Well, it’s clear from the photos that there were no unusual seas and no high wind. The ferry looks like one of those double hulled planing boats. They are fast and efficient going forward at full speed, but hard to maneuver.
Still, sounds like a screw-up of some kind. The helmsman must have done something wrong. Got a bit off course and decided not to back off and try all over again, or something like that.
I just checked the map. It looks like that ferry was doing runs of about 20 miles each way to and from the Jersey Highlands. There are similar boats in Milwaukee, WI that cross Lake Michigan to Muskegon, MI in about 2.5 hr. for the 78 mi. run. Such boats really move, often at over 30 mph. Taking the Jersey ferry would be a good way to avoid the hassels of surface travel. I bet it’s a bit pricey.