814
Opinion of the Court
caused by negligence should, or must under direction of a federal statute, be treated differently.
A
For more than 80 years, from 1886 until 1970, all four issues were considered resolved, though the third not in the manner we have just described. The governing rule then was the rule of The Harrisburg, 119 U. S. 199, 213 (1886): Although the general maritime law provides relief for injuries caused by the breach of maritime duties, it does not provide relief for wrongful death. The Harrisburg said that rule was compelled by the existence of the same rule at common law, id., at 213-214—although it acknowledged, id., at 205-212, that admiralty courts had held that damages for wrongful death were recoverable under maritime law, see also Moragne, supra, at 387-388 (listing cases).
In 1969, however, we granted certiorari in Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc., supra, for the express purpose of considering "whether The Harrisburg . . . should any longer be regarded as acceptable law." 398 U. S., at 375- 376. We inquired whether the rule of The Harrisburg was defensible under either the general maritime law or the policy displayed in the maritime statutes Congress had since enacted, 398 U. S., at 379-393, whether those statutes preempted judicial action overruling The Harrisburg, 398 U. S., at 393-403, whether stare decisis required adherence to The Harrisburg, 398 U. S., at 403-405, and whether insuperable practical difficulties would accompany The Harrisburg's overruling, 398 U. S., at 405-408. Answering every question no, we overruled the case and declared a new rule of maritime law: "We . . . hold that an action does lie under general maritime law for death caused by violation of maritime duties." Id., at 409.
As we have noted in an earlier opinion, the wrongful-death rule of Moragne was not limited to any particular maritime duty, Yamaha Motor Corp., U. S. A. v. Calhoun, 516
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