Roy Cooper: More Ferries To Be Built!
Shoaling, high winds, fog, Coast Guard inspections, lack of available crew, lack of available ferries, highway closures, ice on the Sound, ice on the deck, refueling, high water levels, low water levels, and mechanical issues frequently prevent the ferries from running as scheduled. Long wait times for visitors wanting to come to Ocracoke has led to a decrease in day-trippers, which has in turn had a negative impact on local businesses. To alleviate some of the strain on locals and visitors alike, a new passenger ferry will join the fleet this summer. But will one passenger ferry be enough? North Carolina’s governor Roy Cooper doesn’t think so.
Since becoming governor in 2017, Cooper has worked to pay teachers based on their level of education, form apprenticeships for high school students, restore the childcare tax credit, and fully repeal HB-2 (the infamous “Bathroom bill”), among other things. But the Democrat is putting everything on hold to find a solution to the ferry crisis.
As of today, the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division has a fleet of 22 vessels to serve seven routes across five bodies of water, plus one emergency route. The ferries are all classified as vehicle ferries, with one passenger ferry joining the fleet in just a few months. Cooper, however, wants to boost tourism to the Outer Banks – specifically Ocracoke Island– by adding yet another passenger ferry to the fleet. Residents of Ocracoke had and still have mixed feelings about adding even one passenger ferry, but the project was pushed through and passenger ferry service between Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands will begin this summer. Now, with the proposed second passenger ferry, the debate has been reignited.
During a recent press conference, Governor Cooper, deflecting questions about campaign promises, said, “I also talk about building a ferry and oftentimes I’ll say, and there’s going to be a big beautiful deck on that ferry and people are going to come onto our barrier islands because we want people to come over. We want people to come onto our barrier islands, but we want them to come on reliably.”
When pressed about how the state will fund the new ferry’s construction, Cooper stated, “In North Carolina, we will build a great ferry at Manns Harbor. And South Carolina will pay for the ferry. One hundred percent. They don’t know it yet, but they’re going to pay for it. And they’re great people and great leaders but they’re going to pay for the ferry. We will begin working on intangible, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful new passenger ferry.”
