A ferry officer ignored evidence his ship had swamped or sunk a yacht and carried on his voyage leaving three sailors to die slowly in the water, a court heard today.

Officer of the watch Michael Hubble, 62, "chose to ignore" that the 37,500-ton Pride of Bilbao ferry had come very close to the 25ft Ouzo in August last year off the Isle of Wight and he did nothing to raise the alarm, Winchester Crown Court was told.

His lack of action led to the deaths of James Meaby, 36, and Rupert Saunders, 36, from Tooting and Jason Downer, 35, from Kent, the jury heard - because they would have survived if he had done what he should and called the captain.

Christopher Parker QC, prosecuting, said the Ouzo disappeared without a trace and that Mr Meaby survived for at least 12 hours in the water before he died from hypothermia and drowning.

Mr Saunders and Mr Downer survived for at least three hours before they died from either hypothermia, drowning or both.

Mr Parker said Hubble knew there had been a ''close quarters emergency situation'' but he alleged that the officer ''turned a blind eye'' and ''crossed his fingers'' hoping everything would be all right.

Mr Parker said that Hubble should have immediately informed the captain of the ship and should have tried to establish contact with the yacht to check the crew was alright.

Hubble, of Wine House Lane, Capel-le-Ferne, 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.

He told police that he saw a yacht pass close in the early hours of August 21 but he spotted its lights astern as the ferry passed and he did not think there was a problem.

The trial at Winchester Crown Court is expected to last six weeks.

The Ouzo had left Bembridge on the Isle of Wight on August 20 to sail to Devon for the Dartmouth Regatta but it never arrived.

All three men were found in the sea off the Isle of Wight a few days later.

The 25ft sailfish sloop they were sailing has never been found.