"When I die, I want my ashes to be thrown into the sea." This phrase, heard in so many homes, usually has a great meaning: wanting to rest where you enjoyed the best vacations, saw an unforgettable evening or experienced the best days of fishing. But relatives often encounter a wall when they want their loved one to be forever linked to the coast: in Spain it is prohibited to throw a conventional urn into the sea, nor flowers, wreaths, bags or any other element that could become waste. But that does not prevent that last wish from being fulfilled legally. You just have to abide by the conditions established by the corresponding Maritime Captaincy, navigate to authorized points, at a certain distance from the coast, away from bathing areas and be respectful of the environment.
«There is a very clear regulation in reference to the deposit of ashes in the sea. It must be carried out in authorized areas, with the permission of the Captaincy, biodegradable urns and natural flower petals," says Albert Vidal, spokesperson for Cenizas Mediterráneo, a Catalan company specialized since 2013 in the organization of marine ceremonies.
To request their services, the family only has to provide the documentation of the deceased person and they take care of processing the authorization, coordinating the boat and organizing the departure. «There is a lot of ignorance. It happens with the ballot box, for example. They have come to us with bamboo urns because they think they are biodegradable,” Vidal highlights. Once the family members have been informed of all the details, the ceremonies usually have a maximum of approximately ten people, in addition to the captain and, when necessary, another member of the crew. Some families prefer to go with just one person, while others gather the closest group.
«The most emotional moment usually comes when we play the deceased's favorite music. Many families also toast with cava or champagne. On one occasion they brought a bottle of ratafia from 1947, the year of birth of the person they were saying goodbye to. Also on some occasions we have been lucky enough to receive a visit from a family of dolphins during the journey or at the time of leaving the ashes," recalls Vidal.
Cenizas Mediterráneo carried out 440 services in 2024 and 585 in 2025. Its activity extends to different parts of Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia, Andalusia and Mallorca, with special demand in large cities and in areas with strong maritime links. The service has a cost that varies between 295 and 675 euros, depending on the type of service and the port of origin. Ceremonies to deposit funeral urns at sea have their greatest demand between May and September, coinciding with good weather.
During most of the year they can be organized about a week in advance, but in July and August the deadline can increase "up to two or three weeks." The state of the sea also influences. When conditions do not guarantee the safety and comfort of attendees, the departure is postponed. «It is too important a moment to do it in bad seas. We prefer to change the date and make sure the family keeps a nice memory. As they take place days or even weeks after the death, these ceremonies are not experienced as something sad, but rather a very emotional moment," adds Vidal.
A la carte funerals
A survey carried out by Pazy, a company specialized in planning and organizing personalized funerals, reflects that 67.5% believe that funerals of the future will be more unique and personal and 45% consider that there will be personalized ceremonies, religious or secular, to say goodbye to them. "We are in a moment in which funerals are increasingly designed as a tribute to the life of the deceased and in which there are more and more options within funeral services that allow us to reflect who that person was," explains María Hermida, spokesperson for the company that incorporates the maritime ceremonies of Cenizas Mediterráneo among its services.
Hermida considers that generational change is key in this paradigm shift. «It is no longer the children who call "the usual funeral home" and let everything be done as it has been done "all their lives", but there are more and more people who decide their own farewell in life. Before, the funeral was almost a standardized procedure - funeral home, mass, burial, and that's it - and now it is thought of more as a story: what do we want to tell about that person, what they were like, what they liked. And this is being pushed by several things at the same time: we live in a less religious but no less spiritual society, talking about death has become quite normalized thanks to series, books, social networks... and services like ours have also appeared, which give room for personalization without that meaning paying more," he details.
