Coast Guard scheduled to temporarily discontinue five navigational aids in Barden Inlet, NC

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 08/07/2017 09:15 AM EDT

united states coast guard 

News Release  

August 07, 2017
U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic
Contact: 5th District Public Affairs
Office: (757) 398-6272
After Hours: (757) 434-7712

Coast Guard scheduled to temporarily discontinue five navigational aids in Barden Inlet, NC

WILMINGTON, N.C. — The Coast Guard is scheduled to temporarily discontinue five navigational aids near Cape Lookout and Harkers Island, North Carolina, beginning August 7.

Heavy shoaling in the vicinity of Barden Inlet has progressed over the past few months, making the waterway inaccessible to many vessels.

The aids to navigation listed below no longer accurately mark the waterway. The current position of the markers may be misleading to mariners, which can be more dangerous than having no aids to navigation. Mariners transiting through Barden Inlet do so at their own risk.

The aids to navigation to be removed are:

  • Barden Inlet Buoy 27 (LLNR 29247)
  • Barden Inlet Buoy 28 (LLNR 29250)
  • Barden Inlet Buoy 30 (LLNR 29253)
  • Barden Inlet Buoy 31 (LLNR 29257)
  • Barden Inlet Buoy 33 (LLNR 29263)

The Coast Guard continues to work with federal, state and local partner agencies regarding the viability of marking waterways. Once a safe navigational depth is restored, the Coast Guard will re-establish the aids to navigation.

“Mariners need to be aware that multiple navigational aids in the vicinity of Barden Inlet are not currently reliable and present a danger,” said Coast Guard Lt. Eunice James, chief of waterways management for Sector North Carolina.

Mariners are encouraged to consult the Local Notice to Mariners 5th Coast Guard District for the latest positions and status of aids to navigation at http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=lnmDistrict&region=5 and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District survey site for channel depths at http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Hydrographic-Surveys.

To report any aids to navigation discrepancies, shoaling, or hazards to navigation, please contact the Sector North Carolina Command Center at 910-343-3882. The Coast Guard will continue to monitor the conditions of the waterway, and update mariners as necessary.

 

-USCG-