Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet bc-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-pkt-bc-packet-md
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[2]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Kermit Roosevelt' (ARG-16) entry, published 2015-07-28 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry full text; live page returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-26 - text retrieved from Wayback Machine capture 20250202193623 of the canonical URL (20 captures, 2019-2025)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents the full hull record: laid down 1944-08-30 as Deal Island (ARG-16) on a Maritime Commission contract; renamed Kermit Roosevelt 1944-09-29; launched 1944-10-05 by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Inc., Baltimore; sponsored by Mrs. Kermit Roosevelt; acquired by the Navy 1944-10-21; commissioned 1945-05-31 (Comdr. C. W. Scribner). Pacific service: Tsingtao station repair ship (SerRon 10) from 1945-10-16; Hong Kong 1946-03-16 for 5 months; Guam/Saipan; Bremerton return 1947-02-03; Tsingtao again 1947-09-04 to 1949-02-28; Kwajalein/Majuro/Truk/Nauru repair facilities 1950; four Far East deployments 1950-07-10 to 1953-10-23 operating out of Sasebo, incl. TG 95.6 at Wonsan (1950-10-10 to 11-27), TG 79.2 at Hungnam (1950-12-13 to 12-23), Pusan 1953-08-07 to 09-16 incl. salvage of SS Cornhusker Marine; two further WestPac deployments 1954-10-06 to 1956-04-30; decommissioned Bremerton 1959-10-31; stricken 1960-01-01; transferred to Maritime Administration 1960-06-23; sold for scrap to Zidell Explorations Inc. 1960-08-25. Three battle stars for Korean War service. Stat block: dp. 5,159; l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 23'; s. 12.5 k.; cpl. 401; a. 1x5", 3x3", 4x40mm, 12x20mm; cl. Luzon; T. EC2-S-C1.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked repair personnel, 1945-1959 (~401 per stat block)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, construction milestones, service history, and custody/disposal dates. Contains no asbestos, materials, insulation, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. NHHC page caption mislabels the hull 'AKG-16' (a cargo-ship type symbol) - caption typo noted, ARG-16 controlling per entry text and stat block.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-01
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[3]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - KERMIT ROOSEVELT (ARG-16), Ship History Detail 6056, incl. digitized status cards 3VQ_01.png (Form MA-199), 6056_AF.jpg (typed card), and cross-reference card [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- Detail 6056 database fields; status card images /cards/3VQ_01.png, /cards/6056_AF.jpg, /cards/90deda11-b839-4505-8056-5b2eb38bfc44.jpg; scanned document /documents/be6a8e31-5485-4fb0-b556-f97ef69b78c6.pdf (image-only, not text-extractable)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record (Detail 6056) with three digitized status cards: MARAD database lists year built 1945, Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Naval Auxiliary 'ARG Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ship', MARAD type EC2-S-C1, length 441 ft, beam 57 ft, light displacement 5,400 t, fate 'Sold - Scrap'. Form MA-199 Vessel Status Card records: flag U.S. Navy; type 'Repair Ship'; design 'EC2-S-C1 Converted'; date built '5-45'; MA hull no. MCE-2680; vessel no. 1139112; operating history at Bremerton, Wash., both events 1960-08-25 10:19am PST - Navy Dept. delivered to Maritime Administration ('Transfer'), then Maritime Adm. to Zidell Explorations, Inc. ('Purchased', remarks 'Scrap'). Typed card records: advertised under PD-X-583 1960-07-22, bids opened 1960-08-15 ('Scrap Hull-USA'), awarded to Zidell Explorations, Inc. 1960-08-18, purchase price $151,883.93, contract MA-2302; location at the time Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Zidell Explorations shipbreaking workers, Portland OR, 1960 (custody event only)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for government custody milestones and disposal particulars. Contains no asbestos, materials, hazmat, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim. The 1960 scrap sale predates asbestos waste regulation - no abatement conditions are recorded. Typed card's 'Built: 1943' field conflicts with the same file's '5-45' and the DANFS 1944-45 dates (see correction row).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-02
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[4]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
- The U.S. Maritime Commission instruction manual for the EC2-S-C1 plant (the underlying design of this converted hull) 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. The ship's propulsion plant is the standard EC2-S-C1 steam plant retained through the repair-ship conversion.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction/conversion trades (Baltimore, 1944-45); engineering and repair-shop crew
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - the manual does not name this vessel and does not itself state 'asbestos' content; asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven. The repair-ship conversion may have altered or supplemented original insulation and added shop equipment; no conversion material schedule is public. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-03
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[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 study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the era and emergency program under which this EC2-S-C1 hull was mass-produced and converted in 1944-45, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard 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 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-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-04
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[6]MARAD status cards (Detail 6056) vs DANFS stat block (NHHC) vs NavSource transcription (navsource.org/archives/09/29/2916.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD typed card 'Built' line and remarks; Form MA-199 fields 5/6/8/9/18; DANFS stat block; NavSource disposal line and specifications block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved/logged: (a) Build year - MARAD typed status card reads 'Built: 1943 by Beth-Fairfield Shipyard', conflicting with the same file's Form MA-199 entry '5-45', the MARAD database's 'Year Built 1945', and DANFS's 1944 keel/1945 delivery dates; the 1945 dating is adopted (keel laid 1944-08-30). (b) Disposal particulars - NavSource transcribes 'PD-X-383 ... for $51,883.91' while the official MARAD status card twice shows PD-X-583 and 'Purchase Price $151,883.93' with contract MA-2302; the status-card values are adopted. (c) Complement - DANFS stat block 401 vs NavSource 30 officers + 471 enlisted (501); DANFS 401 adopted, discrepancy logged. (d) NHHC caption labels the ship '(AKG-16)' - a caption typo for ARG-16; the entry text, stat block, and all other sources confirm ARG. (e) The ship never operated as SS Deal Island - 'Deal Island' was the assigned name for the MC hull, changed to Kermit Roosevelt 1944-09-29 before launch; 'SS Deal Island' is a misapplied prefix in some secondary listings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies among official and secondary sources; does not affect identity or custody timeline materially. No asbestos content in any cited source. The '1943' card entry is most consistent with a typographical error - the hull was not laid down until 1944-08-30.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-05
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[7]CourtListener API v4 search, queries "Kermit Roosevelt" (type=o, 55 hits all pages; type=r, 79 hits) and "ARG-16" (type=o, 111 hits page 1; type=r, 80 hits) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-05 and sl-uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-06
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep 2026-09-26 (authenticated API v4): (a) 'Kermit Roosevelt' opinion search - 55 hits, all 3 pages reviewed; every hit is a person-name collision (counsel listings incl. attorney Kermit Roosevelt of Mayer Brown; amicus-brief signer Prof. Kermit Roosevelt III on Hamdi/detention and bankruptcy matters incl. Whittaker Clark & Daniels; parties named Kermit Roosevelt Smith/Hollins/Hayes/Purcell/Booth/Fancher; Roosevelt-family tax cases). No opinion names the vessel; no asbestos or maritime-injury case references the ship. (b) 'ARG-16' opinion search - 111 hits, page 1 reviewed; zero 'ARG-16' text mentions in any returned snippet - token collisions ('Arg.' abbreviations, docket numbers). (c) 'Kermit Roosevelt' docket search - 79 hits, all person-name collisions (individual bankruptcy dockets) and counsel-mention cases. (d) 'ARG-16' docket search - 80 hits, token collisions (e.g., 'Architectural Resources Group', case-number fragments). No qualifying hull-specific case located on any axis.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Population
- ARG-16 crew, 1956-1957 service window (per solicitation post; unverified)
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes published opinions and RECAP dockets - a state-court filing settled pre-opinion, an unreported case, or a case naming only a defendant manufacturer would not appear under the ship name. Separately, a 2000-12-17 Korean War Project BBS post by a Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender paralegal soliciting 1956-57 crewmen for a mesothelioma decedent indicates at least one claim was investigated; it is not a court record and no caption or disposition is identifiable (ledger sl-07, non-qualifying).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-06
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[8]Batch-2588 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS; MARAD ShipHistory 6056 + status cards; NavSource; shipbuildinghistory.com; CourtListener name/hull/docket searches; koreanwar.org unit BBS; NARA record-group mapping; NVR [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-01 through sl-uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, condition report, or docketed case naming USS Kermit Roosevelt (ARG-16) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was scrapped in 1960, before asbestos waste regulation - no post-service material record is expected to exist.
- 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 converted 1944-45 EC2-S-C1 hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing construction and insulation 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-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-07
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[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 Navy deck logs; RG 178 US Maritime Commission; RG 181 naval shipyards; NARA still-picture reference (19-N BuShips series) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 24 deck logs (College Park); https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/181.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel) deck logs for ARG-16, 1945-1959, College Park - the primary surviving day-by-day record; NARA RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission) Construction Division and East Coast Director files for contract MCE-2680 / builder's hull 2412 (Bethlehem-Fairfield) - construction and conversion-period outfitting specifications; NARA RG 181 (naval shore establishment) Puget Sound Naval Shipyard records - 1959 inactivation/decommission work packages; NARA still pictures - BuShips photographs 19-N-84525 and 19-N-84527 (May 1945, tug-assisted, per NHHC/NavSource captions).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1960 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kermit-roosevelt-arg16-08