Burial at sea

Burial at sea is the burial of an urn on the high seas outside the three-mile zone. In this case, the urn with the ashes is buried from a ship in coastal waters.

Burial at sea in rivers and lakes, including Lake Constance in Baden-Württemberg, is not permitted.

Attention: As burials at sea are only carried out for urns, the same regulations apply as for cremation.

Related forms and processes

Prerequisite

The requirements for cremation must be met. Among other things, the urn used must be made of water-soluble material.

Responsible department

The municipality/town council in which the funeral ship has its home port

Procedure

You can obtain permission for cremation as a prerequisite for burial at sea from the municipality of the place of cremation. This also issues the special permit that you need to have the urn buried at sea.

Permission to release the urn to the sea is obtained from the municipality where the funeral ship has its home port.

Required documents

Permission for cremation as a prerequisite for burial at sea can only be obtained if the following documents are available:

Express disposition of the deceased person or - if there is no such disposition - of the next of kin.
Death certificate or death certificate (for deaths outside the state of Baden-Württemberg).
Certification by the municipality of the place of death that there are no known indications of a non-natural death.
Certification by a competent physician that he/she has not found any indications of a non-natural death during the examination of the corpse.

Permission to release the urn to the sea can be obtained from the local authority where the funeral ship has its home port.

Note: The examination of the deceased person must be carried out by a doctor other than the one who carried out the post-mortem examination. Information on the responsible doctors can be obtained from the district offices and the municipal administrations of the city districts that are responsible for the place of death or cremation.

Costs

Varies depending on the municipality

Miscellaneous

If you have commissioned a funeral home to organise the burial at sea, the necessary permits for the burial of an urn at sea will be obtained by the funeral home.