Evidence
15 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-15).
-
[1]research packet 589-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: REAL
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-543-lsm543-pkt-589-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-543 (10/14/14543.htm), history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997; ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14543.htm header/history block, specifications block, awards ribbon display, photo captions (9 Feb 1946 Cape Hatteras, 10 Feb 1946 Jacksonville lift bridge, 3 March 1946 four-hull nest, date-unknown 19-LSM group nest), commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive, history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II, Turner Publishing 1997): LSM-1-class; laid down 10 May 1945 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched - date unknown; commissioned USS LSM-543 28 December 1945, LTjg. David R. McClay USNR in command; decommissioned 20 May 1946 at Green Cove Springs, FL; laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group, Green Cove Springs; 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown'; transferred 15 July 1959 to Venezuela and named Roques; decommissioned by Venezuelan Navy 6 November 1965; scrapped 1986. Spec block: 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full load; 203'6" ovl x 34'6" beam; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow mount + four single 20mm; capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs; endurance 4,900 mi @ 12 kts; GM 16-278A diesel plant. Ribbon display: American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal only - consistent with a hull that never left U.S. Atlantic waters. Photographic record (captions): leading a column with USS LSM-538 enroute Little Creek, VA to Green Cove Springs, FL for mothballing, off Cape Hatteras, NC 9 February 1946; leading the column approaching a St. Johns River lift bridge at Jacksonville, FL 10 February 1946; nested with decommissioned LSM-538, LSM-544, and LSM-555 in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs 3 March 1946 (the two transit photos contributed by LT Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr., USN Ret., CO of LSM-538 Jan-May 1946, taken from LSM-538; the 3 March nest photo contributed by Dave Schroeder and John Chiquoine); a further group photograph (date unknown, contributed by Al Edwards, LSM-343) shows 19 LSMs at Green Cove Springs with LSM-543 identifiable in the front row between LSM-539 and LSM-544. Commanding officers listed: only McClay (28 Dec 1945 - ?).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1986
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); USN crew (Dec 1945 - May 1946); reserve-fleet caretakers (1946-1959); Venezuelan Navy crew (1959-1965); breakers (1986)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track the Turner Publishing extract; laid-down and commission dates conflict with shipbuildinghistory.com/uboat.net compilations (see gaps); the struck date is explicitly unknown and the launch date is absent. Page verified live 2026-10-02 via Firecrawl (HTTP 200, navsource.net - the .org domain is dead). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-01
-
[3]shipbuildinghistory.com, 'Brown Shipbuilding, Houston TX' yard history and hull table (Tim Colton compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Yard hull table row: '350 | LSM 543 | Landing Ship | 7-Jul-45 | 18-Aug-45 | 28-Dec-45 | Laid up 1947, to Venezuela 1959 as Roques, scrapped 1986'; yard overview paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The shipbuildinghistory.com Brown Shipbuilding yard table (Tim Colton compilation) lists yard hull 350 = LSM 543: keel laid 7 July 1945, launched 18 August 1945, delivered 28 December 1945; disposition 'Laid up 1947, to Venezuela 1959 as Roques, scrapped 1986.' The table places the hull in Brown's final wartime block (yard nos. 348-356, LSM-540 through LSM-549), all delivered December 1945 - February 1946 and all exported 1955-1960 (Venezuela, Greece, South Korea, Australia). The yard overview records Brown Shipbuilding built 254 LSMs as part of a 359-vessel wartime output at the Green's Bayou yard, which was leased to Todd Shipyards in 1949.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945)
- Limitations
- Reputable secondary compilation, not a primary registry - the keel-laid date (7-Jul-45) conflicts with NavSource/Turner (10 May 1945), and the generic 'laid up 1947' block entry conflicts with NavSource's ship-specific decommissioning 20 May 1946 corroborated by dated photo captions (mothballing transit February 1946, nested 3 March 1946). The 'Delivered' column is a delivery date, not a commissioning date; NavSource supplies the commission event. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-02
-
[4]uboat.net, Allied Warships of WWII, USS LSM 543 (ship/13094) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship fact table: Built by / Ordered / Laid down / Launched / Commissioned / End service / History rows
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII record for USS LSM 543 (ship/13094): built by Brown Shipbuilding Co. (Houston, Texas); ordered 30 August 1944; laid down 7 July 1945; launched 18 August 1945; commissioned 27 December 1945; end of service 20 May 1946 ('Decommissioned on 20 May 1946. Transferred to Venezuela on 15 July 1959'). The order date (30 August 1944) is the only contract-date datum located for this hull; the laid-down and launched dates match the shipbuildinghistory.com yard table; the commission date differs by one day from NavSource (27 vs 28 December 1945 - see gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation used as cross-check - corroborates Brown builder, order date, laid-down and launch dates against the shipbuildinghistory.com yard table, and the 15 July 1959 Venezuelan transfer against NavSource; the 27 December commissioning conflicts with NavSource's 28 December by one day (carried as NavSource; conflict in gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-03
-
[5]Armada Bolivariana de Venezuela (official), 'II Efemerides y Cotidianidad Naval Venezolana' PDF chronology [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chronology entry under 1959-1960, transport Los Roques (T-14), San Pedro Alcantara salvage expedition
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Armada Bolivariana de Venezuela's official naval-chronology publication ('II Efemerides y Cotidianidad Naval Venezolana', armada.mil.ve) records under 1959-1960: 'La Armada realiza una expedicion para el rescate de piezas arqueologicas pertenecientes al navio espanol San Pedro Alcantara. Fue utilizado el transporte Los Roques (T-14) para tales fines. Las piezas reposan en el Museo Naval de la Meseta de Mamo.' - the transport Los Roques (T-14) was used for the archaeological salvage expedition recovering artifacts of the Spanish ship San Pedro Alcantara, with the recovered pieces held at the Museo Naval de la Meseta de Mamo. The T-14 pennant identifies this transport as the ex-LSM-543 per the consistent secondary concordance (es.wikipedia fleet annex 'ARV Los Roques T-14, 1959-1965, Ex USS (LSM-543)'; navypedia 'to Venezuela 7.1959 (Los Roques)'; shipbuildinghistory 'to Venezuela 1959 as Roques').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1959-1960
- Population
- Armada de Venezuela crew, transport Los Roques (T-14) (1959-1965)
- Limitations
- Official Venezuelan Navy publication, verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-02. The document does not itself state the ex-USS LSM-543 identity - the T-14-to-LSM-543 linkage rests on consistent secondary concordance (es.wikipedia, navypedia, shipbuildinghistory.com) plus NavSource's 'transferred to Venezuela and named Roques.' Caveat: the same chronology records a separate transport 'Los Roques (T-22)' adscrito in 1959 by Resolucion M-186 - a name collision on the Venezuelan side requiring care. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-04
-
[6]National Archives, catalog.archives.gov file unit NAID 153715342, 'Drawings for USS LSM-543' (RG 19, Bureau of Ships, Ship Engineering Drawings series) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog file-unit page NAID 153715342 - 'Not Yet Available Online'; archived copy at College Park - Cartographic, paper
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds hull-specific engineering drawings for this vessel: RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), series 'Ship Engineering Drawings' (1874-1976), file unit 'Drawings for USS LSM-543,' National Archives Identifier 153715342, one paper copy at National Archives at College Park - Cartographic. Bureau of Ships drawing sets for a hull of this class typically include the booklet of general plans and structural/machinery arrangement drawings - the category of document that records insulation and material specifications.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945 (construction era; series 1874-1976)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: catalog confirms the file unit exists for this hull; contents unsurveyed (not digitized, paper copy at College Park Cartographic). Whether the drawing set carries insulation or material specifications is unknown - the description that such drawing sets 'typically' include material information is a series-level expectation, not a fact about this file unit. No asbestos content in the catalog record itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-05
-
[7]National Archives, catalog.archives.gov file unit NAID 2761013, 'LSM-543' (RG 38, Material Inspection Reports and Related Documentation, Board of Inspection and Survey) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog file-unit page NAID 2761013 - 'Not Yet Available Online'; archived copy at College Park Textual Reference, container 116
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds a hull-titled file unit for this vessel: RG 38 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), series 'Material Inspection Reports and Related Documentation' (1940-1978), file unit 'LSM-543,' National Archives Identifier 2761013, paper container 116 at National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference; creating agency shown as Department of the Navy, Board of Inspection and Survey (09/18/1947-). Board of Inspection and Survey material-inspection files document the material condition of named hulls - for a hull decommissioned May 1946 and transferred July 1959, this file would most plausibly cover reserve-fleet material condition and/or pre-transfer inspection.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940-1978 (series range; file dates unstated in catalog)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: catalog confirms a hull-titled file unit exists; contents unsurveyed (not digitized, paper at College Park). A material-inspection file may document the hull's material condition (including insulation) at survey date, but nothing is known about its contents. No asbestos content in the catalog record itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (GM 16-278A diesel plant, this hull); Corn & Starr 1987 WWII-shipbuilding asbestos documentation (ev-08); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era program documentation (ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; synthesis of ev-08 and ev-09 era documentation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LSM-1-class landing ship built in 1945 at a commercial Gulf Coast wartime yard sits inside the documented WWII-era U.S. naval shipbuilding asbestos-use period. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel amphibious hull of this type and period were machinery and exhaust thermal insulation/lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, fireproofing and deck coverings, and brake linings on winches and handling gear, in a compact 203-foot hull volume. As a diesel ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1986
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); USN crew (Dec 1945 - May 1946); reserve-fleet maintenance/caretaker personnel (1946-1959); Venezuelan Navy crew (1959-1965); breakers (1986)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, outfitting specification, or construction work package located for LSM-543 (note: an unsurveyed NARA hull-titled material-inspection file, NAID 2761013, and a hull drawing set, NAID 153715342, may bear on this - open archival leads). Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull, no present-day presence claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-07
-
[9]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
- AJIM 11(3):359-373, abstract and article
- 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 program under which this LSM-1-class hull was produced at a commercial yard in 1945 - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- 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 or this yard and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. DOI verified live 2026-10-02 (302 redirect to Wiley onlinelibrary; the Wiley landing page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch, consistent with publisher bot-blocking).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (published Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure (fieldwork at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards), covering 'the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities.' Per the report highlights, the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed to accomplish necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas - documenting the Navy's asbestos-insulation era spanning this hull's 1945 construction. This hull left U.S. custody in 1959, predating the 1975 policy - no modern-era Navy survey or abatement record for it could be expected to exist.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy window; era 1940s-1970s
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk - not the Houston commercial yard that built this hull - so this is era/program context, not a hull or builder-yard finding. Product page verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-02; the full-report PDF (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf) was not fetched (standing gao.gov access defect noted since Batch-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-09
-
[11]Eric Pearson, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), June 2025; corroborated by shipbuildinghistory.com yard overview [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History June 2025 article, 'Building Different Types of Naval Vessels' section and yard description (verified live via Firecrawl); shipbuildinghistory.com yard overview paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The construction yard is documented in professional naval literature: the U.S. Naval Institute's Naval History magazine (June 2025) records that Brown Shipbuilding Company was established 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown & Root on Green's Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel; was the second-largest Houston-area employer of WWII at more than 25,000 workers from late 1942; built vessels on sideways-launching slips owing to the narrow waterway; received the Army-Navy 'E' production award December 1942; and built 12 PC-461-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts, 32 LCI(L)s, and 254 Landing Ships Medium - the last figure covering this hull. Shipbuildinghistory.com independently gives the same 254-LSM output and records the yard's 1949 lease to Todd Shipyards (operated as Todd's Houston Division until the mid-1980s, then returned to Brown & Root as an offshore-fabrication yard; sold piecemeal 2004; now the Brown Shipbuilding Industrial Park).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-2004 (yard history)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (>25,000 peak, 1942 onward)
- Limitations
- Builder-yard history, not a hull record: documents the yard, its scale, and its wartime output; does not name LSM-543 (shipbuildinghistory.com's yard table does, separately) and contains no asbestos or material content. Todd Shipyards lease dates differ slightly between sources (shipbuildinghistory overview 'until 1984', Todd-Houston page 'until 1987').
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-10
-
[12]U.S. Senate, S. Rept. 109-97, Committee on the Judiciary, report accompanying S. 852 (FAIR Act of 2005) - asbestos-litigation-crisis bankruptcy discussion, citing the Stiglitz et al. analysis; corroborated by Herring v. Texaco, Inc., 161 Wn.2d 189, 165 P.3d 4 (Wash. 2007), para. 4 (Todd 1987 D.N.J. Chapter 11, asbestos-claim risk known at filing, emergence 1989) [court_record]
- Locator
- S. Rept. 109-97 text, bankruptcy/unionization paragraph: 'Many companies had high unionization rates when they filed for bankruptcy: ... and Todd Shipyards, 75%' (n.38 Stiglitz); Herring v. Texaco 161 Wn.2d 189 para. 4 (https://law.justia.com/cases/washington/supreme-court/2007/78774-3-1.html - verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Senate Judiciary Committee report on S. 852, the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution (FAIR) Act of 2005 (S. Rept. 109-97), in its discussion of companies filing for bankruptcy amid the asbestos-litigation crisis, lists Todd Shipyards among such companies with a 75% unionization rate at filing. The published Washington Supreme Court record corroborates the asbestos linkage: Herring v. Texaco, Inc., 161 Wn.2d 189, 165 P.3d 4 (2007) records that in 1987 'Todd filed a voluntary petition for chapter 11 reorganization' in the District of New Jersey bankruptcy court '[a]t the time, Todd likely knew it was at risk for asbestos-related claims' (knowledge of employee asbestos claims in New Orleans is noted), emerging from bankruptcy in 1989. Todd Shipyards Corporation operated the Green's Bayou yard that built this hull - leased from Brown Shipbuilding in 1949 and run as its Houston Division into the mid-1980s - making both records a documented asbestos-litigation-era marker for the successor operator of this hull's construction site.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1987-2007 (Todd bankruptcy and litigation record); 2005 (report)
- Population
- Todd Shipyards Houston workforce (1949-mid-1980s lease era)
- Limitations
- Successor-operator context only: neither record names the Houston yard or any vessel, and neither addresses conditions during this hull's 1945 construction under Brown. The Senate sentence lists Todd among companies that 'filed for bankruptcy' within the asbestos-litigation-crisis discussion without itself stating cause; the Herring opinion's asbestos linkage concerns Todd's own workforce/subcontractor claims (Herring's exposure was at Todd's Seattle-area site). Todd's bankruptcy (1987 filing, 1989 emergence) postdates this hull's Brown-era construction by four decades.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-11
-
[13]U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District FUDS Program, 'Proposed Plan for the Landfill Area 2 Site, Former Lee Field Naval Air Station, Green Cove Springs, Florida,' FUDS Project No. I04FL0085_04 (January 2016) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USACE proposed plan, Introduction and Site Background/Site History paragraphs; No Further Action identification
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The reserve-fleet site where this hull lay in mothballs for thirteen years (1946-1959) is a documented Formerly Used Defense Site: the USACE Jacksonville District Proposed Plan for Landfill Area 2, Former Lee Field Naval Air Station, Green Cove Springs, Florida (FUDS Project No. I04FL0085_04, January 2016) records that the installation 'contained extensive docking facilities with access to the St. Johns River' and that 'following the war, the facility was used as a naval station to store shallow-draft fleet ships' - the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group basin where NavSource documents LSM-543 decommissioned and nested in 1946. Ownership transferred from DoD to the City of Green Cove Springs in 1963; the site became Reynolds Industrial Park; the Landfill Area 2 record closes with a proposed No Further Action determination after CERCLA studies found metal detections below screening levels.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940-2016 (site history and FUDS program window)
- Population
- Atlantic Reserve Fleet caretaker personnel (1946-1962 era); site remediation workers (post-1963)
- Limitations
- Lay-up-site environmental record only: documents that the Green Cove Springs naval station (where this hull was mothballed 1946-1959) is a FUDS site under CERCLA review, with a No Further Action proposal for one landfill area whose contaminants of concern were metals - the plan mentions no asbestos and no vessel. It establishes the lay-up facility's environmental disposition, not material conditions aboard any hull stored there. Verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-12
-
[14]Batch-6329 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches via cl-auth-search.py - quoted 'LSM-543' type=o (0), quoted 'LSM 543' type=o (0), quoted 'USS LSM-543' type=o (0), unquoted fuzzy 'LSM-543' type=o (14 hits, all reviewed, all non-qualifying token collisions), quoted 'LSM-543' type=r (0 dockets), quoted 'LSM 543' type=r (0 dockets) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-543-09 through sl-uss-lsm-543-13
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located: CourtListener opinion index (authenticated API v4 via cl-auth-search.py) returned count 0 for quoted 'LSM-543', count 0 for quoted 'LSM 543', and count 0 for quoted 'USS LSM-543'; the unquoted fuzzy opinion search for LSM-543 returned 14 relevance-ranked hits, all reviewed - every hit is a non-qualifying token collision (e.g., Soleimany v. Narimanzadeh Cal. App. 2022 property dispute; Chisholm v. USPS W.D.N.C. 1980 employment case; Texas and California criminal/civil OCR noise; none involves a vessel or asbestos). CourtListener docket-level (RECAP) searches returned count 0 / document_count 0 for both 'LSM-543' and 'LSM 543'. The Venezuelan name 'Los Roques' was not searched - it is a geographic/personal-name token with no plausible U.S.-court referent for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public docket does not prove no claim was ever filed - PACER/state-court records are not fully indexed by CourtListener, and a hull with a five-month stateside commission is a thin litigation target. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-543-lsm543-13
-
[15]Batch-6329 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS checks; NavSource; NARA catalog; shipbuildinghistory.com; uboat.net; navypedia; Armada de Venezuela official chronology; NVR scope check; MARAD Vessel History Database; CourtListener opinion and docket searches; GAO product page; congress.gov S. Rept. 109-97; USACE FUDS document; USNI Naval History; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-543-01 through sl-uss-lsm-543-18
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, ship's material schedule, or court record naming USS LSM-543 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this hull. The hull served under five months in U.S. commission - all of it stateside, essentially a construction completion followed by a single Little Creek-to-Green-Cove-Springs mothballing transit - then spent thirteen years in reserve and left U.S. custody in 1959, sixteen years before the Navy's 1975 asbestos-management policy, so no modern survey or abatement record could be expected to exist. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no asbestos content for this hull at all - no law-firm listicle claims were found to exclude.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1945 wartime-program amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and Venezuelan service (1959-1965) plus undocumented 1986 scrapping leave material fate unrecorded. Two unsurveyed NARA file units (drawings NAID 153715342; Board of Inspection and Survey material-inspection file NAID 2761013) are open leads that may document the hull's material condition. 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-lsm-543-lsm543-14