Official records and exposure research

Shipboard Exposure & Records

Find official ship records, explore shipboard exposure topics, and search published Board decisions. The VA’s Vietnam-era herbicide report covers a specific list; it is not a complete inventory of vessels or hazards.

Official records first. Individual exposure is a separate question.

The historical record 01 / Records Find official ship records Deck logs, operations reports and the office that holds them. Find records

The work environment 02 / Exposures Look beyond Agent Orange Read about shipboard work, substances and exposure rules. Browse topics

The published decisions 03 / Board research Search the Board record Look for decisions that name the ship you entered. Search decisions

01 / Find the original record

The year matters. So does the kind of vessel.

Choose the records you are researching. This identifies a records source, not eligibility for a VA benefit.

1940and earlier

National Archives, Washington, DC

Start with NARA's early Navy logbook holdings and catalog links.

Find early logs

1941 to 1978Navy deck logs

National Archives, College Park

Search available digitized logs or check the holdings for the ship and year.

Read NARA guidance

1979 to 1983Custody is split

NARA or Naval History and Heritage Command

Unclassified logs: NARA. Classified logs: NHHC. Check the record type before sending a request.

Check the split

1984+Navy deck logs

Naval History and Heritage Command

NHHC directs general-public deck-log requests through its FOIA process. Name the ship, hull number and specific dates.

Read NHHC instructions

USCGSeparate holdings

Coast Guard and Revenue Cutter logs

Do not use the Navy year table for Coast Guard vessels. NARA's guide explains these separate holdings and research locations. Match the vessel and years, then confirm the custodian.

Read the records guide

MSCSeparate holdings

Military transport and sealift logs

NARA describes Military Sea Transportation Service and Military Sealift Command log holdings for 1946 to 1981. These are separate from commissioned Navy deck logs. For later records, confirm current custody before requesting.

Read the records guide

Not every record is online. A missing search result is not proof that the record does not exist.

Words you can useA ship-records request example Open

Copy this general example and fill the brackets yourself. It requests records, not a VA disability decision or a medical opinion.

Subject: Ship records request: [ship name and hull number], [dates or year] I request copies of [deck logs / Command Operations Report / other specifically identified records] for [ship name and hull number], covering [date range or calendar year]. I am researching [the event or operations] around [approximate date, if known]. Please include the responsive records you hold for that period. If another office holds these records, please identify the appropriate records custodian. Please advise me before incurring any fees. [Your name and contact details]

Open text version NHHC submission options

Use the receiving office identified above. NARA and NHHC have different request procedures. The example does not replace an office's required form or instructions.

02 / Put the work in context

The ship's name is only one part of the story.

These are general research topics. Their appearance here does not establish that a hazard was present aboard any particular vessel.

Insulation & shipyard work Asbestos Read the exposure evidence and the limits of the Board record. Aviation & maintenance Jet fuel Find the existing fuel-exposure research and source context. Firefighting foam PFAS Understand what is known and what still requires evidence. Activity & exposure rules Ionizing radiation See the separate rules. Nuclear-ship service alone is not a blanket presumption. Location, time & condition Presumptive conditions Use the existing checker to read the relevant service requirements. Your occupational specialty Job-related exposures Read about duties and work environments, not just the name on the hull.

Other research: TCE and degreasing solvents Diesel exhaust Project 112/SHAD

03 / Search published decisions

What has the Board said about this ship?

The Board record may name a vessel even when VA's herbicide report does not. Search the name or hull you entered, then check the dates, duties and evidence in each decision.

A mention is not verified exposure. A decision about another veteran does not decide your case.

Published decisionsSearch by ship name or hullOpen Board decision searchOpens the existing BVA Search tool. Its normal access rules apply.

Keep the evidence separate

Three different questions. Three kinds of records.

What happened?

Deck logs, operations reports and releasable incident or maintenance records.

Where were you?

Assignments, orders, evaluations and firsthand accounts of duties or events.

What is the medical link?

Medical records and condition-specific evidence connecting a disability to service.

Records worth identifying before you request

Ship identity: full name, hull number and any name or designation changes.
Your service: aboard dates, rating, division and work center.
The event: approximate dates, location, incident or routine activity.
Other documents: personnel records, evaluations, overhaul records, industrial-hygiene reports and firsthand witness statements, where available.

Availability and release rules vary by record type. An official incident investigation may be held by a different office from the deck logs.

NHHC records guide

Health screening is not proof of exposure

VA's toxic-exposure screening records self-reported concerns and connects veterans with care resources. It does not provide legal or medical verification of exposure and it does not determine disability compensation.

Read the VA explanation

For asbestos claims, VA says it normally requests a medical examination and opinion. A private paid nexus letter is not a universal prerequisite. Read VA evidence guidance.

The original report still has a role

For Vietnam-era service, the list is not the whole rule.

The offshore herbicide presumption addresses qualifying vessel service not more than 12 nautical miles seaward of the statutory Vietnam and Cambodia demarcation line between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 (38 U.S.C. 1116A). It does not depend on a ship appearing in the 2019 report. Location, dates and the applicable condition requirements still matter.

This is not a general presumption for every shipboard substance or later period of service. Read the statute. Read VA eligibility guidance.

Same name does not mean the same vessel. VA's 2019 report lists USS Tripoli as LPH-10; the Navy's current USS Tripoli is LHA-7, a different ship. Compare the hull number and the documented service dates before treating any report entry as a record of your vessel.