The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced Friday it will now provide state residents with safe-boating courses online. 

Gov. Ned Lamont issued an executive order on May 6 suspending certain legal restraints and enabling DEEP and its partners to provide boating courses online during the COVID-19 pandemic. DEEP suspended in-person boating classes in March. 

Courses will include classes taught by DEEP, private boating class providers, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and U.S. Power Squadrons. 

The classes will be held on a videoconferencing platform, providing opportunity for dialogue between instructors and students. The executive order also allows students to take an online examination at the end of the class.

“We are very excited to resume safe boating education while keeping students, staff and our instructors safe,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said in a news release. “With the technology available today, this was just a natural development.”

Successful completion of DEEP’s eight-hour boating safety course is required before obtaining a Certificate of Personal Watercraft Operation, which is necessary to operate a boat or personal watercraft on Connecticut waters. DEEP and its partners typically provide boating safety education to approximately 9,000 students per year. 

Starting Saturday, May 9, to sign up for a DEEP safe boating class online, or for additional information on boating requirements in Connecticut, please visit bit.ly/ctdeepboating.

For more information on boating in Connecticut, visit portal.ct.gov/boating, or follow DEEP’s boating division on social media.