Ashes scattering goes awry on Sydney ferry

A ceremony on a Manly ferry which resulted in a person's ashes blowing on to passengers was allowed to proceed despite public health concerns because of the deceased's close affinity with Sydney's ferries.

The minute-long scattering ceremony reportedly went slightly awry on a windy April 11 when one of the iconic vessels stopped near South Head on the crossing to Manly.

A spokeswoman for Harbour City Ferries told AAP on Wednesday the company does not usually allow ashes to be scattered from its vessels "given public health and safety concerns".

"In general, we usually say no, unless there is quite a deep, personal connection to the ferries," she said in a statement.

"(But) in this instance, there was a very personal reason for the family of the deceased to scatter their family member's ashes.

"The family was very appreciative and have thanked HCF for their care and consideration."

Ferry passenger Luke McKeown had told News Corp Australia strong southerly winds blew "a lot of the ashes" down the side of the vessel which had stopped for the ceremony.

"We didn't get any on us but there would've been a lot of people who did," Mr McKeown said.

"One lady I saw ... she didn't look impressed at all."

The HCF spokeswoman said they had not received any complaints from passengers about last week's incident.

She asked passengers to seek permission prior to scattering ashes from a ferry to "avoid any issues".