat manifest, or donation/disposal environmental disclosure naming asbestos aboard YP-679 / IX-531 / Afloat Lab 'Starfish' / T/V Liberator was found in the public sources searched, and no docketed asbestos case names the vessel. The only asbestos-related mention of the vessel found anywhere is a law-firm marketing ship list (freeasbestostesting.com) - excluded source class, carrying no documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of additional public records does not itself prove absence of asbestos aboard - but here the record is not a bare search null: the federal custodian affirmatively declared 'Asbestos: No' at disposal (ev-02), and the craft's construction era (post-1975 phase-out), diesel propulsion, and wood-hull/aluminum-superstructure build remove the dominant ACM pathways. Neither fact is a survey; the GSA form entry remains the strongest statement available.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-11
-
[13]Unretrieved archival leads (no spend authorized): GSA property/condition file for sale 21QSCI25081 (basis for the hazmat fields); USMMA waterfront maintenance records and the spring 2020 Mystic Seaport shipyard file; ONR Afloat Lab program records and the Anteon operations contract; NARA deck logs for YP-679/IX-531 (1985-2007); MARAD property-disposal file for the 2007 title transfer [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ix-531-ix531-01 through sl-uss-ix-531-ix531-17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Candidate repositories most likely to hold ship-specific materials documentation if any exists: (1) the GSA sale's property/condition file - where the inspection basis for 'Asbestos: No' would sit if the field was populated from an assessment rather than a default; (2) USMMA waterfront maintenance records for 2007-2024, including the spring 2020 Mystic Seaport shipyard period (refastening planking, rudder work, windlass overhaul - the work file would document materials encountered); (3) ONR program records for the Afloat Lab conversion (1999-2001 refit specifications - hull repairs and valve replacements are documented in the press record; the spec package is not); (4) NARA deck logs for the craft's Navy service; (5) the MARAD property file behind the 2007 Navy-to-MARAD title transfer.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1983-2024 records
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these files was retrieved or confirmed to exist in public form; each is a plausible locus of materials documentation, not a found record. Logged so the findings above are scoped to 'public sources searched' rather than 'all records.'
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-531-ix531-12