The SS Samalness was a Liberty ship built at J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia, during World War II. The ship was transferred to the British Ministry of War Transportation upon completion. The SS Samalness was laid down on 15 January 1944, under a Maritime Commission contract and launched on 29 February 1944. Since asbestos was highly prevalent in the U.S. Navy throughout the last century, many U.S. veterans are just now experiencing symptoms and facing serious diseases as a result of asbestos exposure, decades after serving. Navy veterans were exposed to asbestos in a number of ways during their service since seagoing vessels contained engines, boiler rooms, and other below-deck areas that needed to be insulated from high heat and fire, and asbestos was the ‘miracle’ material used for almost all types of insulation. On 30 April 1947, the SS Samalness was sold to the Maritime Shipping & Trading Company, and renamed Castledore. In 1951, she ran aground off Spain and sank when her propeller fell off.
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