The USS Antares (AK-258), a Greenville Victory-class cargo ship was laid down as SS Nampa Victory on April 06, 1944, under a Maritime Commission contract at Oregon Shipbuilding Co., Portland OR. With a complement of 250 men, most of the asbestos exposure aboard this ship occurred in engineering spaces and boiler rooms. The ship was launched on May 19, 1944, and acquired by the U.S. Navy on July 23, 1951. The ship was commissioned as USS Antares (AK-258) under CDR. Grant O. Hansen’s command on February 12, 1952, and served the Navy for twelve years until it was decommissioned on December 18, 1964, at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The ship was struck from the Naval Register on September 1, 1965, and was sold for scrapping on April 5, 1974. Shipyard workers came into contact with asbestos in a variety of ways. Workers manipulated asbestos insulation materials throughout the shipbuilding process by cutting, shaping, mixing, and sawing them. Additionally, workers were exposed to a variety of materials containing asbestos, including felt, block, pipe covering, thread, gaskets, block, tape, cement, and packaging. Workers utilized these items to insulate pipelines and equipment aboard ships.
760-621-6147
