The MSC Opera cruise liner was approaching a terminal on the Giudecca canal when it hit the dock after a technical problem at 8.30am. The ship, which had 2,679 passengers on board, was reportedly unable to stop its momentum. It then ploughed into the river boat, which had 110 people on board, before hitting the thoroughfare that leads Saint Mark’s Square in the northeastern Italian city.
This caused dozens of people on the dock to flee in terror.
Two towboats that were guiding the cruise ship into Venice could not stop the ship hitting the river boat.
President of a towboat association in Venice, Davide Calderan, told the Italian news agency ANSA: “The two towboats tried to stop the giant and then a tow cable broke, cut by the collision with the river boat.”
Mr Calderan added the cruise ship’s engine was locked when the captain called for help.
Italian media reported two people were taken to hospital for check-ups.
The nationalities of those injured are not yet known.
Italian firefighters were also deployed to the scene to deal with the crash.
The MSC Opera was built in 2004 and can carry over 2,675 passengers in 1,071 cabins.
MSC Cruises was founded in Italy in 1960 and is a global line registered in Switzerland.
The Opera ship was built 15 years ago and has a capacity for 2,679 passengers.
The crash today comes seven years after the Costa Concordia cruise liner hit a reef and sank off the Italian island Giglio, which killed 32 people.
The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, left the ship, but he was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 16 years.