Burial at sea

Burial at sea is the disposal of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship, boat or aircraft.

[1] Cremated remains are subject to the condition that the ashes are entombed in an mausoleum urn niche, columbarium, or buried on land or sea.

Visiting the deceased in a holy place provides believers with a space to offer prayers, commune with those who have gone before them in faith, and reminds them to await the resurrection of their own bodies.

Cremation is not approved, as bodies are sought to be preserved in burial as much as is feasible, for preparation of the general resurrection of the dead at the Second Advent.

[4] Typically, Protestant funeral rites usually include some form of Bible reading, prayers, a sermon and/or hymns.

[4] At the burial of the dead at sea, the same office from the Book of Common Prayer as used for burial on land may be used; only instead of the words:[5] We therefore commit [his] body to the ground, earth to earth, ... in sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the bodythe form of words used is: We therefore commit [his] body to the deep, ... in sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the body, when the Sea shall give up her dead ...Anglican, and other, chaplains of the Royal Navy also bury cremated remains of deceased naval personnel at sea.

Scattering of cremated remains of those who have served in the Navy is allowed under the direction of the Chaplaincy services in three designated port areas and carries no charge.

The deceased are traditionally cremated on a pyre accompanied by a variety of items, including flowers, herbs, oils and holy river water.

Death causes a ritual pollution among the attendants of the funeral, who wash themselves in the sacred river after the dispersion of the ashes.

[8] The sacred texts of Islam prefer burial on land, "so deep that its smell does not come out and the beasts of prey do not dig it out".

In the Sunni Fiqh book Umdat al-Salik wa Uddat al-Nasik, the condition for sea burial is: It is best to bury him (the deceased) in the cemetery ...

If someone dies on a ship and it is impossible to bury him on land, the body is placed (O: tightly lashed) between two planks (O: to obviate bloating) and thrown into the sea (O: so that it reaches shore, even if the inhabitants are non-Muslims, since a Muslim might find the body and bury it facing the direction of prayer (qibla)).

Any appropriate actions to ensure the safety of surviving crew are required to be taken, which may include jettisoning a body at sea without burial.

[12] An example of the desire to bury a body in the ground, even after it has been long dead at sea, is seen in the case of the Israeli submarine Dakar.

Search and recovery of any potentially existing remains at this very difficult-to-access depth has not shown results, despite requests from family and the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces.

Australian Defence Force vessels engaged in armed conflicts or emergency situations are exempt from these requirements.

In England, cremated remains may be scattered freely at sea but a burial must be made in a coffin meeting regulatory requirements and in one of three locations: off The Needles, Isle of Wight; between Hastings and Newhaven; and off Tynemouth, North Tyneside.

[22] The Environmental Protection Agency regulations for full body burials at sea in the United States require that the site of interment be 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) from land and at a depth of at least 600 feet (180 m).

[22] Sufficient depth is within 10 miles (16 km) or less at many harbors along the U.S. west coast, including San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Fort Bragg, Eureka, and Crescent City, all in California.

[25] The United States Navy requires a metal casket for intact remains, but full-body burial in a suitably weighted shroud is also legal.

[22] The United States is similar to many countries which permit the spreading of cremation ashes within their Exclusive Economic zone.

[26] If the deceased died on land or has been returned to shore after death, the remains may be brought aboard either in a coffin or in an urn after cremation.

In the US, people eligible for a Navy burial at sea are: In preparation, the officer of the deck calls All hands bury the dead, and the ship is stopped (if possible).

Due to the limited facilities of military ships, this procedure usually does not include a casket, but the body is sewn into a sailcloth with weights, usually rocks or cannonballs.