Burial at Sea               

See main Consents Page and Instructions for obtaining a burial consent

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (or in Wales, the National Assembly) has a statutory duty to control the making of certain deposits of articles or materials in tidal waters. This duty is exercised under powers conferred by the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 Part II (FEPA), which require that a licence be obtained from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs / National Assembly for Wales ('the licensing authority'), to deposit any articles or substances in the sea or under the seabed where, inter alia, the deposit is:

within UK controlled waters either in the sea or under the seabed from any vehicle, vessel, aircraft, hovercraft or marine structure;

anywhere in the sea if made from a British vessel, British aircraft, British hovercraft; British marine structure or from a container floating in the sea, if the deposit is controlled from a British vessel, British aircraft, British hovercraft or British marine structure, and

the loading of a vessel, aircraft, hovercraft, marine structure, or vehicle in the United Kingdom or UK controlled waters with articles or substances for deposit anywhere in the sea or under the seabed.

The licensing authority recognises that burial at sea is a long established tradition, particularly for those who have been associated with the sea. It does, nevertheless, have responsibility for applying FEPA licence controls to the burial at sea of human remains, which it endeavours to exercise in a sympathetic and respectful manner.

In deciding whether to issue a licence, the Act requires the licensing authority to have specific regard to the need:

to protect the marine environment and the living resources which it supports and human health;

to prevent interference and nuisance to legitimate users of the sea; and

to other such matters as the authority considers relevant.

Where burial at sea off the coast of England or Wales is proposed, an application for the necessary licence should be made to the Marine Consents & Environment Unit, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The licence normally takes the form of a letter and where granted, will be issued free of charge. Such licences will include the date and the location at which burial must take place and other conditions, including specifications of the materials and design of the coffin which should be used.

Amongst other information, the application will need to include a certificate from the appropriate medical practitioner that the body is clear of fever and infection. The Coroner may also need to be informed of the intention to remove a body out of England as prescribed in the Removal of Bodies Regulations 1954 (as amended). Bodies which have been embalmed will not be allowed burial at sea.

It is, of course, inevitable that when a body is buried at sea it is liable to be subject to movement by currents, with the consequent risk that it may be returned to the shore, or even the unfortunate possibility of it being trawled up by fishing gear. Such situations cause considerable distress to relatives and friends of the deceased and indeed, also to those who may inadvertently encounter such a situation.

In view of such risks, there are very few places around the coast where sea burials are permitted. Indeed, the licensing authority normally recommends that, rather than burial of the body at sea, consideration should be given to the scattering at sea of cremation ashes. This alternative does not require a licence issued under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985.