Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:79

Interpretations of why the Ship was damaged Khidr gives the explanation of his actions:

أما السفينة فكانت لمساكين يعملون في البحر فٲردت أن أعيبها وكان وراءهم ملك يٲخذ كل سفينة غصبا

"As for the boat, it belonged to poor people working in the sea. So I wished to make a defective damage in it, as there was a king behind them who seized every boat by force.'' This is an explanation of what Musa found so hard to understand, and the appearance of which he condemned. Allah showed Al-Khidr the hidden reasons, so he said, "I damaged the ship to make it faulty, because they used to pass by a king who was one of the oppressors, who

يٲخذ كل سفينة

(seized every boat), i.e., every good, sound boat

غصبا

(by force). `So I wanted to prevent him from taking this boat by making it appear faulty, so that its poor owners who had nothing else could benefit from it.' It was also said that they were orphans