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September 25, 2008
A tragic incident brings some
tense minutes on Hatteras Inlet ferry By IRENE NOLAN  The collapse and death of a ferry captain on the Hatteras Inlet ferry on Friday night, Sept. 19, brought some startling and tense minutes for the ferry’s passengers, its crew, and the U.S. Coast Guard. The ferry’s captain, Lowell Shroder, collapsed while he was guiding the ferry from Ocracoke to Hatteras on the 7 p.m. run, according to Jack Cahoon, director of the North Carolina Ferry Division. There were two deckhands on the ferry, who took over the operation and sought out passengers with medical skills. Cahoon said several passengers stepped up to help, including a registered nurse and a paramedic. They administered CPR to the 64-year-old captain, and Cahoon said a defibrillator was also available on the ferry. Meanwhile, another passenger, a licensed tug boat captain, stepped forward and volunteered to take over the operation of the ferry. Cahoon said the deckhands spend time with the captains on the runs and the two on board that night were capable of running the ferry, but perhaps would not have been able to dock it, especially on a night with gusty northeast winds. However, Cahoon added, having the passenger take over the ferry gave the deckhands time to deal with other aspects of the incident. He said the Coast Guard responded to a call for help in about 11 minutes. There were two ferries operating that evening, and the second one, happened to have two captains on board. The Coast Guard personnel picked up one of the captains, Ronnie Van O’Neal of Ocracoke, from that ferry and transferred him to the boat with the stricken captain. The ferry was safely docked at Hatteras. Cahoon said that the transfer of the captain from one ferry to the other was “tricky” with the gusting winds. “It isn’t what we like to do,” he said. But he added that he does not believe the ferry passengers were in danger at any time. Although Shroder had medical attention on the ferry and an EMS crew met the boat at Hatteras, the captain died. Lowell “Captain Lou” Schroder lived in New Bern and died just a few days short of his 65th birthday. According to his obituary, the South Dakota native, retired at age 46 from a career as an electrical engineer. After that, he was a captain with river tours and cruise lines and a part-time barge captain. He also worked as a corporate pilot for 11 years and was founder and president of Lowell Manufacturing Company, Inc., and Seafair Industries in Red Lion, Pa. Cahoon said Shroder has just recently transferred to the Hatteras Inlet Ferry. |
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