Special Ferry Schedule Starts Sunday

With the mandatory evacuation of Ocracoke visitors complete, the North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division will be adopting an alternate schedule on the Hatteras-Ocracoke route beginning Sunday, July 30. The Swan Quarter-Ocracoke and Cedar Island-Ocracoke routes will remain on their regular schedules.

As of 2 p.m. Saturday, the North Carolina Ferry System had evacuated 3,782 people and 1,485 vehicles from the island since the evacuation order went into effect Thursday evening. Traffic at ferry terminals is now extremely light and Hyde County Emergency officials report that a vast majority of visitors have complied with the order.

Starting Sunday, the Hatteras-Ocracoke route will be as follows:

From Hatteras:  5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 a.m., 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 p.m., and midnight.

From Ocracoke: 4:30, 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30 a.m., 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, 6:30, 7:30, 9:30, 10:30 p.m., and 12:30 a.m.

Visitors are reminded that Hyde County’s mandatory evacuation order for visitors remains in effect. Only residents, property owners, emergency workers, vendors, and critical infrastructure personnel with Ocracoke re-entry documentation will be allowed onto Ocracoke-bound ferries. Law enforcement officers will be on hand at ferry terminals to enforce the re-entry restrictions.

The Hatteras-Ocracoke route will resume its regular summer schedule when the evacuation order is lifted.