Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 1084-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: see below)
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-keshena-yn37-pkt-1084-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Keshena (YN-37) - acquisition, Guantanamo net-tender service, reclassifications, disposal (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-05) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Keshena service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'Keshena (YN-37), formerly Raymond Card... acquired by the Navy 20 September 1940 from the Card Towing Line, New York; and placed in service 19 October 1940. Keshena cleared Hampton Roads, Va., 30 October and arrived Guantanamo 9 November for service as a net tender. She remained in the 10th Naval District operating out of Guantanamo throughout the war. She was reclassified YNT-5 on 8 April 1942, and subsequently YTM-731 on 4 August 1945. Keshena was struck from the Navy List 28 August 1946 and transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal on 12 February 1947.' Spec block: 'dp. 132; l. 111'; b. 22'6"; dr. 9'3"; a. 2 3".' Name gloss: 'An Indian word meaning "swift flying."'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1947
- Population
- Conversion trades, New York Navy Yard (Oct 1940); Navy crew, 10th Naval District Guantanamo (1940-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. The DANFS narrative and spec block carry the erroneous original Navy record ('launched 1910 by J. H. Dialogue & Son, Camden, N.J.'; 111' length) - corrected build data (Gulfport Boiler & Welding, Port Arthur, 1939) documented in ev-03/ev-04; DANFS never updated. 'Reclassified YNT-5 on 8 April 1942' is the order date - effective 1 May 1942 per Shipscribe class notes. DANFS states the hull remained at Guantanamo throughout the war - directly incompatible with the 19 July 1942 Ocracoke sinking attributed to this hull in secondary sources (see ev-06).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-01
-
[3]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS Small Acquired YN's (YN 33-56) - construction/disposition tables, class notes, ship notes [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe YN33.html class notes, construction and disposition tables, ship note row YN-37
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe class/ship documentation for this hull: one of 24 modern commercial harbor tugs acquired FY1941 under CNO direction of 3 July 1940 (159 District Craft Act of 26 June 1940); all diesel-propelled except Metacom (YN-51); conversions 'primarily fitting out periods' for Navy crews (towing/mooring lines, navigational equipment, degaussing gear in some cases), no hull conversion required for net tending; all 24 reclassified YNT 8 April 1942 effective 1 May 1942. Ship note for YN-37: 'Ex merc. RAYMOND CARD. 100 tons, 93.0' x 22.0' x 9.3', 950 hp. Conversion by New York Navy Yard completed 19 Oct 40. To YNT-5 1 May 42, to YTM-731 2 Aug 45. To buyer 12 Feb 47. Merc. MARY L. McALLISTER 1947, SENECA 1981, sank in Lake Superior 2006.' Construction table: acquired 20 Sep 40, builder Gulfport Boiler & Welding, completion year 1939, in service 19 Oct 40. Disposition table: decommissioned mid 1946, stricken 28 Aug 46, disposal 12 Feb 47 (Maritime Commission), MA sale 12 Feb 47.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1939-2006
- Population
- Conversion trades, New York Navy Yard (1940); Navy crews 1940-46; merchant crews 1947-2006
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation built from BuShips/NARA primary records - the standard specialist reference for this vessel group; no asbestos content. Two date/power variants against DANFS/NavSource/SDB-1945 are carried in gaps (YTM-731: 2 vs 4 Aug 1945; 950 vs 750 hp). 'Sank in Lake Superior 2006' is compressed - the hull grounded/part-sank, was salvaged, and is reported extant (NavSource, ev-05; AP, ev-08).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-02
-
[4]Shipscribe class notes - documented BuShips identity correction of 26 March 1941 for this hull (BuShips Code 5816) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe YN33.html, class notes paragraph on KESHENA; cf. Ships' Data 1945 p.545 and DANFS spec block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: Navy records originally gave this hull the wrong pedigree. Per Shipscribe's class notes: 'KESHENA (YN-37), always listed as the former RAYMOND CARD, was originally recorded in Navy records as a steam tug, 111' x 21.6' x 10.1', built in 1910 by J. H. Dialogue, Camden, N.J. On 26 Mar 41 BuShips Code 5816 informed the records keepers that KESHENA had in fact been built by Gulfport Boiler & Welding Works, Port Arthur, Texas, in 1939, where she appears to have been builder's hull 131.' The erroneous data matched USS Barnett (YT-29), a 111' Dialogue tug requisitioned 1917 (initially SP-1149), Guantanamo service until sold 1936, renamed Richard Simmons and then Raymond Card in 1941 - i.e., Card Towing reused the name Raymond Card, and the earlier tug's pedigree attached to this hull in Navy records. The correction never fully propagated: the 1945 Ships' Data entry (ev-04) still prints 'Built J. H. Dialogue & Son, Camden, N.J., 1910,' and DANFS (ev-01) repeats 'launched 1910 by J. H. Dialogue & Son' to this day.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1941 (records correction)
- Limitations
- Corrects a documented records error, not a material or asbestos claim. Shipscribe is the specialist secondary source citing the BuShips memorandum (Code 5816, 26 Mar 1941); the memo itself is not separately digitized - carried verified on Shipscribe's transcription plus corroborating internal contradiction in the 1945 Ships' Data entry (correct 93' dimensions alongside the stale builder line).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-03
-
[5]Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. III (District Craft and Unclassified Vessels), Bureau of Ships, 15 April 1945 edition - Net Tenders (Tug Class) (YNT) table, printed p. 545 (Navy Department Library/Google scan hosted at Shipscribe) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III, printed p. 545 (PDF p. ~573 of SDB1945v3.pdf), Net Tenders (Tug Class) (YNT) table, row YNT5
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official 1945 BuShips publication row for this hull: 'YNT5 / Ex-YN37 - KESHENA - Ex Raymond Card': Length 93'0", Breadth 22'0", Draft 9'4", shaft horsepower 750, Allocation (district) '10th', 'Built J. H. Dialogue & Son, Camden, N.J., 1910. Purchased by Navy October 1940', Remarks 'G.M. Diesel engine; steel construction; converted New York Navy Yard.' This primary table independently corroborates: the YN-37 -> YNT-5 designation lineage, the corrected 93-foot hull dimensions, diesel propulsion, New York Navy Yard conversion, and Tenth Naval District allocation (Guantanamo) in April 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1945 (publication); data current April 1945
- Population
- 10th Naval District crew (as of Apr 1945); New York Navy Yard conversion trades (1940)
- Limitations
- Primary BuShips reference table, not a narrative or asbestos record - no material content. Note the entry's own internal contradiction: it prints the stale 'Built J. H. Dialogue & Son... 1910' builder line (corrected in BuShips records 26 Mar 1941 per ev-03) alongside the corrected 93' dimensions and 'G.M. Diesel' remarks, and gives 'Purchased by Navy October 1940' vs the documented 20 September 1940 acquisition. The 10th-district allocation corroborates DANFS's Guantanamo service and is inconsistent with a July 1942 sinking off North Carolina.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-04
-
[6]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, Keshena (YTM-731) ex-YNT-5 ex-YN-37 (page updated 15 December 2025) - timeline, specs, mercantile ownership chain, 2006 Lake Superior loss and survival [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14/11731.htm - header block, timeline, specifications, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline/specs for this hull: built by Gulfport Boiler & Welding Works, Port Arthur TX (hull 131); laid down as tug General; completed for Card Towing Line, New York, as Raymond Card (ON 239098), 7 September 1939; purchased by Navy 20 September 1940; placed in service as Yard Net Tender Keshena (YN-37) 19 October 1940; initially assigned Fifth Naval District; reclassified YNT-5 1 May 1942 and YTM-731 4 August 1945; placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register 28 August 1946; transferred to Maritime Commission 12 February 1947. Mercantile chain: registered to Card Towing Line, renamed Mary L. McAllister, 1947; chartered to McAllister Brothers 1947-1950; sold outright to McAllister 1950; renamed Seneca under North American Towing, Duluth MN, 1981; Billington Contracting 1991; Zenith Towing, Duluth, 2000; towline snapped in bad weather under tow of tug Susan Hoey on Lake Superior 2 December 2006; drifted ashore 18 miles east of Grand Marais, MI, 3 December 2006; salvaged and towed to Sault Ste. Marie late December 2006; sold to private citizen in Sault Ste. Marie, ON and converted to liveaboard 2007; 'final disposition, still extant, 2025.' Specs: 132 tons displacement (49 net), 88'7" waterline / 93'0" overall, beam 22'0", draft 9'4", one EMD 12-567(U) 12-cylinder diesel, single propeller, 750 shp. Awards: American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1939-2025
- Population
- Navy crews 1940-46 (5th ND; 10th ND Guantanamo); merchant crews 1947-2006 (McAllister, North American Towing, Billington, Zenith)
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS/MC records but the page CONFLATES a different vessel into this hull's timeline: it inserts 'Sunk by mine off Ocracoke Inlet, NC, while engaged in salvage operations on the torpedoed tanker J.A. Mowinckel, 19 July 1942. Two crew lost, fifteen rescued, later salvaged and repaired. Assigned to the Tenth Naval District at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, 09 November 1942' - the 19 July 1942 sinking and the two deaths belong to the 1919 Whitney Brothers steam tug Keshena (ev-06, ev-07), and the '09 November 1942' Guantanamo date collides with DANFS's 'arrived Guantanamo 9 November' 1940 and contradicts NavSource's own mercantile-survival chain for this hull. Complement and speed listed as unknown. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-05
-
[7]NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, Keshena wreck documentation (ship stats, site plan, photomosaics, historical background) - the DIFFERENT 1919 tug Keshena sunk off Ocracoke 19 July 1942 [nps]
- Locator
- NOAA Monitor NMS Keshena shipwreck page - Ship Stats block, Wreck Site, Historical Background; photomosaics (NOAA Ship Nancy Foster 2016)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the tug Keshena sunk by a mine on 19 July 1942 was a different vessel from this hull, and this hull was never sunk in service. NOAA documents the wreck lying in 85 feet off Cape Hatteras: 'Vessel Type: U.S. Navy tug; Length 142 feet; Breadth 27.5 feet; Gross Tonnage 427; Built 1919, Whitney Brothers Company, Superior, Wisconsin; steel hull, triple expansion three cylinder engine; Port of Registry Philadelphia; Date Lost July 19, 1942; Sunk By a sea mine; 15 of 17 survived (2 dead).' During the convoy KS-520 / U-576 action, tugs were dispatched to tow the torpedoed J.A. Mowinckel and Chilore out of the Cape Hatteras minefield; Keshena 'moved out of the safe channel through the minefield and struck a mine. The tug sank within ten minutes.' That wreck - 142 ft, 427 GT, steam (two boilers visible on site) - cannot be this hull, a 93-ft, ~100-ton diesel tug documented at Guantanamo throughout the war (DANFS ev-01; 10th-district allocation in the April 1945 Ships' Data, ev-04) and documented to Maritime Commission disposal 12 Feb 1947 with a mercantile career to 2006 (ev-02, ev-05).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942 (loss); 2010-2016 (NOAA surveys)
- Population
- Crew of the 1919 tug Keshena (2 lost, 15 survived) - NOT this hull's complement
- Limitations
- The NOAA page documents a different hull that shares the name; its value to this record is purely the correction (NavSource, dive sites, and Wikipedia's July 1942 shipwreck list attribute the sinking to YN-37). NOAA's 'Naval Rescue Tug Service' framing does not establish the wreck tug's hull number or naval designation - it appears to have been a merchant-type ocean tug in Navy service, not YN-37. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-06
-
[8]MARAD Vessel History Database, KESHENA (record 8897) - year built 1919, tug/towing, 142 ft, 427 gross tons, Fate 'Sunk - Mine'; attached document: declassified USCG 'Report on U.S. Merchant Vessel War Action Casualty' (NARA Project NW 63684) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov Detail/8897 - vessel data block and 'SYSTEM UPLOAD' document Keshena_8897_001.pdf (USCG casualty report)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION (independent corroboration): the Maritime Administration's vessel-history record for 'KESHENA' documents the mined tug as a 1919-built, 142-foot, 427-gross-ton vessel with fate 'Sunk - Mine' - matching the NOAA wreck (ev-06), not this hull. The attached declassified USCG war-action casualty report (NARA declassification project NW 63684) is the casualty paperwork for that 1942 sinking. The 1939 Gulfport hull this record covers was never a MARAD 'Sunk - Mine' casualty: it passed to Maritime Commission disposal 12 February 1947 and ran a documented mercantile career into 2006 (ev-02, ev-05, ev-08).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942
- Population
- Crew of the 1919 tug (casualty report population) - NOT this hull's complement
- Limitations
- Documents the other hull; function in this record is the identity correction. The USCG casualty-report scan is handwritten/OCR-poor - readable elements are the form title, ship name, July 1942 date, and Cape Hatteras-area position; fine detail is not reliably extractable. MARAD record contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-07
-
[9]Associated Press via Twin Cities Pioneer Press, 'Lake Superior storm sinks tug,' 14 December 2006 - the Seneca (ex-Keshena hull) casualty on Lake Superior [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Twin Cities Pioneer Press / AP article, published 14 December 2006 (updated 2015)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporary press documentation of this hull's end-of-active-service event: the 94-foot tug Seneca (built 1939 - this hull), owned by Zenith Tugboat Co. of Duluth, went adrift on Lake Superior the evening of 3 December 2006 when its towline was cut after snagging on a broken rub rail while under tow of the tug Susan Hoey; Coast Guard cutter Alder located Seneca partially sunk about 18 miles east of Grand Marais, Michigan; with an oil sheen in the water, Coast Guard and federal officials ordered all fuel, oil and paint removed (1,800 gallons fuel, 25 gallons paint, 30 gallons lube oil taken off); the tug was reported 'a total loss' pending salvage. No injuries - Seneca was unmanned.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2-14 December 2006
- Population
- No one aboard Seneca during the casualty (unmanned under tow); Zenith Tugboat crew on Susan Hoey
- Limitations
- Reputable-press vessel-history record only - post-Navy mercantile casualty; no asbestos content. 'Total loss' is the owner's early assessment quoted in the article; NavSource (ev-05) documents subsequent salvage and liveaboard conversion, so the hull survives - the headline 'sinks tug' should not be read as total destruction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-08
-
[10]Era inference built on: Shipscribe class notes (diesel propulsion, steel construction, fitting-out scope for the YN 33-56 group); Ships' Data 1945 ('G.M. Diesel engine; steel construction; converted New York Navy Yard'); NavSource specifications (EMD 12-567(U) diesel, single shaft); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product list for New York Naval Shipyard (Kaylo; yard evidence tier 3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe YN33.html class notes; SDB 1945 Vol. III p.545; NavSource 14/11731.htm specs; shipyards.json entry brooklyn-navy-yard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered, steel-hull harbor tug built 1939 and taken into Navy service in October 1940 sits inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy vessels and Navy yards. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel tug of this period: diesel exhaust lagging and engine-room thermal insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, fireproofing/deck materials in accommodation spaces, and brake linings on towing/mooring winches. She carried no steam plant - the boiler and turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply to this hull. Her only documented Navy-yard availability was the October 1940 fitting-out conversion at New York Navy Yard, a yard with documented asbestos product use (Kaylo insulation) in the Atlas shipyard dataset.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1939-1947 (Navy-relevant era)
- Population
- Gulfport Boiler & Welding construction trades (1939); New York Navy Yard conversion trades (Oct 1940); Navy crews (1940-46); merchant crews and repair yards (1947-2006); liveaboard converter/owner (2007-present)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YN-37/YNT-5/YTM-731. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The New York Navy Yard product documentation is yard-level (conversion-site context), not evidence of materials installed aboard this tug.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-09
-
[11]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's use of asbestos insulation aboard ships and its removal/replacement policies - the Navy's 1975 policy removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or necessarily disturbed for repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. The documented substitution/removal era postdates this hull's entire Navy service (1940-1946): she was built, converted, operated, and disposed wholly inside the asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1979 (report); program era covers 1940-46
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov asset fetch returned HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-05) - content via product-page description; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not this hull's yards.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-10
-
[12]Batch-9209 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; Shipscribe YN33 page; Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III (shipscribe-hosted Navy Dep't Library/Google scan); NavSource 14/11731; NOAA Monitor NMS wreck page; MARAD vessel-history 8897 + USCG casualty report; AP via Pioneer Press; GAO product page; CourtListener partial sweep (see ledger sl-08, sl-14); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-keshena-yn37-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS Keshena (YN-37 / YNT-5 / YTM-731) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener partial sweep: 'USS Keshena' opinion index returned zero hits; the remaining three base queries (name docket, hull-number opinion + docket) were fleet-paced all session - logged blocked, not negative. The hull's survival (liveaboard conversion since 2007) means any present-day material condition is undocumented - no museum or owner disclosure located. The only 'asbestos aboard' material surfaced is law-firm marketing/listicle content asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the record rests on era/yard-level inference. Deck logs (RG 24) and the BuShips correspondence file behind the 26 Mar 1941 identity correction are undigitized archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-keshena-yn37-11