Marine Patrol assists with Hatteras ferry checkpoint

The North Carolina Marine Patrol is helping residents and emergency workers get to Ocracoke safely this weekend.

Officers are assisting Hyde County with checking reentry criteria at the Hatteras ferry dock.

While Hatteras Village has reopened for tourists, Ocracoke has not. Only emergency and utility workers, residents and property owners, and essential service workers (such as food and gas deliveries) are allowed to go to Ocracoke this weekend because of storm damage from Hurricane Matthew.

Marine Patrol officers have been checking travelers’ IDs when they reach the ferry terminal, before they line up in the lanes to board the ferry.

“If they aren’t allowed to go to Ocracoke, they aren’t allowed to get on the ferry,” said Marine Patrol Col. Dean Nelson. “A few people have mistakenly thought it was open to visitors, but for the most part they’ve been very understanding.”

Marine Patrol began staffing the ferry checkpoint Friday and will continue through today. Dare County is among 66 counties included in the federal disaster declaration requested by Governor Pat McCrory and is approved for both public and individual assistance.