The USS Indus (AKN-1) was an Indus-class net cargo ship built during World War II. The ship was laid down as Liberty ship Theodore Roosevelt, under a Maritime Commission contract by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland, on 4 October 1943 and launched on 29 October 1943. She was commissioned on February 15, 1944, under Comdr. A. S. Einmo’s command and served in the U.S. Navy for 2 years until it was decommissioned on May 20, 1946. After the decommissioning, the ship was scrapped in 1967. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Indus received one battle star.
Shipyards have been the site of widespread exposure to asbestos for at least 3.5 million workers in various trades, and radiographically detectable asbestos fibers have been reported in several groups of such workers. Like many shipyards in the past, the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation has depended on asbestos for many years – putting many of its previous employers at high risks of developing serious asbestos-related diseases. Today, veterans that got sick due to military asbestos exposure are eligible for free healthcare and other VA benefits.
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