Ocracoke Passenger ferry resumes operations; Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry returns to normal schedule
The Hatteras-Ocracoke vehicular ferry, as well as the Ocracoke Express passenger ferry, resumed full service on Thursday after the departure of Hurricane Isaias, per an update from the N.C. Ferry Division.
Hyde County’s re-entry restrictions were lifted for visitors on Wednesday, however, the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry had to run on a reduced schedule in order to move their moored vessels back into place once the storm had passed.
A one-boat schedule is still in place for the Pamlico Sound ferries that connect Ocracoke to Swan Quarter and Cedar Island, due to shoaling in Bigfoot Slough outside of Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Terminal. In order to safely run additional ferries, water levels in the channel must be at least nine feet deep, and currently, depths in some areas are less than eight feet.
Bigfoot Slough is a federal channel maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. The N.C. Department of Transportation has urgently requested the Corps to perform emergency dredging operations in the area, calling the channel “an essential supply chain for commerce, tourism and goods for Ocracoke Island.”
The schedule for Ocracoke’s Pamlico Sound routes will be as follows until further notice:
- Ocracoke to Cedar Island: 7:30 a.m.
- Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 10:30 a.m.
- Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 1:30 p.m.
- Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 4:30 p.m.
For more information on the Ocracoke Express Passenger ferry service, including a schedule of departure times and online reservations, visit https://www.ncdot.gov/travel-maps/ferry-tickets-services/Pages/passenger-ferry.aspx.
