USS Inchon (LPH-12)

The USS Inchon (LPH-12) was the last of the United States Navy’s Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ships. The Inchon and her sister LPHs were among the first purpose-built helicopter carriers. Their air wings gave the Navy the ability to deploy Marines behind enemy beaches.

Work on the USS Inchon began in 1968 at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company’s Pascagoula, Mississippi shipyard. The Inchon was commissioned on June 20, 1970 and the ship immediately embarked on her first shakedown and training run. Following her successful shakedown cruise, the USS Inchon was deployed to Vietnam where she participated in one campaign and earned a Vietnam battle star. The Inchon was subsequently deployed with the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet.

Service after the Vietnam War

While on deployment in the Mediterranean in 1975, the USS Inchon collided with the USS Caloosahatchee, a replenishment ship, resulting in minor damage to both vessels. The Inchon was involved in a more serious at-sea collision just five years later, when on February 5, 1980, she ran into the USS Spiegel Grove in the Atlantic Ocean. The Inchon and her crew responded quickly to the impact, and the sailors aboard the Inchon brought the situation under control.

The history of the USS Inchon was generally quiet, but a number of other accidents interrupted her otherwise peaceful deployments. On November 14, 1989, a particularly large fire broke out on the Inchon’s hangar deck while the ship was berthed in her home port of Norfolk, Virginia. The fire spread throughout much of the hangar deck, sending smoke and asbestos debris throughout the Inchon. Once again, the Inchon’s crew responded well, although 31 sailors were injured and many others undoubtedly received asbestos inhalation as a result of the incident.

Several years later in March of 1995, the USS Inchon was re-designated as MCS-12, a Mine Countermeasures Command and Support Ship. However, the Navy decided that the role was extraneous and the Inchon was the only vessel to ever wear the MCS designation. In October of 2001, while the Inchon was in port in Ingleside, Texas, she suffered the second major fire of her career. This second fire was significantly worse than the first as it spread for nearly 45 minutes before the crew brought it under control.

During those 45 minutes, many of the responding sailors aboard the Inchon received significant exposure to smoke and asbestos fibers, and several were eventually treated for smoke inhalation. Following the fire, the U.S. Navy decided that it wasn’t worth the cost of the repairs to keep the Inchon in service, and on June 20, 2002, the USS Inchon was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register. She was ultimately sunk on December 5, 2004 as part of a Navy training exercise.

Asbestos Risks

Asbestos was often used on ships such as the USS Inchon 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.

Sources:

Auxiliary Vessels Index