Asbestos is usually found in 'MARINITE' - a panelling sheet that was commonly used in the internal bulkheads of ships cabins, service rooms, galleys, etc. 4 bulk cement carriers I served on (all built in Scotland, 1953/54, 1960, 1964, and 1978/79) used this material. It was also used in the galley deck heads, mainly due to it's fire-resistant properties. On the 1978/79 ship, I manufactured Asbestos Warning labels from self-adhesive vinyl to warn people not to chip or drill through the panels.
As for use in ships today - I have crewed on numerous off-shore vessels (mainly built in Asia) where, in the Ship's Certificates Folder, is a lovely embossed document stating there is NO asbestos used anywhere on this vessel.
Then one goes down to the engine room store, where there are rows of studs on a bulkhead, and dozens of machinery & pipe joints (gaskets) are hanging from these studs. The material they are manufactured from has the words 'ASBESTOS' stamped or printed right across the joints!
And yet there is an Asbestos-Free Certificate in the Bridge folder!
Trying to get the vessel owner to replace all the asbestos material was mission impossible. They didn't actually want to understand the problem!
Have to laugh - I read the article by JC after I wrote my post above. We are both on the same page.
