Ocracoke to mainland ferry routes suspended due to shoaling

The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division is suspending all service on the Pamlico Sound routes between Cedar Island, Swan Quarter and Ocracoke through Monday, April 12, due to worsening shoaling issues in the ferry channel just outside of Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Harbor.

Shoaling occurs when sand and sediment fill into a ferry channel, making water depths too shallow and the channel too narrow for safe operation of the ferry system’s vessels.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to work in the Bigfoot Slough channel, the affected area near Silver Lake Harbor, to clear the shoaling. The Ferry Division will reassess channel conditions on Monday, and will make a decision on whether to resume service at that time.

For up-to-the-minute information on schedule changes on the Cedar Island and Swan Quarter routes, please follow @NCFerryPamSound on Twitter.