Dalton

MEMORANDUM

In this proceeding under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 688 , plaintiff, formerly the third assistant engineer aboard the defendant’s vessel, the SS PRESIDENT TAYLOR, seeks a recovery for damages 1 occasioned by an alleged substantial loss of hearing when, on November 26, 1968, another third assistant engineer undertook the task of “blowing down the water wall header” under circumstances which were not conducive to safety with respect to others in the engine room.

The issues for determination may be classified as follows: (1) Did the incident of November 26, 1968, occur; (2) Was the plaintiff injured as a result of said incident and, if so, to what extent; (3) Did the injury result in whole or in part from the negligence of Rockafellow, the third assistant engineer.

The case is based upon the alleged negligence of a fellow crew member, Rockafellow. While unseaworthiness is *822 alleged, we find no evidence which would justify any recovery on this ground.

The plaintiff, Dalton, was born in Virginia on December 20, 1904. He initially went to sea in 1945 and received his third engineer’s license in 1948. From 1946 until June 1969, he worked for the defendant, American…