Matthew Stott explores the topic of burial at sea in light of the Law Commission’s consultation on new funerary methods

1. Planning an English beach holiday this summer? Reading a gripping book and thinking of disposing of a body whilst on your sojourn by way of burial at sea? Alas, caution is required. It is all about location location location and needing a licence pursuant to sections 65 and 66 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

2. The Law Commission is consulting on reforming the law in England and Wales on new funerary methods which include water cremation, described by some media outlets as ‘boil in the bag funerals’, and human composting (natural organic reduction). These are more environmentally friendly ways of decomposition compared with cremation or the traditional cemetery burial. New funerary methods are gaining in popularity abroad and are gaining traction in the USA as more states legalise them.

3. Whilst burial at sea is not considered a new funerary method and was therefore not included in the scope of the Law Commission consultation, it is nonetheless an interesting and underused funerary method.

4. Burial at sea has a long history but is not now commonly used. There were only 16 in 2024 and 13 in 2023. Anyone can be buried at sea and burial is not restricted to seafarers or maritime users.

5. There is no legal definition of burial at sea but there is comprehensive guidance from the Marine Management Organisation (“MMO”). You don’t need a licence or permission to scatter ashes but a licence is needed for burial of a body or human remains at sea, and there are only 3 designated spots to do so:

a. off The Needles, Isle of Wight;

b. between Hastings and Newhaven;

c. off Tynemouth, North Tyneside

6. It is also permissible In Scotland, with two designated areas being Oban and John O’Groats.

7. Before you bury a body at sea in England, you need a few essentials:

a. A death certificate;

b. A certificate of Freedom from Fever and Infection;

c. A Notice to a Coroner of Intention to Remove a Body out of England;

d. A signed DNA sample consent form (only in The Needles);

e. A card to pay for your marine licence.

8. The DNA is required in the rare chance that sea burials can come ashore and require identification.

9. There are two types of marine licence for a burial at sea; either a self-service marine licence or a standard marine licence. The standard one allows for an application to be made for burial at a different sea site other than the 3 designated spots but you will need evidence to support the proposed burial location including water depth, currents, pipelines, commercial operations and fishing activities in the area.

10. Unsurprisingly, there are a whole host of licence conditions which must be adhered to and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-get-a-licence-for-a-burial-at-sea-in-england. There is to be no embalming, the body must be clad in biodegradable material, an ID tag must be attached as well as strict coffin construction including the use of steel banding and at least 200kg of weight added to the coffin and at least fifty 50mm holes drilled at precise locations. Any burial at sea must be undertaken within 3 months of the licence being granted.

11. Burial at sea is not a cheap option and will set you back several thousand pounds as you will need to sail to one of the designated areas. However compared to the cost of the Hunter S Thompson send off, where his ashes were fired from a specially built cannon at a reported cost of around 3 million USD, burial at sea remains a more eco-friendly and underused funerary method.

12. It will be interesting to see the responses to the Law Commission’s proposed new funerary methods when the consultation closes on 4 September 2025.