USS ROWAN (DD-782)

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]DANFS, Rowan IV (DD-782) - NHHC page (live page 404 at check; Wayback capture of canonical URL) + verbatim transcription with spec block via HazeGray mirror (Wayback capture) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry 'Rowan IV (DD-782)', specifications block + service narrative + 2005 continuation paragraph

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: laid down 25 March 1944 by Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Seattle, Wash.; launched 29 December 1944 (sponsor Mrs. David S. Folsom); commissioned 31 March 1945, Comdr. W. A. Dunn. Okinawa and Japan occupation support Sept-Dec 1945; immobilized at San Diego Feb 1946-Feb 1947; WestPac deployments 1947-48 and 1949; Korea from Aug 1950 - Inchon landing (TF 90, 15 Sept), Wonsan force Oct-Nov, gunfire support/plane guard through Feb 1951; second tour Jan-Jul 1952 incl. direct shore-battery hit 22 Feb 1952 and Taiwan Patrol; third tour Apr-Oct 1953. NERV capsule recovery Sept 1960; Operation 'Dommie' (Dominic) nuclear tests Christmas Island Mar-Jul 1962. FRAM I conversion at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from 3 June 1963, returning to California a year later with ASROC and DASH. Vietnam deployments from Jan 1965 (Qui Nhon gunfire support; Market Time; IV Corps; plane guard); overhaul most of 1967; Vietnam 1967-68, 1969; drydock overhaul at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard late Jan-15 June 1970; WestPac Sep 1970-Mar 1971; extended WestPac deployment from 20 Oct 1971 through 1973 (in port Yokosuka as of Jan 1974). Four Korean and eleven Vietnam battle stars. Continuation (entry dated 21 Oct 2005): decommissioned 18 December 1975; struck from the navy list 30 January 1976; transferred to the Republic of China 1 June 1977; ran aground under tow to Taiwan 22 August 1977; written off as total loss, wreck later salvaged for parts. Spec block: displacement 2,425; length 390'6"; beam 40'11"; draft 18'6"; speed 35 kt; complement 336; armament 6 x 5-inch, 12 x 40mm, 5 x 21-inch TT, 6 dcp, 2 dct; class Gearing.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1944-1977

   Population

   Todd Pacific Shipyards construction trades 1944-45; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 336); Philadelphia NSY and Hunter's Point NSY yard workers during 1963-64 FRAM and 1970 overhaul

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404; canonical URL verified via Wayback capture (entry incl. 2005 continuation) and verbatim HazeGray transcription (Wayback capture) for the spec block. FRAM modernization and the two named overhaul yards (Philadelphia NSY 1963-64; Hunter's Point NSY 1970) are documented events - their asbestos scope is not addressed by DANFS.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rowan-dd782-01

2. [2]Spurlin v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 537 F. Supp. 3d 1162 (S.D. Cal. May 7, 2021), No. 3:19-cv-02049-AJB-AHG, Order on omnibus cross-motions for summary judgment (ECF Nos. 105, 111; order filed as Doc. 130), Battaglia, J. [court_record]

   Locator

   537 F. Supp. 3d 1162 at 1167 (background), 1168-1172 (per-defendant product analysis incl. 1170 n.3 adoptive admission), 1176-1178 (exposure/substantial-factor analysis); Doc. 130 pp. 3, 6-10, 16-19

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Published federal summary-judgment opinion naming this hull: boiler tender Dale M. Spurlin served aboard USS Rowan on active duty December 1964-October 1966 (~2 years), operating and maintaining boilers and related equipment in the fire rooms; diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma May 2019. On ship-specific evidence (plaintiff deposition; shipmate depositions of Johnny Eisenman and Joseph Barrell; expert report of retired Navy Captain Arnold Moore; manufacturer drawings, bills of material, and parts records), the court found triable issues on duty to warn and causation as to all moving defendants except Tate Andale, and 'sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that Mr. Spurlin was exposed to Defendants' products.' Product recitals for this hull: Clark-Reliance Jerguson steam-separator water gages and 10-inch boiler water gages 'installed on each boiler on the Rowan,' each sealed with four asbestos gaskets with asbestos stem packing; Crane valves installed on the Rowan with asbestos packing and Cranite asbestos sheet gaskets, and asbestos replacement packing/gaskets supplied for overhauls; Foster Wheeler 'supplied the Navy with boilers and replacement parts on the Rowan,' bills of material specifying asbestos gaskets, tape, millboard, rope, valves with asbestos packing, and asbestos insulating block/cement for boiler furnaces; IMO (DeLaval) pumps installed on the Rowan with asbestos-packed valves and asbestos-gasketed driving turbines 'required by the Navy to be insulated and lagged with asbestos materials'; Warren pumps in the Rowan fire rooms with asbestos packing, gaskets, insulation, and factory-applied asbestos fiber insulation. Shipmates testified fire-room gasket/packing work was daily, dusty, and done in 12-16-hour shifts with limited ventilation.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1964-1966 (alleged exposure); 2021 (opinion)

   Population

   Dale M. Spurlin (USN boiler tender aboard USS Rowan Dec 1964-Oct 1966; mesothelioma diagnosed 2019); fire-room crew incl. shipmates Eisenman and Barrell

   Limitations

   Summary-judgment-stage evidentiary recitals, not adjudicated findings: the order holds the evidence sufficient to reach a jury; it does not find that exposure occurred. The Foster Wheeler claim proceeded to a jury verdict for the defendant (see ev-uss-rowan-dd782-04). Product attributions rest on the Moore expert report and opponent-litigation deposition testimony (incl. adoptive admissions), not on a Navy material schedule; no quantities established; does not speak to present-day ACM (hull destroyed 1977) or to legal eligibility of any person.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rowan-dd782-02

3. [3]Spurlin v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 537 F. Supp. 3d 1162 (S.D. Cal. 2021), Tate Andale LLC section (Doc. 130 pp. 9-10) [court_record]

   Locator

   Doc. 130 pp. 9-10 (Tate Andale analysis) and p. 10 n.5-6

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Within the same Spurlin omnibus order, the court GRANTED summary judgment to defendant Tate Andale: plaintiffs' assertion that an 'Andale Co.' oil-cooler drawing applied to the Rowan 'is not supported by evidence' - the drawing contains no reference to the Rowan, no ships plan index was provided to verify applicability, and plaintiffs' own expert (Captain Moore) 'confirmed that he did not find any evidence of any Tate Andale equipment in the fire rooms in which Mr. Spurlin worked.' The court called the unsupported contention 'speculation' and also found insufficient evidence of exposure to a Tate product for substantial-factor causation.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   2021 (opinion)

   Population

   Same plaintiff as ev-02

   Limitations

   A merits-level negative as to one defendant's product nexus aboard this hull - demonstrates the evidentiary-recital limits of the same opinion's other product findings. Does not bear on the presence or absence of other asbestos products aboard; does not speak to ACM generally.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rowan-dd782-03

4. [4]Spurlin v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp., No. 22-55897 (9th Cir. Dec. 1, 2023) (unpublished memorandum), affirming judgment on jury verdict for defendants; D.C. No. 3:19-cv-02049-AJB-AHG (S.D. Cal.); companion district-court order denying Rule 12(b)(1) dismissal on Yearsley grounds, ECF No. 181 (Oct. 21, 2021) [court_record]

   Locator

   9th Cir. No. 22-55897 memorandum pp. 1-4; S.D. Cal. Doc. 181 (12(b)(1) denial) and Docs. 190-191 (Warren Pumps settlement notice, recited at Doc. 181 n.1)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Final disposition of the Spurlin litigation naming this hull: after the May 2021 summary-judgment order (ev-02), the district court denied defendants' Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss (Oct. 21, 2021, ECF No. 181), holding Yearsley derivative sovereign immunity is an affirmative defense rather than a jurisdictional bar and unproven on the record; defendant Warren Pumps noticed settlement Oct. 8, 2021 (Docs. 190-191) and the parties represented Air & Liquid Systems would follow. The claim against Foster Wheeler went to trial and ended in a jury verdict FOR Foster Wheeler; the Ninth Circuit affirmed Dec. 1, 2023 (unpublished; jury instruction and evidentiary points only - 'the jury's negative liability finding' stands).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   2021-2023 (dispositions); 1964-1966 (alleged exposure)

   Population

   Dale M. Spurlin (plaintiff-appellant)

   Limitations

   Merits-level negative for this plaintiff as to Foster Wheeler: the exposure and product-nexus recitals in ev-02 survived summary judgment but the sole tried claim failed at verdict. The appellate memorandum addresses instructions and evidentiary rulings, not exposure findings; it neither adjudicates nor disproves asbestos content aboard this hull. Unpublished memorandum - cite per 9th Cir. R. 36-3 limits.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rowan-dd782-04

5. [5]Livernois v. Air and Liquid Systems Corp., No. 4:19-cv-02277-SBA (N.D. Cal.), NASSCO's Notice of Removal, ECF No. 1 (filed Apr. 26, 2019) - RECAP doc. gov.uscourts.cand.341364.1.0; docket terminated Jul. 30, 2019 [court_record]

   Locator

   Notice of Removal, ECF No. 1, paras. 6-7 and 26 (vessel list); RECAP storage doc gov.uscourts.cand.341364.1.0

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Removal notice in an asbestos personal-injury action recites the state-court complaint's allegations that William Livernois, a Navy 'Boiler Tender'/'Boiler Tech' from approximately 1957 to 1978, was 'exposed to asbestos containing products while serving as a Boiler Tech aboard naval vessels, including USS Norfolk, USS Charles Sperry, USS Edison, USS Tingey, USS O'Brien, USS Picking, USS Haley Powell, and USS Rowen [sic], undergoing construction, repairs and/or modifications at or near NASSCO in San Diego.' The complaint charges NASSCO with liability for 'gaskets, packing, insulation, asbestos products, construction products, negligently creating asbestos dust and filing [sic] to protect from asbestos dust.' The only USS Rowan in commission during 1957-1978 was DD-782, homeported at San Diego - but the pleading names no hull number and misspells the vessel.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1957-1978 (alleged exposure); 2019 (filing)

   Population

   William Livernois (USN boiler tender/tech c. 1957-1978; mesothelioma); crews of listed vessels working at/near NASSCO San Diego

   Limitations

   Pleading-level allegation recited in a removal notice - unadjudicated; the vessel list is an allegation, not a finding. Hull attribution is inferred from era and homeport consistency, not stated (name spelled 'Rowen,' no hull number). The underlying complaint exhibit (Ex. A, Ex. D) was not retrieved; the docket terminated 2019-07-30 shortly after removal (disposition consistent with remand/settlement - exact disposition not confirmed). Does not establish exposure, products, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rowan-dd782-05

6. [6]NHHC, 'U.S. Navy Ships: Sunk & Damaged in Action during the Korean Conflict' (faq82-4; Wayback capture - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHHC faq82-4 list entries for USS Rowan (DD-782), 22 Feb 1952 and 18 Jun 1953

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Official NHHC damaged-in-action list records two shore-battery hits for this hull: 22 February 1952 at Hungnam, North Korea - minor damage after 1 hit, no casualties; and 18 June 1953 near Wonsan - moderate damage from 5 hits after receiving 45 rounds of 76-155mm at 7,500 yards, 9 casualties. Battle damage and repair cycles are documented hull events relevant to service history; repair scope and materials are not described.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1952-1953

   Population

   Wartime crew (9 casualties Jun 1953); repair crews (location undocumented)

   Limitations

   Casualty/damage accounting only - establishes the combat-repair events, not repair locations, scope, or materials (no asbestos content). DANFS describes the Feb 1952 hit as damaging a 40mm gun, radar, and superstructure; secondary accounts add frame-209 penetration and Mark 34 radar loss in June 1953 - carried in prose as secondary detail.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rowan-dd782-06

7. [7]NHHC/NHC Online Library of Selected Images, USS Rowan (DD-782), 1945-1977 (ibiblio mirror of Naval Historical Center photo-history page, incl. NH 103505-103508 photo captions) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHC Online Library DD-782 page, narrative paragraphs

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NHC photo-history for this hull: 2,425-ton Gearing-class destroyer built at Seattle, commissioned end of March 1945; FRAM I modernization 1963-64 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard ('elimination of one of her original three five-inch gun mounts and all smaller guns and their replacement by an ASROC anti-submarine rocket launcher and facilities for operating DASH drone helicopters'); six Vietnam War deployments (1965, 1966, 1967-68, 1969, 1970-71, and extended deployment beginning Oct 1971); 'In December 1975 Rowan was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in preparation for transfer to the Republic of China (Taiwan), but was not actually sold until June 1977,' renamed Chao Yang, and 'on 22 August 1977 she was lost while under to[w] to Taiwan.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1945-1977

   Population

   Crew across six Vietnam deployments; Philadelphia NSY yard workers 1963-64

   Limitations

   Photo-index prose, not a materials record. Its 'stricken December 1975' conflicts with the DANFS continuation's 'struck 30 January 1976' (the DANFS date is carried; conflict logged in gaps). FRAM description documents the weapons/equipment scope, not insulation or asbestos work.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rowan-dd782-07

8. [8]Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) - recital of class engineering drawing and expert insulation tally (per Atlas gearing-class profile, ev-gearing-class-04) [court_record]

   Locator

   Goodrich ECF No. 171 (omnibus order), drawing and McCloskey-report recitals; Atlas class profile 'gearing-class' ev-04

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Class-level litigation recital bearing on this hull's design family: the Goodrich omnibus opinion recites that 'an engineering drawing for the insulation and lagging of forced draft blower turbines for the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class)... specifies the use of amosite felts and asbestos cloths,' and quotes an expert report estimating 'a partial tally of the weight of the asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging products in the fire... and engine rooms of a ship belonging to the USS Allen M. Sumner (DD 692) and USS Gearing (DD 710) classes of destroyers is 30.3 tons.' Rowan (DD-782) is a Gearing-class hull sharing Sumner machinery lineage.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1944-1949 (construction era); 2018 (opinion)

   Population

   Gearing/Sumner-class fire-room and engine-room crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Litigation-record recital of an expert report and Navy engineering drawing at class level - not a ship-specific finding for DD-782; the drawing covers DD-692-group machinery shared by Gearing, and the 30.3-ton figure is an expert partial tally for fire/engine rooms, not a classwide inventory or adjudicated quantity. Underlying exhibits not in RECAP index (per class profile); the opinion itself treated related exposure conclusions as speculative.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rowan-dd782-08

9. [9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct. 18, 1979) + Atlas shipyard records for Philadelphia NSY and Hunter's Point NSY (tier-3 asbestos-documented yards) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO HRD-80-2 product page; shipyards.json records 'philadelphia-naval-shipyard' and 'hunters-point-naval-shipyard'; DANFS yard-period entries in ev-01

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era and yard context for this hull's documented yard periods: GAO documents the Navy's standing policy that asbestos insulation was removed only when damaged or required for repairs (1975 policy, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas) - original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. This hull's FRAM I conversion at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (June 1963-1964) and overhaul drydocking at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard (late January-15 June 1970) are DANFS-documented events; both yards carry tier-3 asbestos documentation in the Atlas yard dataset (Philadelphia NSY: Eagle-Picher Super 60, Unibestos, Kaylo, Thermasil, gaskets/packing; Hunter's Point: Kaylo/Pabco pipe covering, thermal insulation, gaskets, fireproofing). Era/design inference for the hull itself: a 1944-45 Gearing-class destroyer with a 60,000-shp geared steam plant would have carried period-standard boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, and accommodation insulation.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1944-1975 (service life); 1963-64 and 1970 (documented yard periods); 1979 (GAO report)

   Population

   Philadelphia NSY workers (FRAM 1963-64); Hunter's Point NSY workers (1970 overhaul); crew aboard during yard periods

   Limitations

   Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no hull-level material schedule, survey, or work order is cited for DD-782, and the GAO report is program-level (fieldwork yards were elsewhere). Yard asbestos documentation describes the yards, not this ship. The ship-specific asbestos evidence for this hull is the Spurlin litigation record (ev-02); this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. GAO full text unreachable (HTTP 403 to automated fetch) - content via product-page description per prior batch practice.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rowan-dd782-09

10. [10]Batch-3754 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC and mirrors; NHHC Korean-War damaged-in-action list; NHC Online Library; NavSource; CourtListener API sweep (partially fleet-paced); official court PDFs (S.D. Cal. orders; 9th Cir. memorandum); RECAP storage documents [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-rowan-dd782-01 through sl-uss-rowan-dd782-10

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Ship-specific sweep result: qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located (Spurlin, S.D. Cal. 3:19-cv-02049 - ship-specific equipment findings at summary-judgment stage, defense verdict at trial, affirmed; Livernois, N.D. Cal. 4:19-cv-02277 - pleading-level vessel list incl. 'USS Rowen' [sic]). No government hull survey, abatement contract, ACM inventory, museum hazmat disclosure, or digitized material schedule for DD-782 was located in the sources searched. CourtListener API coverage was partial: the exact-phrase opinion query '"USS Rowan"' returned no results, and queued docket queries were intermittently blocked by the shared fleet request budget; classification was completed from retrieved official PDFs and RECAP documents. Residual risk: additional naming references inside unindexed complaint exhibits or MDL-875 party papers cannot be excluded.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Study period

    2026-09-27

    Limitations

    Absence of a located government/materials record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - litigation evidence recites substantial asbestos-containing equipment aboard this hull. The sweep's completeness is bounded by CourtListener pacing during the session (see search_ledger); 'USS Rowan' name collisions (Rowan Companies offshore-drilling litigation, Rowan county/surname dockets) were excluded by reading vessel context.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-rowan-dd782-10