USS Sea Devil (SSN-664)

Name
USS Sea Devil
Hull designation
SSN-664
Vessel class
Sturgeon class
Evidence tier
Tier 3
Evidence entries
6
Record ID
uss-sea-devil-ssn664
Dataset version
2026.10.12-rc.1
Canonical URL
https://asbestosatlas.org/ships/uss-sea-devil-ssn664

Evidence

6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).

  1. [1]NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive + navysite.de ship pages (secondary compilations) [other_primary]
    Locator
    navysite.de/ssn/ssn664.htm; navsource.net/archives/08/08664.htm
    Finding type
    vessel_history
    Finding
    Documented for this hull (secondary compilations + official commissioning program): contract awarded 28 May 1964 to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.; keel laid 12 April 1966; launched 5 October 1967, sponsored by Mrs. Ignatius J. Galantin; commissioned 30 January 1969, Cmdr. Richard A. Currier - the commissioning date is corroborated by the Navy Department commissioning booklet (NavSource PDF 0866409) and the crew veterans' site; NavSource's own spec block reads '28 June 1968', an outlier value (that is Hammerhead's date) carried in gaps. Submarine Division 62, Norfolk; deactivated 25 February 1991; decommissioned and stricken 16 October 1991; SRP entered 1 March 1998, completed 7 September 1999. Veterans' site credits her as first nuclear submarine to visit Morocco (1976) and first nuclear-powered ship to visit Kalamata, Greece (1977).
    Verification
    partial
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1966-1991
    Limitations
    Secondary compilations (navysite, NavSource, seadevilssn664.org) plus an official Navy commissioning booklet image - no DANFS page located for this hull. 'First visit' claims are veterans-association material, unverified against Navy records. The veterans site also gives keel '12 APR 1965' (conflicts with the 12 April 1966 consensus - flagged). No asbestos content.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-sea-devil-ssn664-01
  2. [2]Cooks v. General Electric Company, No. 3:07-cv-05451-EMC (N.D. Cal.), complaint Exhibit A work-history, ECF No. 1-2 (filed 2007-10-25) [court_record]
    Locator
    ECF No. 1-2, Exhibit A vessel list ('SEA DEVIL (SSN-664)')
    Finding type
    litigation_documented
    Finding
    Asbestos complaint exhibit (plaintiff Alvin Cooks's work-history/exposure exhibit) lists vessels and locations of alleged asbestos exposure, expressly including 'SEA DEVIL (SSN-664)' among dozens of hulls. Cooks worked at Mare Island Naval Shipyard as a marine machinist 1974-1995 (helper through general foreman); the exhibit's job-duty recitals describe gasket and valve-packing removal and replacement, lagging-residue removal, and pipe cut-outs aboard listed vessels including work in reactor compartments.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1974-1995 (alleged exposure window); 2007 (filing)
    Population
    Alvin Cooks (Mare Island NSY marine machinist, 1974-1995)
    Limitations
    Pleading-stage allegation (complaint exhibit), unadjudicated; a vessel-list entry is not an individualized exposure finding and does not establish that asbestos products were aboard this hull, that any exposure occurred, causation, or legal eligibility. The same exhibit mislabels 'FLASHER (SSN-670)' (SSN-670 is Finback's number) - a list-generation anomaly noted for reviewer awareness; the entry for THIS hull carries its own correct hull number.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-sea-devil-ssn664-02
  3. [3]Era inference built on: NavSource/navysite spec blocks (S5W-class nuclear plant, steam turbines, single shaft); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product lists for mare-island-naval-shipyard, newport-news-shipbuilding, electric-boat-groton, and puget-sound-naval-shipyard (thermal insulation, submarine steam/propulsion lagging, gaskets, packing, block insulation) [other_primary]
    Locator
    NavSource/navysite spec blocks; shipyards.json product lists for mare-island-naval-shipyard, newport-news-shipbuilding, electric-boat-groton, and puget-sound-naval-shipyard
    Finding type
    asbestos_application
    Finding
    A Sturgeon-class nuclear attack submarine built 1966-1969 at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. and maintained through Navy-yard availabilities across the 1970s-90s sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications on the secondary steam plant and auxiliary systems included thermal/pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, and machinery insulation. The building and maintenance yards' asbestos product use in this period is independently documented at the yard level.
    Verification
    inferred
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1966-1969
    Population
    Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. construction trades; Navy-yard overhaul trades; crew
    Limitations
    Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material list located. Names era-standard applications on non-nuclear secondary/auxiliary systems, not confirmed installed materials; the reactor plant establishes nothing. No quantity; material disposition at recycling undocumented per-hull.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-sea-devil-ssn664-03
  4. [4]Kase v. Metalclad Insulation Corp., Cal. Ct. App. (4th Dist.) 2021 (CourtListener opinions 4324658, 4332654) [court_record]
    Locator
    Opinion, specification-history discussion (SUBSAFE/MIL-I-24244)
    Finding type
    litigation_documented
    Finding
    A docketed asbestos personal-injury opinion recounts that after USS Thresher's 1963 loss the Navy created the SUBSAFE program, which issued procurement specification MIL-I-24244 covering asbestos-containing insulation for submarines - court-documented evidence that asbestos-containing insulation was specified in the submarine-construction regime in force when this hull was built (all batch-39 hulls were laid down 1964-1967, inside the post-SUBSAFE era).
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    2021 (opinion); regime described 1963-forward
    Population
    Navy submarine construction/maintenance trades, SUBSAFE era
    Limitations
    Documents the era procurement-spec regime, not this hull's installed materials; the case concerns a different claimant aboard different vessels. Does not establish exposure, causation, quantity, or eligibility.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-sea-devil-ssn664-04
  5. [5]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 that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - covering this hull's construction (1966-1969) and most service-era insulation events.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1979
    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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-sea-devil-ssn664-05
  6. [6]Batch-39 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror sweep; navysite + NavSource compilations; NVR; archive.org RECAP exhibit PDFs (Cooks, Halseth, Cronin); HathiTrust/Google catalog records; GAO product page; CourtListener (blocked) [other_primary]
    Locator
    search_ledger rows on this record
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located beyond the pleading-stage litigation references carried on this record: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure case naming this hull was found. CourtListener direct searches (exact name + hull number, opinions and RECAP) could not be run this session - API and site returned HTTP 403/throttled (125/day exhausted; retry-after ~16h) - logged as blocked, not 'no result'.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    negative_finding
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    2026-09-18
    Limitations
    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. Hull recycled through the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program; per-hull hazmat handling records, if any exist, are not public. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-sea-devil-ssn664-06

Attribution

Compiled by
Paul Danziger; Rod de Llano
Publisher
Danziger & De Llano, LLP
License
CC-BY-4.0
Citation
Danziger, P., and De Llano, R. (2026). AsbestosAtlas Navy Vessel Asbestos Exposure Dataset. Danziger & De Llano, LLP. DOI: not yet assigned
Dataset version
asbestosatlas-ships-2026.10.12-rc.1
DOI
not yet assigned