Davis

Opinion by Judge SCHROEDER.

This is an appeal by the estates of seamen who drowned in the Bering Sea after becoming trapped in the hull of a sinking vessel. The estates seek to recover damages for lost future earnings from the ship’s builder, Ap-pellee Bender Shipbuilding, under federal general maritime law.

In Evich v. Connelly, 759 F.2d 1432 (9th Cir.1985) (Evich I), we held that the non-dependant survivors of a deceased seaman could pursue a general maritime survival action against the owner of the seaman’s vessel. Following our remand to the trial court in Evich I, we held that lost future earnings is a permissible measure of damages in some general maritime survival actions. Evich v. Morris, 819 F.2d 256 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 914 , 108 S.Ct. 261 , 98 L.Ed.2d 218 (1987) (Evich II). We now hold that our decision in Evich II, insofar as it is bears on the ease now before us, is no longer controlling authority because it has been partially overruled by Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., 498 U.S. 19 , 111 S.Ct. 317 , 112 L.Ed.2d 275 (1990).

I.

The tragic facts of this case are straightforward and undisputed. On March 23,1990, nine crewmen died after becoming trapped in…