OCRACOKE, N.C. – Extreme shoaling near Ocracoke has caused the North Carolina Ferry Division to reduce its schedule for service between Cedar Island, Swan Quarter, and Ocracoke, according to a news release from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The NCDOT said low water conditions in Bigfoot Slough, near Ockracoke’s Silver Lake Harbor, due to shoaling means that only smaller Sound Class ferries can navigate the ferry channel.

The new schedule that begins on Wednesday:

• Ocracoke to Cedar Island: 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
• Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The new schedule will remain until conditions improve. The Ferry Division has asked the Army Corps of Engineers for emergency dredging assistance, according to the release.

Ferries between Hatteras and Ocracoke are not affected.