UPDATE: Oregon inlet seems passable to vessels again, according to multiple reports. Capt. Stewart Wescott, owner of Sea Tow Oregon Inlet, joined Capt. Marty Brill and Jody O’Donnell on the Extended Edition of The Other Side of Fishing radio program Saturday morning to update listeners on current conditions:
On May 18, 2022, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District (USACE) performed a condition survey of the Federal Navigation Project at Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, in response to the weather system that the entire North Carolina coast was subjected to the week of May 8, 2022.
The Oregon Inlet condition survey indicates that the portion of the marked federal channel along the Marc Basnight Bridge between Buoys 17 and 21 is completely shoaled in (indicating depths of 2-3 feet at MLLW) and unnavigable for most vessels. The shallow depths of the current channel will not permit use of the USACE Shallow Draft Fleet dredges to clear the channel.
USACE has been advised by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina (USCG) that a Local Notice to Mariners will be published concerning the current channel conditions and advising that the current channel markers will be removed in the coming days. USACE and the USCG are currently coordinating and actively investigating other potential areas where a marked channel can be established to provide access to and from Oregon Inlet.
