"We hit the little boat, but he just sat there and let us hit him," said Norweta chief engineer Derk Shapmeyer. "I don't know if he was paralysed with fear or what."

But Archie Buckley believes that he has a right to park there and shouldn't have to move for the Norweta.

"They came in here at 1 p.m. with no regard to the boat that was parked there," said Buckley, whose boat now has a large dent on the left side of its bow.

"If the man is irresponsible enough to park a 20-foot Lund at the stern of our vessel, while we're trying to carry on an operation ... then we find it very hard to be responsible for any damage incurred," said Norweta owner Greg Whitlock.

He also wondered why Buckley chose to park so close to the Norweta when there is more than enough space at the dock.

Buckley's wife, Nancy, begs to differ. "The first priority, we're told is the fishermen at this wharf," she said.

Archie Buckley said that the Norweta doesn't care about the little boats that are using the wharf and "they don't feel like they've done anything wrong."

He said he just bought his fishing vessel about a week ago, and was just in town for briefly to pick up some supplies before he heads back out on to Great Slave Lake, where he makes his living as a commercial fisherman.

The police are leaving the problem up to the parties involved. "There are no charges laid -- it was an accident," said RCMP Staff Sgt. Dave Grundy. "They'll deal with it under their insurance."