Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi is one of the largest naval shipbuilding facilities in the United States, and has built more U.S. Navy ships than any other private contractor — including the entire Spruance-class destroyer fleet, Ticonderoga-class cruisers, Wasp-class amphibious assault ships, and other major surface combatants. Operating continuously since 1938, the Pascagoula yard employed tens of thousands of workers across every shipbuilding trade throughout the peak asbestos era. The U.S. Navy maintained a permanent Supervisor of Shipbuilding (Supship) office at Pascagoula to oversee construction and quality assurance. Publicly filed asbestos litigation records document Ingalls Shipbuilding Pascagoula with exceptional depth — including a formal asbestos survey, a 1971 Navy warning letter, named asbestos contractor documentation, named asbestos product deliveries to the yard, and extensive personal testimony from workers who built Navy ships there.

Documented Asbestos at Ingalls Shipbuilding Pascagoula

Formal Asbestos Survey — Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.

“Survey, Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula” — a formal asbestos survey of the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation at Pascagoula appears in the publicly filed asbestos litigation corpus. This is the highest-quality form of asbestos exposure documentation — an official inspection and survey establishing the presence of asbestos-containing materials at the named facility. The survey document has been cited in multiple independent litigation filings, establishing it as a recognized piece of evidence for worker exposure claims tied to the Pascagoula yard.

1971 Navy Warning Letter — Asbestos at Pascagoula

“1971 letter from Navy re: warning signs [at Pascagoula]” — a 1971 letter from the U.S. Navy addressing asbestos warning signs at Pascagoula appears in the litigation corpus in two independent versions. The 1971 date is significant — this letter predates the major OSHA asbestos regulations of 1972 and the Navy’s formal asbestos abatement programs, establishing that the Navy was aware of the asbestos hazard at Pascagoula and was communicating warnings to supervisory personnel at the yard as early as 1971.

“Commanding Officer at Supship Pascago[ula]” — the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, USN, office at Pascagoula (Supship Pascagoula) appears in the corpus in the asbestos warning context. Supship was the Navy’s resident office responsible for construction oversight, quality assurance, and — relevant to the asbestos litigation — the Navy’s communication of health and safety requirements to the contractor workforce. Supship Pascagoula personnel were directly involved in Navy-to-contractor asbestos warning communications.

Asbestos Contractors at Ingalls — Hopeman Brothers and North Brothers

“Ingalls & Hopeman Brothers @ Pascagoula” — Hopeman Brothers, one of the most extensively documented asbestos insulation contractors in the national shipyard asbestos litigation record, is directly identified at Ingalls Shipbuilding Pascagoula in the corpus. Hopeman Brothers installed asbestos pipe insulation, asbestos insulation board, and asbestos-containing thermal insulation throughout new ship construction at Navy yards across the country — including Pascagoula.

“North Brothers at Ingalls Shipyard [in Pascagoula]” — North Brothers, another asbestos insulation and thermal contractor, is identified at the Ingalls Pascagoula yard in the corpus. The Madison County asbestos MDL service list includes North Brothers at Ingalls Pascagoula in the plaintiffs’ asbestos exposure record, confirming that both Hopeman Brothers and North Brothers were recognized defendants for Pascagoula yard asbestos claims.

Named Asbestos Product Deliveries to Pascagoula

“Asbestos to Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula” — named asbestos product deliveries to the Ingalls yard at Pascagoula appear in the corpus, establishing a chain of custody from asbestos product manufacturers to the Pascagoula construction site. “Asbestos gloves in Pascagoula” — asbestos protective equipment is specifically identified in a Pascagoula context, consistent with the asbestos hand protection used by workers during hot work, welding, and insulation tasks in new ship construction.

“Health and safety on contract shipyards during [Navy construction]” — formal documentation of health and safety practices on Navy contract shipyards, appearing in connection with Pascagoula, consistent with the documentation the Supship office maintained regarding contractor compliance with Navy health and safety requirements.

Personal Testimony — Ingalls Shipyard Work

The Pascagoula corpus includes extensive personal testimony from workers who built Navy ships at Ingalls:

“Building in Pascagoula, Mississippi from 1958” — testimony from a worker establishing the Pascagoula shipyard as a workplace beginning in 1958, encompassing the full asbestos construction era at the yard.

“Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Years at Pascagoula, Mississippi” — multi-year service testimony from workers at the Ingalls yard, consistent with the career pattern of Pascagoula tradespeople who spent decades building Navy ships.

“Ingalls Shipyard, Pascagoula, MS from [dates]” — testimony placing workers at the specific Pascagoula yard in date-anchored career narratives, appearing in multiple independent documents in the corpus.

“Naval personnel at Pascagoula” and “Navy personnel down in Pascagoula” — testimony from Navy personnel assigned to the Pascagoula yard — Supship staff, quality assurance inspectors, commissioning crews — who were present in the new-construction environment during active asbestos insulation installation.

“Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, Pascagoula, Mississippi, 3/24/45” — a specific dated record from March 1945 at Ingalls Pascagoula, establishing the yard’s history of Navy construction and associated asbestos use extending to World War II.

Navy Ships Built at Pascagoula — Asbestos Construction

Ingalls Shipbuilding Pascagoula built some of the most heavily crewed and most asbestos-documented classes of Navy ships:

  • Spruance-class destroyers (DD-963 through DD-992) — 30 ships, all built at Pascagoula, constructed with LM2500 gas turbines insulated with asbestos thermal lagging, Flexitallic asbestos gaskets, and Marinite asbestos board throughout
  • Ticonderoga-class cruisers (CG-47 and later) — built at Pascagoula on the Spruance hull
  • Wasp-class amphibious assault ships (LHD-1 and later) — massive vessels built at Pascagoula carrying asbestos insulation in engineering spaces, workshops, and steam systems
  • LHA-class amphibious assault ships (Tarawa class) — built at Pascagoula in the early 1970s with full asbestos construction standards

Pre-commissioning crew (PCU) members who reported to Pascagoula during the construction of these vessels — before formal delivery and commissioning — were present in the yard during active asbestos insulation installation and were among the workers most heavily exposed to asbestos fiber in new-construction environments.

Navy Asbestos Elimination Program — Pascagoula Documentation

“Asbestos Elimination Program. Department of Navy” — the Navy’s formal asbestos elimination program documentation appears in the Pascagoula asbestos corpus, establishing that the program — developed in the late 1970s — included the contracted shipyard workforce and generated documentation that reached the litigation record.

Who Was Exposed at Ingalls Pascagoula

Workers and Navy personnel at Ingalls Shipbuilding Pascagoula in the following capacities may have asbestos exposure claims:

  • Insulation trades workers — Pipecoverers, Insulators, and helpers who installed Hopeman Brothers and North Brothers asbestos insulation products throughout new ship construction
  • Pipefitters and Plumbers — who cut asbestos gaskets and worked alongside insulation crews on steam and hot water systems
  • Boilermakers and Machinists — who fitted asbestos-insulated boilers and machinery during ship construction
  • Shipfitters and Structural workers — who worked in enclosed hull spaces during active asbestos insulation installation
  • Electricians — who routed cable through asbestos-insulated spaces and used asbestos products in high-temperature electrical applications
  • Pre-commissioning crew (PCU) members — Navy personnel who reported to Pascagoula prior to ship delivery and were present during active asbestos installation
  • Supship Pascagoula personnel — Navy quality assurance and oversight staff who regularly walked through ship construction spaces during the asbestos era

Veterans who served as Supship or PCU staff at Pascagoula, and civilian workers who built Navy ships at Ingalls Shipbuilding Pascagoula, who subsequently developed mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease may qualify for:

  • VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) for Navy Supship and PCU veterans
  • Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) claims for civilian shipyard workers
  • Civil claims against Hopeman Brothers (and its successor), North Brothers, manufacturers of asbestos gasket products (including Flexitallic), and asbestos insulation product manufacturers

Key documents for a Pascagoula Ingalls claim:

  • Employment records — Ingalls Shipbuilding employment records documenting trades role and dates at Pascagoula
  • DD-214 or Supship orders — service records documenting Supship Pascagoula or PCU assignment
  • Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

All consultations are free. No fee unless a financial recovery is made on your behalf.

Exposure documentation derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records including the formal Ingalls Shipbuilding asbestos survey, the 1971 Navy warning letter, Hopeman Brothers and North Brothers contractor documentation, named asbestos product delivery records, and personal testimony from Ingalls Pascagoula workers. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.