22 C.F.R. § 72.25 Responsibility in case of citizens dying on the high seas.
Title 22 - Foreign Relations
(a) Consular responsibility not provided by statute. There is no express provision of law authorizing the consular officer to take possession and dispose of the personal estate of a citizen of the United States (not a seaman) who has died on the high seas. (b) When death occurs on board vessel of United States registry. If the death occurred on board a vessel of the United States, the master of the vessel, in the absence of a legal representative or other authorized person (see §§72.18 and 72.19), should be requested to take custody and return the personal estate to the shipping company in the United States for forwarding to the legal representative or other authorized person. (c) When death occurs on board vessel of foreign registry. Death on board a vessel of foreign registry is considered to have occurred in the territory of the country of the ship's registry, and the estate laws of that country are applicable in such cases. In the absence of a legal representative or other authorized person (see §§72.18 and 72.19), the consular officer should take possession and dispose of the personal estate, provided that the laws of the country of assignment as well as the laws of the country of the ship's registry permit. 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, except that no fees should be charged for services rendered (§72.55).
Title 22: Foreign Relations
PART 72—DEATHS AND ESTATES
Personal Estates of Deceased Citizens
§ 72.25 Responsibility in case of citizens dying on the high seas.
