Reel Lucky (left) and Bite Me sit grounded on the beach near Oregon Inlet on Feb. 3, 2022/NPS
Challenging ocean currents sent three vessels onto the beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in recent days. While all those on board of the three managed to go ashore safely, their boats remained grounded on the beach Thursday.
The National Park Service provided the following update on the groundings:
Ocracoke Inlet Grounding
On Tuesday, January 25, a 55-foot-long vessel named the Vivens Aqua, registered in Maryland, grounded near the south end of Ocracoke Island after attempting to navigate Ocracoke Inlet. After several attempts to remove the Vivens Aqua failed, all fuel oil was removed from the vessel.
The grounded Vivens Aqua near Ocracoke Inlet on Feb. 3, 2022/NPS
Status
The Vivens Aqua remains on the beach and there have been no attempts to remove the vessel over water in the last couple of days. The owner of the vessel has been in contact with his insurance company and a salvage company and continues to stay in touch with Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Once a salvage plan is presented, the National Park Service will review it and determine if a special use permit can be issued for removal attempts using a different method.
Oregon Inlet Groundings
On the evening of Wednesday, February 2, a 35-foot-long vessel named Reel Lucky, registered in New Jersey, and a 32-foot-long vessel named Bite Me, registered in Pennsylvania, grounded on the beach near the north side of Oregon Inlet.
The vessels reportedly bumped into each other a few times during the grounding incident.
Status
Both vessels remain grounded near each other, approximately 0.8 miles south of Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s off-road vehicle ramp 4. Salvage efforts for these vessels would occur pending the receipt and approval of salvage plans and the issuance of National Park Service special use permits.
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