Because of shoaling issues in the ferry channel just outside of Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Harbor, ferries traveling to and from Ocracoke from Cedar Island and Swan Quarter will continue to run on an alternate schedule until April 1.
The state implemented the altered schedule Friday for the Pamlico Sound ferries from the mainland to Ocracoke.
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The schedule is the following through April 1, weather permitting:
- Ocracoke to Cedar Island: 7:30 a.m., 1 p.m.
- Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 10:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m.
- Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 7 a.m., 1:30 p.m.
- Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 10 a.m., 4:30 p.m.
Shoaling occurs when sand and sediment fill into a ferry channel, making water depths too shallow for safe operation of the ferry system’s largest vessels.
The Army Corps of Engineers’ Dredge Murden continues to work in the Bigfoot Slough channel to clear the shoaling, but dredging operations are dependent on weather and tides. Once the dredging work is complete and water depths in the ferry channel return to acceptable levels, the ferry Division will resume its regular schedule on both routes, according to NCDOT.
For up-to-the-minute information on schedule changes on the Cedar Island and Swan Quarter routes, please follow @NCFerryPamSound on Twitter.
