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Burial at sea

You will need a licence that is free (for England and Wales) from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

You will also need a suitable boat which you can hire.

There are now only two places around the coast where sea burials are allowed:

1. Near Newhaven, West Sussex
2. The Needles spoil ground (to the west of the Isle of Wight).

You need to contact your local Fisheries District Inspectors for your free licence or go via Marine Environmental Protection at DEFRA: Tel: 020 7238 5872 or 5868 or contact directly:

• Newhaven, East Sussex: Tel: 01424 424109/438125 or
• Poole, Dorset: Tel: 01202 677539 Fax: 01202 678598.

Sea Burial organised by funeral directors can cost in the region of £2,000 - £3,000.

Registering the death

When registering the death at the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths you must explain that you wish to plan a sea burial, and they will give you a form called 'Coroner's out of England Form' (Form 104). The Registrar will give you the local Coroner's address to which this form should be sent.

Upon reading various documents, the aim of the sea burial is to ensure that the coffin and body stay down on the sea bed. There are no materials allowed to be included within the coffin that can effect the marine environment.

The deceased person is forbidden from being embalmed, as this is a preservative, which is detrimental to the marine environment.

The body should be readily identifiable should it be washed up with the tide, and you must be aware that this could happen. The Marine Environmental Protection Department recommend two tags to be secured to the deceased with a permanent inscription on the body either torso, ankle or two other limbs.

Coffins

The coffin should not be made of a persistent synthetic material nor of a species of timber ie oak which would endure in the marine environment. It must not contain zinc, lead or copper. Weights must be placed in the coffin and to the body to keep them at the sea bed. The weight and type of ballast will be recommended by DEFRA (for the coffin 4 cwt and the body 10% of the weight). This may vary so ask DEFRA.

The coffin will need to have a series of holes bored in the sides of the coffin to allow rapid ingress of water and escape of air so that the coffin may reach the sea bed quickly and stay there.

Other information for consideration:

• The body must not be embalmed. DEFRA specifies a cotton sheet or paper substitute or a bio degradable body bag to put the body in.
• A certificate of freedom from fever and infection should be obtained from the GP or hospital doctor, together with a copy of the death certificate and the form releasing the body for removal out of England should be submitted to the District Fisheries office.
• The DEFRA reserves the right to inspect the coffin prior to the sea burial. Normally the local DEFRA office must be informed on the day prior to the date of the burial and immediately after. If there are adverse weather conditions the licence can be amended and other circumstances causing delay will be looked at sympathetically.

Summary

Unfortunately, Bereavement Services can play no part in organising a burial at sea, as it is out of the control of the Authority.

The grieving relatives must make direct contact with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for advice and information on how to proceed with this type of burial.

This leaflet is meant purely to inform you of the options that are available to you and the procedures which must be adhered to.

This page was last updated on 29 October 2008

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• Burial at sea
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