Corrosion spotted on NYC Ferry's new boats

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - Mayor Bill de Dlasio launched the NYC Ferry with great fanfare and a fleet of shiny new boats in May 2017. But less than six months later, three of those new boats are already out of service, much to the surprise of some ferry riders.

The issue is corrosion on the boats' hulls, which could have worsened and potentially caused leaks had the issue not been caught.

Hornblower, which provides the boats and operates the ferry, said the problem was discovered during daily inspections in October. Workers found that keel coolers on three boats were incorrectly aligned, causing the corrosion.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the ferry, tweeted a photo of a boat being repaired, saying "We caught it early and its being fixed at no cost to the city."

Hornblower said it is picking up the tab for repairs and said that service will not be impacted because this is the offseason.

The NYC Ferry has had a bit of a bumpy ride since launching. This summer the system was plagued by overcrowding, forcing commuters to endure long waits for boats on some routes.

The city chartered more boats to keep up with demand and changed its order for additional boats to be larger vessels.

The mayor has said high ridership is a good problem to have.