USS Haven (AH-12) — Asbestos in the Navy Hospital Ship

USS Haven (AH-12), a Navy hospital ship converted from the commercial vessel SS Marine Walcott and commissioned August 26, 1944, served through the end of WWII and the Korean War as a floating hospital providing surgical and medical care for wounded naval and Marine Corps personnel. Haven was powered by steam turbine propulsion from the converted Marine-class troopship hull and served in the Western Pacific during WWII and later in Korean War operations. Medical personnel, hospital corpsmen, and engineering crew members assigned to Haven worked throughout the ship’s interior — both in the hospital spaces and in the engineering department — in proximity to the ship’s WWII-era asbestos-containing construction materials.

WWII-Era Steam Plant and Asbestos

USS Haven’s converted troopship steam plant used asbestos insulation throughout the engineering spaces:

• Main boiler insulation — Haven’s steam plant retained the boiler insulation from the converted troopship hull, with asbestos block insulation on boiler casings and asbestos-containing refractory in the firebox construction. Engineering ratings maintaining Haven’s boilers worked in the ship’s engineering spaces in proximity to asbestos-insulated boiler surfaces
• Main steam system pipe insulation — the main steam distribution system in Haven’s hull used asbestos pipe covering throughout the engineering spaces from the original WWII-era conversion. Engineering personnel in the machinery spaces were in proximity to asbestos-insulated steam piping during Haven’s operational periods
• Auxiliary heating systems — the extensive steam heating systems required for a hospital ship’s medical spaces, operating rooms, and patient ward temperature control used asbestos-insulated steam distribution piping throughout the ship’s hospital deck areas

Hospital Spaces and Medical Asbestos Exposure

Haven’s hospital interior construction used WWII-era materials:

• Hospital ward and medical space construction — the patient wards, operating rooms, treatment spaces, and medical department areas throughout Haven’s converted hospital interior used WWII-era institutional construction materials including asbestos-containing overhead tile, deck covering, and bulkhead construction consistent with the 1944 conversion era
• Hospital corpsmen in patient spaces — Hospital Corpsmen (HM) and medical officers assigned to Haven’s hospital wards and treatment spaces worked throughout the ship’s hospital interior in proximity to the asbestos-containing construction materials in the converted troopship hospital spaces

VA Claims for USS Haven Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure aboard Navy hospital ships. Engineering ratings, Hospital Corpsmen, and crew members who served aboard USS Haven (AH-12) and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.

Source notes: equipment-manifest entries (where shown) are sourced from public-record BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) documentation, NARA archives, and the public asbestos litigation record. Manufacturer attributions link to documented asbestos-product histories on AsbestosIndex.com where available. Nothing on this page constitutes medical or legal advice.