Coffins Jamaican stylee

[VontexCH7]

Ironic - for my first post!

Hello all! I just joined this forum and I hope to learn much from you all. It is ironic that I found this particular thread, as I am in search of information on a similar subject. Please let me explain.

My Godmother lived in Washington DC, but loved to travel to Jamaica and other places in the Caribbean. But Jamaica was her favorite place. Unfortunately, she passed away last year. She was cremated, and, as the personal representative of her Estate, I am currently in possession of her ashes. It was her wish to have them scattered "somewhere in the Caribbean Sea." The family thought it would please her very much if we brought her ashes to Jamaica and charted a boat to travel out the required distance in the Caribbean Sea and have them scattered.

I've done my best to pry information from the various Jamaican Govt. agencies on what the requirements are to do this. I understand that the Ministry of Health requires a KSAC form, but I can't seem to find one of these on-line or know who to contact to get one. When I try to call the phone numbers of the various offices as listed on the websites, no one seems to answer.

I would appreciate any/all help you can offer on how best to obtain the information I need, navigate through the Jamaican Govt. Bureaucracy, and I would also appreciate suggestions on the appropriate boat charter that would offer such services.

Many thanks to you all.

Best Regards,

Vontex (my forum ID named after a close High School friend of mine who was from Jamaica).

Tampa Bay, Florida

[My Looh]

Welcome VontexCH7:

First let may say how sorry I am for your loss. It's wonderful that you are trying to put your Godmother to rest the way she would have wanted.

It has always been my understanding that if the departed is cremated then the ashes can be spread pretty much anywhere in the sea. Only if the burial involves the actual corpse itself is there a required distance that has to to be travelled out to before the remains can be committed to the deep.

The real issue I think is getting the ashes into the country. It is possible I am sure, but it probably involves some red tape to do so.

I hope someone else can post here who may have a better understanding of what is involved.

[Peasie]

Welcome Vontex,

You don't need a permit to dispose of cremated remains. Just charter a fishing boat, go out to sea, and empty the container.

Most airlines will transport cremated remains in your checked luggage. Personally I wouldn't transport them as carry-on as it is complicated. TSA has requirements regarding the container and you can look that up on the Internet.

I took my husband's cremated remains from the East Coast U.S. to the West Coast. The remains were in a simple bio-degradable box and I packed them in my checked luggage. I taped copies of the death certificate and cremation certificate to the box. I carried the original documents with me. I also made sure I was on a non-stop flight so that I cut down on the possibility of lost luggage.

If all of the above seems complicated and more than you can handle, just drive down to Key West, charter a little boat, and dispose of her ashes about a mile from shore.

[VontexCH7]

Welcome Vontex,

You don't need a permit to dispose of cremated remains. Just charter a fishing boat, go out to sea, and empty the container.

Most airlines will transport cremated remains in your checked luggage. Personally I wouldn't transport them as carry-on as it is complicated. TSA has requirements regarding the container and you can look that up on the Internet.

I took my husband's cremated remains from the East Coast U.S. to the West Coast. The remains were in a simple bio-degradable box and I packed them in my checked luggage. I taped copies of the death certificate and cremation certificate to the box. I carried the original documents with me. I also made sure I was on a non-stop flight so that I cut down on the possibility of lost luggage.

If all of the above seems complicated and more than you can handle, just drive down to Key West, charter a little boat, and dispose of her ashes about a mile from shore.

Thank you so much for your advice. I have experience in traveling as does the person who will actually be traveling to Jamaica for this purpose. I just wanted to ensure that my traveler runs in to no problems with the Jamaican Customs bureau when entering the country.

Another suggestion I was offered is to contact one of the Jamaican Funeral homes, who would know what the requirements are and can make the necessary arrangements to charter the boat, etc. Would you have any recommendations for a funeral service in the Kingston area?

Thanks again!

[Peasie]

A friend recently used Romans Funeral Services in Jamaica for a complicated situation and she highly recommends them.

Sam Isaacs is also good.

Either of them will give you good advice.

good luck and come back and tell us how it went