USS Frederick (LST-1184)

The USS Frederick (LST-1184) was the sixth of 20 Newport-class tank landing ships built for the United States Navy beginning in the late 1960s. The Newport-class vessels were designed to replace the traditional hinged-bow LSTs of World War II and were significantly larger and more capable than their predecessors.

Work on the USS Frederick began in 1968, when the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company laid down her keel in San Diego, California. The Frederick was completed a year later and commissioned on April 11, 1970. After a brief shakedown cruise, the USS Frederick was deployed with the Pacific Fleet, where she was soon deployed in support of American operations in the Vietnam War. The USS Frederick earned a total of three battle stars for her service during the Vietnam War, which lasted form 1970 until the South Vietnam refugee evacuation in 1974.

Service after World War II

Over the course of the next nine years, the USS Frederick made a number of deployments throughout the Pacific. Occasionally the Frederick was removed from frontline duty for overhauls, which involved varying degrees of repairs and upgrades to the Frederick. While shipyard workers were skilled at conducting these overhauls and kept the Frederick’s time in port to a minimum, the operations almost certainly resulted in significant asbestos exposure for both the workers and any members of the Frederick’s crew in the vicinity of the work.

The USS Frederick continued to serve with the Pacific Fleet for much of the 1980s, although she did make several deployments to the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. In 1990, tensions flared in the Middle East when Iraq invaded the Kuwait, setting the stage for the Gulf War. The Frederick was deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of the coordinated multinational response, and during her time in the Persian Gulf the Frederick participated in the only amphibious landing of the war.

Four years after her service in the Gulf War, the USS Frederick was ordered into the Naval Reserves and rebased to Pearl Harbor. The Frederick remained in service with the Navy for another seven years until her eventual decommissioning. Before she could be taken out of service, the USS Frederick was required to undergo a pre-inactivation overhaul. This overhaul once again may have resulted in asbestos exposure for the shipyard workers who prepared the Frederick for decommissioning. On October 5, 2002, the USS Frederick was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register.

Asbestos Risks

Asbestos was often used on ships such as the USS Frederick in order to insulate and fireproof materials onboard. Unfortunately, using asbestos has caused thousands of past shipyard workers and crew members to develop asbestos-related diseases from being exposed to asbestos. Boiler rooms and engine rooms were two of the most common areas for asbestos exposure. In addition to these locations, pipes, walls and ceilings insulated with asbestos often exposed crew members as well.

Exposure to asbestos has been linked to several serious illnesses, including lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. The latter is especially harmful due to the latency period for symptoms to arrive. In most cases, symptoms of mesothelioma can take as long as 20 to 50 years to develop, leaving patients completely unaware of their condition. By the time the majority of patients are diagnosed, the cancer has often reached the advanced stages of development.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma, you may have legal options for compensation. Many have received financial assistance to help cover medical costs, lost income and any other expenses. For more information about compensation and treatment options, please click here to receive a complimentary informational packet.

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Auxiliary Vessels Index