The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division late this afternoon (April 7) suspended all ferry service on Pamlico Sound between Cedar Island, Swan Quarter and Ocracoke through Monday, April 12, due to worsening shoaling issues in the 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 will continue to work in the affected channel–Bigfoot Slough–to clear the shoaling. The Ferry Division will reassess channel conditions on Monday and 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.
