Crossword Genius

Ship’s officer stole this empty wagon (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

boatswain

'ship's officer' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'stole this empty wagon' is the wordplay.
'stole' becomes 'boa' (both can mean a type of scarf).
'empty' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'wagon' becomes 'wain' (wain is a kind of wagon).
'this' with its centre taken out is 'ts'.
'boa'+'ts'+'wain'='BOATSWAIN'

(Other definitions for boatswain that I've seen before include "Warrant officer in charge of a ship's crew" , "I was not AB (anag) - naval warrant officer" , "sailor" , "who has a pipe with a mate?" , "I'm chaired to work" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sunday Times.
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