A CAR ferry officer told a jury today he was "perfectly happy" his vessel had missed a yacht in a close quarters incident and that he had no reason to call the captain.

Michael Hubble, 62, told Winchester Crown Court the yacht had gone into his "comfort zone" in the early hours of August 21 last year as the ship he was officer of the watch on Pride of Bilbao steamed south of the Isle of Wight.

But he said that manoeuvres he made where only to give the yacht room and were not an emergency.

The prosecution allege the yacht was the Ouzo, which disappeared without a trace at the same time that the 27,500 tonne P&O ship was en route to Spain.

The three sailors onboard the 25 foot Ouzo James Meaby, 36, Jason Downer, 35, and Rupert Saunders, 36 all died when it sank with Mr Meaby surviving for 12 hours in the water and the other two three hours.

Hubble, from Folkestone, Kent, denies the manslaughter of the three men through gross negligence and three counts of engaging in conduct as a seaman that was likely to cause death or serious injury to the men.

The prosecution claim the seaman, with more than 40 years' experience, should have stopped the yacht, called the captain and launched life saving gear because he knew he had experienced a close quarters emergency with the yacht.

In the witness box today Hubble said he heard the lookout Dave Smith, who was on the bridge with him, telling him he saw lights off the starboard bow at 1.07am as the ferry steamed at 21 knots.

Hubble told the jury that he felt the lookout's voice was not urgent and he came out of the chart room to take a look.

He said he saw the lights and went to the steering console to alter the ferry to port.

"The reason I did that was I wanted to give this chap a bit more room," he said.

Hubble then said he put the ferry back to starboard because he was worried he might hit it with the stern of the ship as it came out.

"I watched the target which started to pass down the starboard side," he told the jury.

He then said he lost sight of it and because of light pollution from the ship and the change of course.

Then he said he saw a single red port light to the stern.

Defence barrister Richard Barraclough QC asked: "What did you take that light to be?"

Hubble replied: "I thought it was the yacht I had just seen."

Hubble then said he walked across to the port side of the bridge and saw the stern light of the yacht.

Mr Barraclough asked: "In your judgment was the yacht safe?"

Hubble said: "I had no doubt that it was anything but safe, sir."

Mr Barraclough: "You did not get the captain, why?"

Hubble replied: "I felt no reason to. I was perfectly happy that that vessel was absolutely safe. I had no doubt to the safety of that vessel."

The jury was also told that experts from South Tyneside College would tell them that the Ouzo was close to a 3,000 tonne coastal tanker called Crescent Beaune and not the Pride of Bilbao at 1.40am on August 21.

The captain of the tanker Alaistair Crichton told the jury earlier he had broken the law when he had only a second officer and not another lookout on his bridge that evening.

Under cross examination by Christopher Parker QC, Hubble said he took no responsibility for the deaths of the men.

Hubble said he did not think there was an imminent danger of a collision and that it was not an emergency.

Mr Parker said the international regulations for avoiding a collision when another vessel from crossing in front was to take to ship to starboard to avoid the collision but Hubble had firstly taken the Pride of Bilbao to port.

Mr Parker said: "It was that close it was necessary not to follow the international regulations for the avoidance of a collision."

Hubble said: "It was not an emergency I was just giving the other chap more room."

Earlier the jury heard the Ouzo left Bembridge on the Isle of Wight on the evening tide of August 20 and headed south and then west for its destination of Dartmouth Regatta in Devon.

Experienced sailors Mr Saunders from Tooting, South London, Mr Meaby also from Tooting and Mr Downer from Broadstairs, Kent were found dead with their lifejackets on and inflated in the next few days.

The prosecution said that the men would have had a 99 per cent chance of survival if the alarm had been raised.

Mr Parker said that the much faster 177 metres long Pride of Bilbao had come into the vicinity of what the prosecution allege was the Ouzo.

The two came close to each other according to the ship's "black box" recorder, the court heard.

Mr Parker said that the officer should have stopped the ship, called the captain and radioed the yacht to see if they were all right. He should have alerted the coastguard but he did nothing leaving the three men swimming in the sea in the wake of the ferry as it sailed on.

Instead it is alleged he turned a "blind eye" to the situation Mr Smith told the jury in his evidence he reacted with alarm and ran across the bridge when he saw a yacht "very, very close" to his vessel, Mr Smith said he thought Hubble had seemed satisfied when he (Smith) had said he saw a red light.

The court was told that Mr Meaby's body was found by a fisherman 10 miles south of Nab Tower off the Isle of Wight on August 22.

The next day the bodies of Mr Saunders and Mr Downer were also found by a helicopter off the Isle of Wight.

Mr Parker told the jury that Hubble's actions went beyond mere carelessness and that he had been grossly negligent.

He told also them that Hubble was not a "wicked or malicious" but he had been "grossly irresponsible" and he made "a terrible mistake".

Proceeding