Burial at sea usually involves just casting the cremains off a boat. It's not usually 'dumping' an actual body overboard. Most places have regulations governing how and what can be 'dumped', most don't care about ashes, which is why it's the most common way of doing it. There's really, really strict laws about dumping an actual body. There's rules about the casket, weighting the body down, etc. Also, most people who want their acual body buried at sea have to have a permit, which usually requires a strong connection to the sea (such as a Naval officer, or some kind of maritime professional).
I know about it because my grandpa was a Navy commander, and a lifelong maritime expert. He was cremated and buried at sea. I was young at the time and was confused about it, I was thinking 'wow, they just dump a body off a boat out there??' But, no, that's not how it works at all really.
Is it normal to want to be buried at sea?
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Burial at sea usually involves just casting the cremains off a boat. It's not usually 'dumping' an actual body overboard. Most places have regulations governing how and what can be 'dumped', most don't care about ashes, which is why it's the most common way of doing it. There's really, really strict laws about dumping an actual body. There's rules about the casket, weighting the body down, etc. Also, most people who want their acual body buried at sea have to have a permit, which usually requires a strong connection to the sea (such as a Naval officer, or some kind of maritime professional).
I know about it because my grandpa was a Navy commander, and a lifelong maritime expert. He was cremated and buried at sea. I was young at the time and was confused about it, I was thinking 'wow, they just dump a body off a boat out there??' But, no, that's not how it works at all really.