أَمَّا ٱلسَّفِينَةُ فَكَانَتْ لِمَسَـٰكِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ فَأَرَدتُّ أَنْ أَعِيبَهَا وَكَانَ وَرَآءَهُم مَّلِكٌ يَأْخُذُ كُلَّ سَفِينَةٍ غَصْبًا
Ammas safeenatu fakaanat limasaakeena ya'maloona fil bahri fa arattu an a'eebahaa wa kaana waraaa' ahum malikuny yaakhuzu kulla safeenatin ghasbaa
the boat belonged to some needy people who made their living from the sea and I damaged it because I knew that coming after them was a king who was seizing every [serviceable] boat by force.
As for the boat, it belonged to poor people who worked at sea, and I wanted to damage it, because beyond them was a king who was seizing every boat by force.
Watch how the credit shifts across the three explanations. The damage to the boat he claims outright as his own wanting; the boy is handled with a plural that includes God; the wall is given entirely to your Lord's will. The one act that leaves someone worse off is the one he takes on himself, and the reader is meant to feel the difference by verse 82.