7 FAM 200 APPENDIX A
DEATH ON HIGH SEAS OR ON AIRCRAFT
(CT:CON-804; 04-30-2018)
(Office of Origin: CA/OCS/L)
7 FAM 210 aPPENDIX a DEATH AT SEA
(CT:CON-165; 04-18-2007)
a. Maritime Practice and Record of Death:
Death on the high seas is handled in accordance with the laws of the nation of
the ships registry.
b. 7 FAM 760
provides guidance regarding death of a U.S. seaman.
c. U.S. law (46 U.S.C. 11301(b)(6)) requires masters
of all U.S. vessels traveling to and from ports in the United States to
maintain an official log book sometimes call the Masters Log or the
Official Log and to make, or cause to be made, a log entry of each death that
occurs on board that vessel, to include cause of death. Other maritime nations
have similar laws.
d. At each port of call where there is a U.S.
consular officer, the masters of U.S. vessels should report any death of a U.S. citizen having occurred en route that were not reported to a consulate at an earlier
port of call. Masters of foreign vessels may also follow this practice, and
the consular officer should provide appropriate assistance.
e. 7 FAM 1830
provides guidance regarding aviation and other transportation disasters.
f. The master of a U.S. vessel furnishes evidence of
the death in the form of a certified copy of the log entry in the official log
recording the death of the U.S. citizen. The complete Masters Log of every
flag vessel returning to the U.S. from a foreign voyage is retained by the U.S.
Coast Guard upon the vessels return. Masters of foreign vessels usually also
furnish certified copies of their log entries when the foreign master delivers
the personal property of the deceased U.S. citizen to the consular officer or
when the family of the deceased has asked the consul to arrange for disposition
of the remains. The certification by the master should comply with 7 FAM 800
guidance on notarials and authentication of documents and include the following
elements:
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Venue
Name of country
Name of province
Name of city
Name of Foreign Service post (Embassy of the United States of
America)
Jurat
Subscribed and sworn to before me on (date) by (Name of
Affiant)
I (name of affiant), Master of (name of vessel) do (swear or affirm)
that.
I was born on: (date of birth) at: (place of birth (city,
state/province, country)
I reside at (address)
The record attached hereto is a true copy of the ships log
entry made by me on (date) recording the death of (name of decedent) on (date)
and (time), at (location (including longitude and latitude coordinates if
appropriate).
Include text regarding circumstances of the death and
disposition of remains if appropriate
Affiant Signature Block
Signature of Affiant
Typed or Printed Name of Affiant
Date
Notarizing Officer Signature Block
Signature of Notarizing Officer
Typed Name of Notarizing Officer
Title of Notarizing Officer
(Date)
(SEAL)
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g. Preparing Form DS-2060, Report of the
Death of an American Citizen Abroad -: When knowledge of the death of a
U.S. citizen on a vessel reaches a consular officer, the officer must report
the death promptly to Consular Affairs, Overseas Citizen Services, American
Citizen Services (CA/OCS/ACS) in accordance with 7 FAM 220. If
the remains were discharged by the Master to the local coroner, cause of death
determined by local authorities and a death certificate issued, a Form DS-2060
should be completed. The preparation must comply with instructions in 7 FAM 270. If
the remains were buried at sea, the Masters certified log entry may be
sufficient to issue a Form DS-2060. Local authorities may or may not issue a
local death certificate based on a Masters log entry or affidavit of a ships
physician (if there is a physician on board), depending on local law. If no
civil death certificate is issued, the consular officer may issue a Form DS-2060
based on the Masters certified log entry, but the cause of death section of
the form should state not determined and the remarks section of the Form DS-2060
should explain the circumstances of the death as reported by the Master and a
copy of the Masters certified log entry should be annexed to the Form DS-2060.
(See 7 FAM
274.6). When in doubt, the consular officer should consult CA/OCS for
guidance. CA/OCS will confer with L/CA on how to proceed. Information needed
for Form DS-2060 preparation can be obtained from various sources, including:
(1) Entries from the Masters Log: The
Masters Log entry concerning the death should contain sufficient information
concerning the fact of death (including date, time, and location), the cause of
death, and the identity and citizenship of the deceased to permit completion of
Form DS-2060. The consular officer retains copies of the log entry, bearing
the certification of the master if possible, with the posts copy of the Report
and attaches it to the original Form DS-2060 to be sent to the Bureau of
Consular Affairs in accordance with 7 FAM 270
guidelines.
(2) Records of Port Authorities: Local vital
statistics registrars or other competent shore authorities usually have
established procedures for recording deaths that occur in the territorial
waters of that country or that occur on the high seas on a vessel whose next
port of call is in that country. A consular officer can obtain fact of death,
cause of the death, and of the identity and nationality of the deceased from
those officials.
(3) Records of the Ships Registry: If
neither the Masters Log nor port records provide enough information to prepare
Form DS-2060, a consular officer in the country of the ships registry can
obtain from central government records an extract of the voyage log as
deposited in the official repository for ships records or a copy of an entry
made by a central registrar of vital statistics. In this case, Form DS-2060 is
prepared by the consular post whose district includes the city where such
central records are maintained instead of the post having consular jurisdiction
over the port of call of the vessel on which the death occurred.
7 FAM 220 Appendix A DEATH ON AN
AIRCRAFT
(CT:CON-165; 04-18-2007)
a. Certification of a Death: A death
occurring on an aircraft while in flight usually cannot be certified until the
aircraft lands and competent medical personnel can certify the death. In such
cases, death is deemed to have occurred in the territory of the country where
the aircraft has next landed, and the appropriate authorities of that country
will issue a death.
b. Aircraft Proceeding to Foreign Airports: A
consular officer must issue Form DS-2060 when an aircraft bearing the remains
of a U.S. citizen who died during the flight, lands at an airport within the
consular district.
c. Aircraft Proceeding to U.S. Airports:
Consular officers are not responsible for preparing a Report of Death when a U.S.
citizen dies during a flight from an airport in their consular district to an
airport in the United States. The death certificate in such case is issued by
the civil authorities in the U.S. state in which the airport is located.
d. 7 FAM 1830
provides guidance about aviation disasters.
7 FAM 230 APPENDIX A PERSONAL EFFECTS
AND DEATHS ON THE HIGH SEAS
(CT:CON-165; 04-18-2007)
a. Death on the High Seas: There is no
express provision of law authorizing the consular officer to take possession
and dispose of the personal estate of a U.S. citizen, other than a seaman, who
dies on the high seas.
b. Death Aboard A Vessel of American Registry:
If the death of a U.S. citizen, other than a seaman, occurs on board an
American vessel, the consular officer should request the master of the vessel,
in the absence of an authorized person, to take custody of and return the
personal estate to the shipping company in the United States for forwarding to
the legal representative or other authorized person.
c. Death Aboard A Vessel of Foreign Registry:
In the absence of a legal representative or other authorized person, the
consular officer should take possession and dispose of the personal estate of a
U.S. citizen who dies aboard a foreign vessel. The procedure in such cases is
identical with that followed in the disposition of the estate of any United States citizen who may have died within the consular district with personal estate
located within the consular district.
d. Seamen: 7 FAM 760
provides guidance regarding death of seamen.
7 FAM 240 appendix a NATIONAL CENTER
FOR HEALTH STATISTICS
(CT:CON-165; 04-18-2007)
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publication Where to Write for
Vital Records includes information about records of death on the high seas and
death on aircraft.