People warned to stop boarding ghostly shipwreck that appeared on Outer Banks beach

The haunting sight of a large fishing vessel grounded at Cape Hatteras National Seashore has apparently become too much for explorers to resist and it’s starting to worry the National Park Service.

A warning has now been issued for people to stay off the rusting hulk known as the Ocean Pursuit, which appears to be sinking into the beach itself.

“We have received multiple reports that groups of people are boarding the vessel,” Cape Hatteras spokesman Mike Barber told McClatchy News. “Visitors must not board the shipwreck due to safety concerns.”

He didn’t detail the threats aboard the Ocean Pursuit, but the 72-foot vessel is unstable in the sand and sits 50 yards from the dry land at high tide. Stay too long and you could be swimming to shore, or even floating out to sea.

Boats that run aground on the Outer Banks are often broken apart by pounding winds and waves if left too long, experts say. They can also be dragged back out to sea in the right storm conditions.

In the case of the Ocean Pursuit, the vessel has begun slowly sinking into the sand, bow first.

The scallop vessel ran aground on Bodie Island for unexplained reasons on March 1, and its crew was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. It now stands as a visible reminder of the region’s reputation as “The Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Hundreds of vessels have met their demise in the rough currents and shifting sands off North Carolina.

The Ocean Pursuit has been grounded long enough to become an attraction to locals and tourists alike, and is a favorite subject for photographers. Outer Banks photographer Wes Snyder used the wreck as the backdrop for a recent time-lapse video of the Milky Way, earning nearly 30,000 of views on YouTube.

It’s unclear how long the wreck will remain, but all hazardous materials and fuels on board have been removed, Barber told McClatchy News.

“The owner of the Ocean Pursuit has been in contact with us, but is currently unable to provide a time frame for removing the vessel,” Barber said.

This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 8:12 AM with the headline "People warned to stop boarding ghostly shipwreck that appeared on Outer Banks beach."