Chesapeake Marine Training Institute at Hayes is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month.

Owner and president Amanda Symonds said that during the past three decades the institute has grown from teaching half a dozen classes focusing on the basic USCG Six Pack License to offering more than 65 USCG-approved classroom and online courses, including an upgrade to Master 100 Tons to 200 Tons (Near Coastal) License.

Classes cover a wide variety of subjects, she said, such as firefighting, radar plotting, assistance towing, cargo handling and stowage, meteorology, navigation and piloting, and many others. There are also prep classes for higher level licenses, such as the 500-1,600 Gross Ton License that the school can’t issue itself, and veteran’s education benefits can be used to pay for most of the classes, said Symonds.

Founded in 1992 by former president Guy Sorensen, the institute started out with two administrative staff and three instructors, including Sorensen. Today, Sym...