The accident happened at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday as the ferry was heading into the dock at Liberty Island.
There were 497 passengers onboard, plus nine crew members.
The boat, the Miss New Jersey, was taken out of service and everyone on board disembarked on Liberty Island and continued on their tour.
Service between New York City and Liberty Island was suspended for 15 minutes.
There was no interruption in service to and from New Jersey.
The boat, under its own power, sailed back to the marina at Liberty State Park where it's docked. There was no serious damage.
Coast Guard investigators will test crew members for drugs and alcohol and look for possible environmental or mechanical problems that may have led to the crash.
