Hatteras Inlet News

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted the most notable newbuilds delivered in 2022. From sturdy and nimble workboats, to the first new Jones Act laker in a generation, each vessel on display showcases the industry’s engineering prowess and technological ingenuity, with the focus on improving efficiency in operations. The maritime industry has no shortage of challenges to overcome, and each of Marine News’ top vessels will, in one way or another, aid efforts to tackle them.Mark W.

A bulk carrier rescued two people from a sailboat disabled by rough weather approximately 345 miles east of Hatteras Inlet, N.C., Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s 5th District Command Center received notification from the International Emergency Rescue Coordination Center at approximately 9:30 a.m. that a GPS alert had been received from a vessel in distress. The alert also stated that the vessel was experiencing severe weather and that both…

Shoaling shifts NCDOT’s propulsion needs, prompting a sea change. Thrustmaster waterjets step in to carry the day. In Swansboro, N.C., boatbuilder U.S. Workboats (formerly Armstrong Marine) is assembling the linchpin of the North Carolina Department of Transport’s (NCDOT) business plan for its future Outer Banks ferry services. Separately, in both Hatteras and Ocracoke, crews are preparing to break ground on new parking additions and visitor facilities. The Ocracoke Express passenger ferry project – made necessary by the shifting and unpredictable shoaling on North Carolina’s Outer Banks – will, starting this summer, change forever the way tourists and visitors get to and from these national treasures.

1861 - During the Civil War, Seaman Benjamin Swearer lands with troops from the steam sloop of war, Pawnee, and takes part in the capture of Fort Clark, at Hatteras Inlet, N.C. He serves throughout the action and has the honor of being the first man to raise the flag on the captured fort. For his gallant service throughout the action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. 1862 - The gunboat, USS Pittsburgh, supports Army troops landing at Eunice, Ark., during the Civil War. 1915 - After pontoons are brought to Hawaii from the west coast…

The U.S. Coast Guard has transferred five passengers from a ferry that ran aground Saturday in Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. No injuries, vessel damage or pollution were reported.   The Coast Guard was alerted at 11:30 a.m. Saturday that the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation ferry Roanoke was aground with three vehicles, five passengers and six crew members aboard.   A 24-foot Special Purpose Craft-Shallow Water crew launched from Station Hatteras Inlet and arrived on scene to remove passengers from the ferry and to take them to Hatteras Ferry Terminal in Hatteras. Five passengers were then transported to the terminal safely.   At 11:21 p.m. a tug was successful in refloating the ferry, enabling the vessel to transit back to Hatteras North Ferry on its own.

The U.S. Coast Guard has transferred passengers off a grounded ferry in Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. Coast Guard watchstanders were notified Monday afternoon that the North Carolina Department of Transportation ferry Roanoke ran aground with 16 vehicles, 23 passengers and seven crew members aboard. A 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew launched from Station Hatteras Inlet and is on scene to take passengers off the ferry and relocate them to Hatteras Ferry Terminal in Hatteras. There are no reported injuries and no report or evidence of damage or pollution.

The Coast Guard rescued a man Friday from a grounded sailboat near Ocracoke Inlet. Sector North Carolina watchstanders were notified at 7:21 p.m. Friday that the 30-foot sailing vessel Lydamay was aground and taking on water near Ocracoke Inlet. A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew launched from Station Hatteras Inlet and arrived on scene but were unable to reach the man due to shallow water. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched from Air Station Elizabeth City, arrived on scene at 9:02 p.m. and hoisted the man. The man was transferred to Red Cross personnel waiting at the Elizabeth City boat ramp. The sailboat has been removed.

The Coast Guard responded to a ferry that ran aground Saturday approximately one mile south of Ocracoke, North Carolina. The captain of the Silver Lake, a 220-foot passenger and vehicle ferry, contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watchstanders via mobile phone at approximately 5 p.m., reporting they drifted into shallow water and became stuck. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watchstanders dispatched a crew aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet to assist. The Station Hatteras Inlet crew removed 14 passengers from the ferry and took them to the Ocracoke South Ferry Terminal. The crew of the Silver Lake plans to attempt to re-float the ferry Sunday with the assistance of the crew aboard the tugboat Royal Engineer.

Today in U.S. Naval History - August 29 1861 - U.S. squadron captures forts at Hatteras Inlet, N.C. 1862 - Union gunboat Pittsburgh support Army troops in landing at Eunice, Arkansas 1915 - Navy salvage divers raise F-4, first U.S. submarine sunk in accident 1916 - Congress passes act for expansion of Navy but most ships not completed until after World War I. 1964 - USS Boxer and two LSDs arrive off coast of Hispaniola to give medical aid to Haiti and Dominican Republic which were badly damaged by Hurricane Cleo. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.

The U.S.Coast Guard medevaced a 52-year-old man from a dive boat approximately 18 miles southeast of Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, Sunday. The captain of the dive boat Under Pressure contacted Coast Guard North Carolina Command Center watchstanders via VHF-FM at approximately 3 p.m. and reported a diver was suffering from from signs of decompression sickness. Sector watchstanders launched a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet to assist. The Coast Guard crew arrived on scene at approximately 4:30 p.m., transferred the man aboard their boat and took him to the station, where the diver was met by an awaiting Coast Guard aircrew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and taken to Sentara Leigh Hospital in Norfolk.

The Coast Guard, with the assistance of the Navy, saved four lives and responded to a total of five sailboats in distress off the Atlantic Coast Thursday and Friday. Coast Guard assets and personnel involved in Thursday and Friday's search, rescue and vessel assists were crews aboard two HC-130 Hercules airplanes and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Block Island, a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Atlantic Beach, N.C., a 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet, N.C., and the command center personnel of the 5th Coast Guard District and Sector North Carolina.

The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan rescued three people Sunday after the 15-foot boat the three boaters were on capsized in Pamlico Sound near Avon, N.C. The boat's operator contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watchstanders at approximately 4:48 p.m., stating he and a passenger were clinging to the overturned boat and one person was floating in the water. Sector North Carolina watchstanders dispatched a crew aboard a 25-foot Response Boat - Small from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet and an MH-60 Jayhawk crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., to assist. The RB-S crew arrived on scene at 6:09 p.m. and rescued one man in the water who was holding onto a buoyant boat seat while a good Samaritan aboard a recreational boat rescued the two remaining boaters.

1917 - Squadron of minesweepers departs U.S. 1944 - USS Stingray (SS-186) lands men and supplies on Luzon, Philippines to support guerilla operations against the Japanese. 1945 - Pacific Fleet ships enter Sagami Bay, near Tokyo, Japan. 1959 - Off Cape Canaveral, FL, USS Observation Island (EAG-154) makes first shipboard launching of a Polaris missile. 1867 - Captain William Reynolds of Lackawanna raises U.S. flag over Midway Island and took formal possession of these islands for the U.S. 1942 - 120 women, commissioned directly as ENS or LTJG, reported to "USS Northampton," Smith College for training. 1952 - Units on USS Boxer (CV-21) launch explosive-filled drone which explodes against railroad bridge near Hungnam, Korea. First guided missile launched from ship during Korean Conflict.

1882- The schooner Mary L. Vankirk, bound for Philadelphian from South Creek, Pamlico Sound, NC. carrying a crew of five men, encountered heavy weather. She lost sails and sprung a leak, so that before long she became water-logged and almost unmanageable. In this condition it was determined to run to leeward and seek refuge in Hatteras Inlet. Matters, however, became worse and it was decided to beach the vessel. She was discovered heading for the land by the crew of Station No. 18, Sixth District (Chicamicomico, NC). The surfboat was run out, but the life-saving crew returned to the station for the breeches-buoy apparatus. The latter arrived abreast of the schooner at 8:15, fifteen minutes after she struck the bar about half a mile north of the station.

From the Navy News Service 1861 - U.S. squadron captures forts at Hatteras Inlet, N.C. 1862 - Union gunboat Pittsburgh supports Army troops in landing at Eunice, Arkansas. 1915 - Navy salvage divers raise F-4, first U.S. submarine sunk in accident. 1916 - Congress passes act for expansion of Navy but most ships not completed until after World War I. 1964 - USS Boxer (LPD 4) and two LSDs arrive off coast of Hispaniola to give medical aid to Haiti and Dominican Republic, which were badly damaged by Hurricane Cleo.

The State of North Carolina has the nation's second largest ferry system. Only the State of Washington's system is larger. Its 23 vessels annually carry 2.5 million passengers and one million vehicles. The ferry system is operated by the Ferry Division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, which employs approximately 380 permanent employees. This number increase to approximately 450 during the summer season. There are four ferry routes on three bodies of water connecting the mainland with the offshore islands of Ocracoke, Hatteras and Notts Islands. Three routes cross the Cape Fear, Neuse and Pamlico Rivers. The Ferry Division also has a dredge, tugs, fuel barge and its own shipyard located in Manns Harbor.

Coast Guard Station Ocracoke has been under review and recommended for seasonal operations effective on or about Nov. 30, 2006, with a recommendation to align with existing units, potentially closing it permanently at a later date. The Ocracoke crew responds to approximately 30 search and rescue cases per year with the majority of those occurring in the summer months. This is well below the Coast Guard standard or average of 220 that is used to justify similar stations elsewhere. Secondly, station infrastructure is in an acute state of disrepair and requires significant capital improvements. Studies dating back to 2002 recommend a new facility if the unit does not transition to seasonal operations, but due to questions of operational need, the project remains unfunded.

The Coast Guard has begun the job of repairing numerous navigational aid discrepancies throughout the Outer Banks after damages resulting from Tropical Storm Gustav. U.S. Coast Guard small boat stations throughout the Outer Banks performed preliminary surveys Wednesday and discovered nine navigational aids with discrepancies in Ocracoke Inlet and two discrepancies in Hatteras Inlet. Coast Guard Aids To Navigation Team Cape Hatteras has worked to repair some of the discrepancies.