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Sept 17, 2018; 7:30 p.m.
The Hyde County Board of Commissioners today at 5 p.m. authorized non-resident property owners entry to Ocracoke beginning at 5 a.m. Tuesday via the Swan Quarter ferry. Visitors will be allowed back beginning Friday (Sept. 21) at 5 a.m. when the reservation system resumes.
The Swan Quarter Ferry Terminal is still the only access point onto the island following the passage of Hurricane Florence. There is still no time-table on when the Hatteras and Cedar Island terminals will be operational.
Re-entry for non-resident property owners, residents, essential island and EMS personnel will continue on a first-come, first-served and according to the re-entry priority list below until Friday.
The N.C. Ferry Division added a fifth boat from Swan Quarter starting Tuesday (see schedule below) to accommodate islanders who may need to go off island and return the same day. Ocracoke’s Hyde County Commissioner Tom Pahl said to note that this is a juggling act–balancing of our needs, needs elsewhere (including emergency supplies in Cedar Island), crew availability, Coast Guard regulations and the availability of boats and equipment.
The damaged N.C. 12 at the north end of the island must be repaired before access can be allowed via Hatteras. A time table for that has not been established.
The following reentry passes and vendors will be allowed to board the ferry in the following priority and will be strictly enforced:
- Red Passes- Emergency personnel
- Yellow Passes – Essential island personnel
- Vendors – See below for vendor priority listings
- Green Passes – Permanent residents
- White Passes – Non-resident property owners
Vendor priority list:
- Emergency personnel and equipment
- NCDOT highway and power company personnel and equipment
- Sanitation personnel and equipment
- Mail and parcel delivery
- Commodities and fuel vendors
If you are not one of the above pass holders or a vendor, do not attempt to gain entry to the island. Also, pass holders will be bumped in line by anyone with higher priority passes.
The ferry schedule for the Swan Quarter–Ocracoke route for Tuesday, Sept. 18, will be as follows:
Swan Quarter departures: 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.
Ocracoke departures: 7:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m.
The Swan Quarter ferry terminal is located at 748 Oyster Creek Road. Its phone number is 252-791-3300.
If you are returning from out-of-town, check http://www.drivenc.gov for road conditions between you and your destination. You can also call 511 for road conditions.
For questions and assistance, call the Hyde County Emergency Operations Center at 252-926-3715.
