The USS Alstede (AF-48) was the first of its class (known as the Alstede class) of store ships, auxiliary vessels that refueled, provided ammunition, and supplied food for the U.S. Navy’s maritime operations. The ship sailed during World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War, enabling ships to remain at sea for extended periods. Though the ship faced challenging conditions, its’ biggest danger may have been the asbestos hidden throughout its structure and equipment. The Alstede contained significant amounts of the carcinogenic material, putting the veterans she carried at risk of malignant mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases.
About the USS Alstede
The USS Alstede (AF-48) was one of many ships acquired by the U.S. Navy under a Maritime Commission contract: The United States Maritime Commission was a government agency responsible for overseeing the mass production of merchant ships during World War II. It contracted with private shipyards to construct standardized cargo vessels for transporting supplies to Allied forces.[1]
The ship was originally laid down in September 1944 as the Ocean Chief by the Moore Dry Dock Company, a shipyard that constructed and repaired hundreds of vessels during and after the war years and was later the subject of personal injury lawsuits related to its significant use of asbestos. She was launched in November 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Anton Wille, and the War Shipping Administration accepted delivery of the ship in May 1945. For approximately one year she was operated by the United Fruit Company, then was acquired by the Navy in May 1946 and renamed Alstede, designated AF-48 as a store ship.[2]
The ship had a steel hull and a lightweight aluminum superstructure. Originally ordered as an ordinary cargo ship, before delivery the military determined that the ship would be used to carry frozen meat to Allied forces, so its holds were converted to include refrigeration.[3] The USS Alstede was 459 feet long and displaced 14,150 tons when fully loaded. She carried a crew of 21 officers and 2439 enlisted men and was propelled by geared steam turbines and two boilers.
The ship had an arsenal of aircraft guns and machine guns for defense against enemy aircraft and surface vessels and was equipped with a range of cranes and cargo handling equipment to facilitate loading and unloading supplies.
USS Alstede Active Service, Repairs, Upgrades, and Tours of Duty
The USS Alstede served the U.S. Navy from the end of World War II through the Cold War era. First put into service after World War II’s end, the Alstede traversed a regular circuit for over four years, transporting supplies from the West Coast of the United States through the Marshall Islands to the Mariana Islands, calling at ports including Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Guam, Saipan, Pearl Harbor, and Wake Island.[2]
The Korean War introduced a shift in the ship’s operations. Though initially maintaining her regular Pacific routes, by December 1950 she was assigned to support UN forces fighting North Korean aggression. In early 1951, Alstede began making voyages between the West Coast and Japanese ports, particularly Yokosuka and Sasebo, rather than her previous Central Pacific destinations. At the end of that year, she entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for regular overhauls.[2]
By 1952, Alstede was more directly involved in the Korean conflict. From February through September, she sailed back and forth between Japan and the Korean coast, providing supplies to the 7th Fleet’s warships. She continued supporting combat operations through most of 1953, with the addition of brief visits to Taiwan to support the Taiwan Strait Patrol and to Koje Do, where communist prisoners of war were being held. In September of that year, she returned to Oakland for regular overhauls at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.[2]
In June 1954, the Alstede was reassigned to the Atlantic Fleet. After arriving at the port of Norfolk, Virginia, in July, she underwent significant upgrades in preparation for her first Mediterranean deployment with the 6th Fleet. By late October, she was regularly crossing the Atlantic, visiting ports including Naples, Salonika, and Valencia to replenish the 6th Fleet vessels’ supplies.[2]
For the next 13 years, the Alstede was deployed to the Mediterranean two or three times each year to resupply the 6th Fleet. Between these deployments, she participated in 2nd Fleet training exercises along the Atlantic coast and in the West Indies, conducted independent ship’s drills, and underwent periodic maintenance overhauls as well as repairs to her hull following a collision while provisioning the USS Croaker.[2]
In spring 1965, provided logistical support to Navy ships participating in the Organization of American States’ peacekeeping mission to the Dominican Republic, which aimed to mediate civil strife between supporters of ousted President Juan Bosch and the ruling military junta. The Alstede earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for her role in the mission.[2]
The USS Alstede was decommissioned and her name was struck from the Navy List in 1969. During her nearly 25 years of service she earned four battle stars and her crew was eligible for several medals.[2]
How Was Asbestos Used on the USS Alstede?
In 1944, when the USS Alstede was first constructed, the dangers of asbestos were not widely acknowledged, and the military relied on it for its affordability, availability, and exceptional heat insulation and fire-resistant properties. Many of the manufacturers supplying asbestos-containing materials to the Armed Forces had seen studies linking the mineral to cancer but chose to conceal the risks rather than take responsible action to protect America’s military personnel. These companies have since been accused of suppressing this information, prioritizing profits over people, and leading to disease, disability, and death, and have faced hundreds of personal injury lawsuits. Many of these claims have resulted in millions of dollars in legal settlements and driven many of those same companies into bankruptcy.
How Were USS Alstede Sailors Exposed to Asbestos?
Like many naval vessels built between 1930 and 1980, the USS Alstede was constructed with significant amounts of asbestos. This hazardous material was prevalent throughout the ship, and especially in the areas that required significant insulation. This included its refrigerated cargo hold as well as in the engine rooms, boiler rooms, turbine rooms, and machine rooms that generated heat. Asbestos was also used to insulate pipes: A veteran who’d worked in the ship’s kitchen testified that water pipes and steam pipes in the ship were covered with material containing asbestos.[4] Asbestos was also embedded in the ship’s cranes and other materials and components including adhesives, flooring, deck coatings, ropes, and firefighting and safety gear.
When materials containing asbestos degrade, they become friable. Deterioration can be the result of normal wear and tear, damage such as that sustained during the USS Alstede’s collision, during the ship’s overhauls at various shipyards during its 25 years of service, or during routine maintenance including replacing valves, gaskets, and other parts. In this brittle condition, the material disintegrates into dust and microscopic fibers that are undetectable to the naked eye and which can easily be inhaled. Once these fibers are in the airway, they can become embedded in the protective lining that surrounds essential organs like the lungs and abdominal cavity. Though the individual may cough, asbestos fibers have sharp, needle-like ends that make them nearly impossible for the body to remove. The same indestructible nature that made asbestos so popular as a component of ship parts makes it highly resistant to breakdown, so its fibers often remain in the body permanently. Over time, they can cause inflammation and scarring leading to asbestosis or may contribute to even worse diseases, including asbestos-related lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Because of the confined spaces in which they lived and worked, Navy veterans represent roughly one-third of the mesothelioma cases diagnosed each year in the United States, along with other asbestos-related illnesses. Many of these conditions and fatalities stemmed from the prolonged periods sailors spent in the ship’s heat-generating areas like the poorly ventilated engine and boiler rooms. Though the crew members working in these areas faced the greatest risk of inhaling asbestos fibers, maintenance and repair crews working with asbestos-based materials like pipe insulation were heavily exposed. Shipyard workers involved in the construction, refurbishment, overhaul, and repair of the Alstede also encountered substantial asbestos exposure throughout their duties.
Benefits and Compensation Available to Navy Veterans with Mesothelioma
The crew members and officers who served on the USS Alstede made significant contributions to America’s success in the years following World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War. Throughout their service, they accepted the risk that came with their environment and duties, never dreaming that the ship they worked on was exposing them to the risk of a deadly, asbestos-related disease. There are many challenges of a mesothelioma diagnosis, but one of the most daunting is that it takes decades for the illness to make itself known. This long latency period means that even today, service members who worked on or served on the Alstede remain at risk.
If you served on the Alstede and have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, you may be eligible for the comprehensive benefits that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides to military members who were exposed to asbestos during their time of service. In classifying mesothelioma as a 100% disabling disease, the VA has opened the door to receiving the maximum level of disability compensation as well as treatment at any VA medical center or specialized cancer treatment center. If you served on the ship and have not been diagnosed you are strongly encouraged to inform your physician of your history of asbestos exposure. Even if you feel healthy, the disease could be growing inside you, and the more your doctor knows about your risk, the more quickly they can diagnose you and get you started on appropriate treatment.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease after serving on or performing repairs on the USS Alstede, an asbestos lawyer can ensure that you’re aware of and accessing all of the benefits and resources that you’re eligible for. Many veterans have filed successful personal injury lawsuits against the companies that were responsible for having exposed them to asbestos, and you may also be eligible to file a claim against one of the asbestos trust funds that companies were required to set up before their bankruptcy filing could be approved.
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