MANTEO, N.C. — A North Carolina company is going to remove an abandoned vessel that ran aground on Cape Hatteras National Seashore last year.
The vessel, a former scallop boat, is located on a beach south of the Oregon Inlet Campground in Nags Head, North Carolina. According to the National Park Service (NPS), the boat got stuck at its location in early March 2020.
The boat became abandoned after the NPS unsuccessfully tried to have the owner claim and remove it. According to an Associated Press report, the site became a popular attraction, leading to a warning from the NPS to stay away due to the ship's instability.
Since then, photos shared by the NPS show the boat sank several feet into the beach's sand.
Cape Dredging, Inc., a company from Buxton, North Carolina, will begin removing the boat on Oct. 25. NPS said it will take around 30 days and the project's cost is $295,000.
Abandoned vessel on Cape Hatteras
Crews will undertake several tasks, including removing the sand around the vessel, cutting the vessel into smaller pieces to be disposed of or recycled, and restoring the natural shape and slope to match the beach.
While the company works on removing the boat, people should stay clear of the area, which will be marked as a construction zone. NPS said there aren't expected impacts to recreational beach access, other than minor traffic delays while pieces of the vessel are moved.
For more information about visiting Cape Hatteras National Seashore, visit its NPS website.