Pamlico Sound ferries to Ocracoke are suspended, after sand partially blocks channel
The state has shut down the Pamlico Sound ferries to and from Ocracoke because shifting sand is preventing the boats from getting in and out of the harbor on the island.
The N.C. Department of Transportation says the ferries from Swan Quarter and Cedar Island will likely remain suspended through at least Monday, April 12. In the meantime, a dredge from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to clear the Bigfoot Slough channel just outside Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Harbor.
The ferries between Ocracoke and Hatteras Island are running on a normal schedule. They do not use the harbor and are not affected by the shoaling in the channel.
NCDOT had already reduced the number of ferry trips across Pamlico Sound to and from Ocracoke because the channel had become too shallow for its larger boats to navigate safely. The pared down schedule, consisting of two daily round trips each between Ocracoke and Swan Quarter and Cedar Island instead of three, began March 26.
NCDOT says its Ferry Division will assess the efforts to clear the channel on Monday and decide then whether to resume service across the sound.
This story was originally published April 7, 2021 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Pamlico Sound ferries to Ocracoke are suspended, after sand partially blocks channel."
