Burials at sea

Every year around twenty people make the choice to be buried at sea off the Isle of Wight. Unfortunately in a small number of instances human remains have washed back to shore, resulting in an unusual challenge for the Human Tissue Authority and our partners.

Today is the culmination of a multi-partner project to alleviate unnecessary distress and uncertainty for the families of the bereaved or missing. Working together on this project the Human Tissue Authority; Marine Management Organisation; Coroner; National Crime Agency; Home Office Forensic Management Team; Southampton General Hospital and local Funeral Directors are all in agreement to collect DNA in advance of the burial at sea.

The Human Tissue Authority have begun DNA consent training for Funeral Directors in the Southampton area who will then make a referral to Southampton General Hospital where DNA will be collected.  A new DNA burials at sea database will be held solely for this purpose, in the event that it may be needed after a burial at sea has taken place.

Colin Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Human Tissue Authority said:

“When we talk about respecting someone’s final wishes we don’t often think about problems like this. It’s an unusual situation but one we wanted to help with, not only to honour someone’s final resting place but to acknowledge that although the number of occurrences are thankfully small, the impact on the families of the bereaved or missing can be distressing and uncertain.”

Further information:

Changes to burials at sea requirements for The Needles site - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

How to arrange a burial at sea in the UK marine area - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)