N.C. Gen. Stat. § 136-89
Each and every person, firm or corporation, owning or operating a public ferry upon any sound, bay, river, creek or other stream, shall have securely affixed and attached thereto, at each end of the same, a detachable steel or iron chain, or in lieu thereof a steel or iron gate, and so affixed and arranged that the same shall be closed or fastened across the opposite end from the approach, whenever any motor vehicle, buggy, cart, wagon, or other conveyance shall be driven upon or shall enter upon the same; and shall be securely fastened or closed at each end of the ferry after such motor vehicle, buggy, cart, wagon, or other conveyance shall have been driven or shall have entered upon the same. And the said gates or chains shall remain closed or fastened, at each end, until the voyage across the stream upon which said ferry is operated shall have been completed. The Department of Transportation, as to ferries under its supervision, and the respective boards of county commissioners, as to other ferries, shall fix and determine a standard weight or size of chain, and a standard size, type, or character of gate, for use by said ferries, leaving optional with the said owner or operator the use of chains or gates.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 136-89