Scattering ashes at sea
Our boat FRENCH RIVIERA is available for hire to scatter ashes at sea. Price: €300
To accompany you during the scattering of ashes, our boat leaves the port of Monaco from its mooring at the agreed time, when the weather is favourable and at the captain's sole discretion and heads out into Monegasque waters.
At a point agreed by the loved ones, the boat stops, and the engines are stopped so that you can 'enter into communion' with the silence of the open sea...
A moment of contemplation followed. A piece of music dear to the deceased or their loved ones can be played.
If you don't have your own equipment, you must give us a USB key with the short recording you want (3 to 5 minutes) and let us know in advance. After a few minutes, the ashes are scattered on the surface of the sea, or the urn is gently placed in the water by a loved one and then released to disappear into the depths.
A GPS survey of the location is carried out by us and communicated to the next of kin so that they can remain in constant contact, in spirit, with the deceased. At the same time, they can throw flowers into the sea as a sign of love or affection if they wish. After a few final moments of contemplation, we put the engines back in gear and headed back to the port of Monaco.
By the time our boat is moored back at its berth, around 40 to 50 minutes will have elapsed, depending on whether we've gone straight back to port or sailed a little in Monegasque waters to ease the moment if the weather is favourable.
To accompany the deceased's ashes on their final journey, our boat, the ''French Riviera'', can carry up to 12 people. It is a professional semi-rigid yacht armed for the merchant navy, fully equipped for safety (annual inspection by Monaco Maritime Affairs), and piloted by a qualified captain.
DISPERSAL IN THE PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO
To our knowledge, there are no regulations in Monaco. The Somotha company (14 Avenue Pasteur in Monaco - tel. (+377)97 98 40 40), which refers people wishing to use one of these services to us, simply gives the family the urn to be immersed, or containing the ashes to be scattered, accompanied by a certificate of cremation drawn up by Monaco's Police Department (Sureté Publique). In the absence of legislation, it is customary in the Principality to draw inspiration from what is done in France (see below). So that's what we're doing in terms of respecting distances from the coast, considering that our seabed, as it leaves the port and sails out to sea, very quickly reaches great depths, unlike many French coastlines. For Monegasque and non-Monegasque residents who wish to have their ashes scattered or immersed in the waters of Monaco due to emotional ties with the Principality or a fondness for the Mediterranean, we do not make a declaration at the town hall where the person was born. It is up to the person in charge of the funeral to decide whether to inform the municipality of the deceased's birth of the place where the ashes should be immersed or scattered.
FRENCH LAW
The scattering of the ashes of a deceased person must comply with French maritime regulations (the law of 02/011986 and article L.2213-23 of the Code des Collectivités Territoriales CGTC). The ashes are scattered directly on the sea's surface by boat, at least 300 metres from the coast. The urn is opened, and the ashes are scattered on the sea's surface. Immersion of a biodegradable urn (made of salt dough, cardboard, sand, etc.). The urn is placed on the water's surface and sinks slowly to the seabed. The French authorities are requesting that the urn be submerged at least 3 miles off the coast (just under 6 km) to prevent the ocean currents from washing it ashore before it completely dissolves. The person in charge of the funeral must notify the Mairie of the commune where the deceased was born, specifying the date and place of scattering... It must also inform the municipality in which the home port of the boat carrying out the scattering is located.
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