Aground in the Sound
The ferry left Ocracoke yesterday at 4pm to make the last run of the day to Cedar Island. According to NCDOT Ferry Division, the vessel "lost steering and drifted into the shallows." The boat remains aground about one mile south of Ocracoke.
"Crew and mechanics are still on board hoping to fix the steering," reported Tim Hass, who is the ferry division's PIO. If they can't fix it, "a tug should be there about 2pm to tow it to the shipyard."
About 10pm last night, the ferry division posted this status to their Facebook feed: the Coast Guard responded and removed the 14 passengers aboard and returned them to the Ocracoke Ferry Terminal. There were no injuries reported to any passengers or crew members and the ship was never in danger at any time. Again, there are no injuries, no pollution, and no damage to the ship reported at this time.
The passengers came ashore, but left their cars on the ferry…
We'll keep you posted about any further developments!
The Current can't top last night's story on the big city news. WCTI 12 (tagline: "Getting the Facts Right") ran an online story about the ferry, which included this choice morsel:
"An NCDOT official says the "Barry Silverlake," a 220-foot passenger and vehicle ferry, lost steering power when it ran aground shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday approximately one mile south if Ocracoke."
Find it here before they correct it.
