A FERRY master accused of crushing an inflatable boat against Poole Quay in a ‘parking’ row has denied the allegation.

Oliver Jarvis said he was trying to keep the Brownsea Island ferry, The Maid of Poole, away from Stuart Cain’s dinghy and when asked if he had any intention of forcing him out of the way, Jarvis said: “Of course not.”

He told Bournemouth Crown Court he had asked Mr Cain to move the dinghy and thought Mr Cain would untie it and move along the quay in time for him to berth in his usual spot.

He denied a collision had taken place and said Mr Cain’s dinghy may have ‘brushed’ against the side of the ferry as it passed.

Jarvis, a 35-year-old father-of-two from Lagland Street in Poole, denies a charge of committing an act likely to cause loss or destruction of, or serious damage to, a ship or structure.

He has also pleaded not guilty to a second charge of committing an act likely to cause death or serious injury to any person.

Earlier in the trial Mr Cain described Jarvis as “aggressive” and said he feared he “would not make it out of there” as the ferry headed towards his dinghy.

He said: “I fought for my life to get out of there. I physically pushed it away as it was coming on to me. The ferry was crushing my hand against the engine.”

Giving evidence on the second day of the trial, Jarvis told jurors: “My main concerns were the safety of my passengers, the crew, the vessel and other boat users around me.

“I don’t think I was aggressive – I was polite but firm. I asked them to move the boat. I wanted to hold the boat as stable as possible.”

He said he did not believe it was safe to attempt to move forwards or backwards because he feared the ferry would swing round and collide with the dinghy.

The court was told the charges arose from an incident on the afternoon of September 17 2017 when there were less than 40 passengers on board the ferry.

Jarvis had been working on the Maid of Poole all day with two crew members, travelling between Poole Quay and Brownsea Island.

They were returning to Poole Quay on the last journey of the day when Mr Cain’s dinghy was spotted in the berthing space.

Jarvis said he was unable to pull in anywhere else because other stretches of the quay are used by rival ferry companies.

He told the court: “It was a bit strange because the dinghy should not have been there. I couldn’t see anyone in charge of it so I called a crew member to move it.”

He said it was at that point that he saw Mr Cain and another man walking along the quayside eating chips. He expected Mr Cain to untie the boat and pull it along the quay but instead he jumped off the quay into the boat.

“I don’t think you should jump from a quayside into a boat - it would have been simpler to unclip it and pull it along” he said.

Jarvis told the jury he has worked on the Brownsea Island ferry for four years. Before that he was a commercial fisherman.

The trial continues.