Burial At Sea - Information

Burial At Sea - Information - Welcome

This page contains information which may help you if you are considering arranging a burial at sea, if you haven't done so already then we recommend that you also read the article "I buried my father at sea" as told to Alex Pitt, and also from an account sent to the Natural Death Centre. Michelle Crooks' efforts in arranging this funeral won the main Natural Death Centre Award for 1998.

Burial at sea

Under the Food and Environmental Protection Act 1985, as amended by the Environmental Protection Act 1990, a license is needed - "for the deposit of substances or articles within United Kingdom waters or United Kingdom controlled waters, either in the sea or under the seabed."

Burial at Sea - Introduction

Application for a licence to bury a deceased person at sea is made to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). There are, on average, about 20 burials at sea a year (excluding naval burials).

Marine And Fisheries Agency - Burial at sea of human remains

This is a specialist company that deals with sea burials:

Britannia Shipping Company
For Burial at Sea Ltd
Unit 3, The Old sawmills,
Hawkerland Road
Collaton Raleigh
Sidmouth
Devon EX100 HP
Tel 01395 568652

Cremated Remains

To avoid risks to the environment or distress to families DEFRA recommends the scattering of cremation ashes at sea, which can be undertaken without a licence.
There are no specific regulations and no documents that are required to bury or scatter cremated remains at sea, however, there are are some sensible recommendations, if burying a casket containing cremated remains it makes sense to ensure that adequate weights are placed inside the casket, and sufficient holes bored to allow the casket to sink. Plastic bags must not be used inside the casket.

One original way of disposing of cremated remains at sea is to place them in an unkilned pot.
When thrown, the pot would need to be twice as thick as normal and the bottom would need to be at least 2" thick to make sure it sinks when placed in the sea.
The cremated remains would the be placed in the unkilned pot and sealed with a lid of the same material. On entry into the water the pot will gradually disintegrate, thus ensuring that the contents are dispersed in a dignified manner.

Burial at sea

In considering whether to issue a licence, the licensing authority is required to have regard to the need to protect the marine environment, the living resources that it supports, human health, and to prevent interference with other legitimate uses of the sea. The authority must also consider the practical availability of any alternative methods of depositing the substance or article. Nevertheless, the licensing authority recognises that burial at sea is a tradition among those who have had a long association with the sea and will issue a licence provided the conditions below are met.

DEFRA does not encourage burial at sea, as tides and currents pose a significant risk of the body being returned to shore or being caught up in fishing gear. Such events naturally cause considerable distress to relatives, friends of the deceased and all concerned. To avoid that risk, the licensing authority recommends the scattering of cremation ashes at sea as a more acceptable procedure - this can be undertaken without a DEFRA licence.

Obtaining a Licence for Burial at Sea

There are presently two main burial at sea sites, one off the Needles, Isle of Wight and the other between Hastings and Newhaven on the South Coast.

A licence may be obtained from FEPA. Start by Phoning the DEFRA helpline - 08459 33 55 77 Mon-Fri: 8am to 6pm

If, through adverse weather conditions or other circumstances, burial cannot take place on the date prescribed on the licence, the licence holder must obtain an amendment to the licence from the local SFI.

Before a licence for burial at sea can be issued certain documents must be presented for inspection to the SFI prior to the burial.

• Death Certificate

• A "Certificate Of Freedom From Fever And Infection"

• Notice Of Intention To Remove A Body Out Of England (available from the Coroner in exchange for a Certificate of Disposal provided by the Registrar)

The Licensing Authority reserves the right to inspect the body and coffin and will give at least one day's notice of their intention to do so.

Conditions to be observed

• Certificate of Freedom from Fever and Infection

Because of the possibility of water-borne infections, a "Certificate of Freedom from Fever and Infection" must be obtained from the deceased General Practitioner or hospital doctor before a licence is issued. If for any reason a doctor is not prepared to issue a Certificate, burial at sea will not be permitted.

• Removal of Body out of England

The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1926 requires that a body shall not be removed out of England (including Wales) until the expiration of 4 clear days. This certificate must be obtained before a burial at sea may take place.

• Embalmed Bodies Not Permitted To Be Buried At Sea

Whilst acknowledging that embalming is the established, hygienic and most convenient way of preserving a body before burial, bodies that have been subjected to an embalming process will not be permitted to be buried at sea. This is because embalming substantially delays decomposition of the body tissues, thereby increasing the chance that the body may be returned to shore by tidal currents or being caught in fishing gear, to the distress of all concerned.

• Acceptable Materials

The body may be lightly clad, commensurate with modesty, in biodegradable material.

Bio-degradable, absorbent padding may be used to absorb any leakage of body fluids.

To ensure that only natural, non-toxic and biodegradable materials enter the marine environment, the coffin and any inner box or liner must be constructed from solid softwood (rather than veneered board or solid hardwood) and must not contain or have fittings made of plastic, lead, copper or zinc.

• Specifications for the Coffin

The coffin will be subjected to considerable stress when entering the sea and during its descent to the seabed and must be constructed in such a way as to ensure that it will withstand any impact and carry the body to its final resting place. All corners of the coffin should be butt-jointed and strengthened with either mild steel right-angle brackets screwed internally or substantial wooden bracing struts (e.g. 50mm x 38mm).

40 to 50 holes of 50mm (2") should be drilled in the coffin. This allows the rapid ingress of water and exit of air, thereby ensuring that the coffin will sink quickly to the seabed.

To ensure that the body remains on the seabed it is required that approximately 200kg (4cwt) in total of iron, steel or concrete should be clamped to the base of the coffin with brackets of 10mm mild steel bar. Experience has shown that blocks of a weak concrete mix are suitable. The weight should be distributed in such a way that will resist any tendency for the coffin to assume a vertical position.

A system of mild steel banding must be applied to the coffin with 2 bands around the longitudinal axis and bands also at approximately 30cm intervals around the coffin along its length to ensure that it withstands the impact on entry to the sea and deposit on the seabed.

• Identification

A band of plastic or other durable material should be locked around the neck of the deceased and this band should be either punch-marked or indelibly marked with a telephone number and reference number that would allow the remains to be positively identified should the need arise.

Burial at sea is recognised, not only within the sailing community, but, considering Great Britain's naval history, as a tradition that permeates all communities.
This tradition however, has to be balanced against a number of concerns, including our obligation to protect the marine environment.. So, having decided that you wish to arrange a burial at sea, you need to:

• Register the death with the Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages

• Notify the Coroner

• Prepare the correct documentation

• Obtain a FEPA Licence for burial at sea

• Prepare the body

• Get the right type of coffin

• Organise the burial/ceremony

Naval Burials

The Navy conducts it's own burials at sea, for those veterans who wished to be buried at sea. To organise this, or to find out more, you will need to contact the Base Chaplain, via the place from which the deceased served.

From BBC News - November 2006

DNA tests before a burial at sea

DNA samples could be taken from bodies before they are buried at sea, in order for remains to be more easily identified if they wash up on shore.

The idea has been put to the government by an Isle of Wight coroner who saw six cases in four years of unidentified bodies found washed onto the island.

John Matthews said this could save time and money spent identifying remains.

Sea burial sites off the Needles and between Hastings and Newhaven, East Sussex, are currently Defra designated.

If remains wash up on the island's shores, Mr Matthews said the identification bill is currently about £8,000 and this is paid each time by the Isle of Wight council.

'Distress to relatives'

Mr Matthews has written to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), suggesting that taking a DNA sample from a dead body to be stored on a database would cost only £200 - 300.

A spokeswoman for Defra, who is considering the proposals, said: "Arranging for DNA samples to be taken is likely to have cost implications for the estate of the deceased.

"There is yet to be much evidence to support any claim that bodies buried according to licence do in fact regularly reappear.

"Sampling would probably cause extra distress to the relatives of the deceased and possibly unduly heighten their concerns that the body may reappear after burial.