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A retired NC Outer Banks ferry is getting a second act in a warmer place

A ferry that carried cars and passengers across the rivers, sounds and inlets of Eastern North Carolina for 25 years is headed for a second career in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Thomas A. Baum was sold through an online auction this fall for $354,000. The buyer was a ferry service in the Virgin Islands, said N.C. Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Hass, and the 144-foot-long boat left Havelock for its new home the first week of November.

NCDOT decided to sell the Baum because of its age and its size. It can carry 30 cars, 149 passengers and six crew, while its replacement, the Rodanthe, has room for 10 more cars and twice as many passengers.

NCDOT initially tried to sell the ferry through the state’s surplus property website and set a minimum bid of $1 million. When it didn’t receive any offers, the department arranged for the online auction through a private company website.

Bidding started at $55,000 on Oct. 6. Over the next week, five prospective buyers drove up the price, making 38 ever-larger offers until bidding closed Oct. 13.

After deducting fees, NCDOT received $342,495, which went into a fund for replacing old ferries.

NCDOT’s Ferry Division has 22 car ferries in its fleet, the second largest state-owned ferry operation after Washington. NCDOT expects to get 30 years out of a ferry and looks to sell an old one whenever it gets a new one, said Keith Stegall, head of vessel asset management.

Before the Baum, the most recent sales were several years ago.

In 2015, Cross Sound Ferry Services, a private company in Connecticut, bought the Pamlico for $1.6 million, renovated the now 56-year-old boat, changed its name to Jennifer C and put it into service on Long Island Sound. About the same time, another ferry similar to the Baum, the Herbert C. Bonner, was sold to Prudence and Bay Islands Transport Co. in Rhode Island. The Bonner, which was recently outfitted with new engines, carries cars and passengers between Bristol and Prudence Island in Narragansett Bay.

The ferry Thomas A. Baum docks at the ferry landing at Stumpy Point with a load of cars and trucks from Hatteras Village on Sept. 29, 2003. Hatteras Island residents had to take the ferry to the mainland after Hurricane Isabel cut a new 1,000-foot channel just north of town and taking out N.C. 12, cutting them off from the rest of the Outer Banks.
The ferry Thomas A. Baum docks at the ferry landing at Stumpy Point with a load of cars and trucks from Hatteras Village on Sept. 29, 2003. Hatteras Island residents had to take the ferry to the mainland after Hurricane Isabel cut a new 1,000-foot channel just north of town and taking out N.C. 12, cutting them off from the rest of the Outer Banks.