Coast Guard releases boating safety app

The Coast Guard has released its first boating safety app as the kickoff to this year’s National Safe Boating Week.

The app will be available on the Apple and Google Play online stores.

The boating safety app was not designed to replace a boater’s VHF radio, which the Coast Guard strongly recommends all boaters have onboard their vessels. The app is designed to provide additional boating safety resources for mobile device users.

App features include state boating information, a safety equipment checklist, free boating safety check requests, navigation rules, float plans and calling features to report pollution or suspicious activity. When location services are enabled, users can receive the latest weather reports from the closest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather buoys, as well as report the location of a hazard on the water.

The app also features an emergency assistance button that will call the closest Coast Guard command center if location services are enabled.

The app is self-contained, so personal information is stored on the phone and is not sent to the Coast Guard unless the user chooses to send it. The Coast Guard does not track a user’s location, and the app does not track a user’s location unless the app is being used.

The app was developed during a two-year period with BastayaPR, a non-profit organization in Puerto Rico.

National Safe Boating Week, which is May 16  to May 22, is an annual event that encourages all boaters to practice safe boating. For more information on National Safe Boating Week, as well as general boating safety information, please visit http://www.safeboatingcampaign.com/ and http://www.safeboatingcouncil.org.

For more information about the app, please visit http://www.uscg.mil/mobile or contact Lt. Anastacia Visneski at 202-372-4648.