(Tribune News Service) — There’s an uninhabited island off the North Carolina coast that is so dangerous, visitors will be fined $5,000 — if they make it off the island alive.

Up to six months in jail is also an option.

Known by the rather timid name of Brown’s Island, the triangular-shaped sliver of turf sits along the Atlantic-Intracoastal Waterway between Onslow Beach and Hammocks Beach State Park.

It belongs to the U.S. Department of Defense and is ruled over by Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune — 125 miles southeast of Raleigh — which took to social media July 1 to remind people to stay off its island.

“Beaching, disembarking, fishing or conducting bottom disturbing activities is strictly prohibited,” the base wrote.

Dangers in the dirt

The danger is largely unseen until it’s too late, experts say. Brown’s Island has been used since the 1940s for live-fire training exercises, and countless unexploded ordnance remain lodged in the sand and mud — waiting to go off.

This includes “live fire from mortars, machine guns, rockets and artillery,” the government says.

An example of the deadly debris made headlines in 2021, when a 250-pound WWII-era high explosive bomb was revealed at low tide. “Any movement or jarring of the (unexploded ordnances), especially by boat or watercraft, could be enough to function and create a detonation,” base officials warned.

In 2019, four Mark 82 bombs were found, each containing nearly 200 pounds of high explosives, the base reported.

Such discoveries are frequently made in the weeks after hurricanes, when winds and waves rake away layers of sand, experts say.

The only people allowed on the island are Marines involved in live-fire training, which happens periodically, the U.S. Department of Defense says.

Even then, military personnel “must be accompanied by EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) personnel due to the extreme dangers.”

A Long list of rules

The fines and jail time can result from breaking any one in a long list of rules regarding the island, including:

• “Boaters traversing the Atlantic-Intracoastal Waterway in close proximity to the island may not stop, tie up or disembark their vessels.

• No crab-pots, fishing with bottom dragging nets, anchoring, or any bottom disturbing activities are allowed anywhere in the vicinity of Browns Island.

• All navigable waters in the area between the south bank of Bear Creek and the north bank of Browns Inlet are base property and strictly off-limits due to highly sensitive unexploded ordnance in this area.

• Bear Creek and Muddy Creek leading to the Intracoastal Waterway to Bear Inlet are open to unrestricted navigation; however, an unknown element of risk exists in this area due to the possible presence of unexploded projectiles.

• Boaters may proceed through Browns Inlet without stopping during periods of nonmilitary use. For safety reasons due to the presence of unexploded projectiles, any contact with the bottom of the waterways or any bottom disturbing activity is strictly prohibited. Caution should be used through these waters.”

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