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<\/p>\nTop Vancouver Fishing Charter company took to social media on June 28 to brag about how its two vessels had gone out together and would head back to port with a haul of fish.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what makes fishing in Vancouver so addictive \u2014 every trip brings a surprise, and we always head home with a full haul,\u201d read the post on Chinese-language social media platform Red Note, posted at 12:24 p.m. with a video showing happy scenes from the company\u2019s 11-metre sport fishing boat.<\/p>\n
But the company\u2019s other boat, the nine-metre Top Ocean, had sunk about two hours earlier.<\/p>\n
Six people were lost at sea \u2014 now feared drowned \u2014 and a rescue operation was underway that saved four others, including a Chinese woman who later died in hospital.<\/p>\n
The last signal sent from the Top Ocean by its automatic identification system went out at 10:35 a.m.<\/p>\n
Ashley Lin is the mother of Chen Ming, the 22-year-old captain of the Top Ocean, who is among those presumed drowned.<\/p>\n
She wanted to know how it was possible that the charter operator, who was aboard the bigger boat, did not realize sooner that the Top Ocean had sunk in the Strait of Georgia.<\/p>\n
She said in an interview that she encountered the operator on the docks in Steveston, B.C., around 7 p.m. on the day of the sinking, more than eight hours after the Top Ocean went down.<\/p>\n
By that time, a massive search for the vessel and those aboard was well underway involving military aircraft, police and other rescuers. Lin said the operator, who she knows as \u201cRocky,\u201d was unloading a group of clients from the firm\u2019s larger boat.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chen Ming, who was the captain of a charter boat that sank in B.C. waters on June 28, 2026, is seen in this undated handout photo provided by his mother, Ashley Lin. The 23-year-old is among six people missing and feared drowned. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Handout \u2014 Ashley Lin (Mandatory Credit)<\/p>\n
That vessel was ordered detained by Transport Canada on Thursday, citing violations or \u201csafety deficiencies,\u201d including that it was a pleasure craft being operated as a commercial passenger vessel, and that it was not registered or marked properly.<\/p>\n
Lin said te operator told her that the two boats had headed out together, \u201cno more than five minutes\u201d apart.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe owner of the company told us the second boat left right after the first one, and he was on the second one,\u201d Lin said.<\/p>\n
She said the sequence of events left her not only heartbroken but also in shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a boat operator, if you can\u2019t get in touch with the other boat, you should at least drop off the clients and then check on the boat immediately, that\u2019s what you should do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first mayday about the sinking was received at 11:45 a.m. by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre; police estimated the victims had been in the water for about an hour by then.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5130cd7b70700a2a8466f9290b4e7b2bb47bf3703a93403d0131e530297e61c7-1024x683.jpg\")
A Transport Canada notice is pasted on an Axopar 37 vessel with hull number AB5965789 as it sits docked at Steveston Harbour in Richmond, on Thursday, July 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Ethan Cairns<\/p>\n
The emergency radio call came from sailor Angus Stauffer, who was on a passing sailboat with wife Dorothy Stauffer, when they were stunned to see five people in the water without life-jackets. They said they managed to pick up three, while a fourth was saved later by others.<\/p>\n
But Lin said she was told by the owner that he called RCMP immediately after losing contact with the other boat.<\/p>\n
BC Emergency Health Services said it received a call at 12:16 p.m. about the sinking, and that ambulances picked up the survivors from the Coast Guard dock at Vancouver International Airport.<\/p>\n
The Top Ocean now lies on the sea floor near Roberts Bank, southwest of Vancouver, in 153 metres of water. It was located Monday by an underwater drone, although RCMP said there was no sign of the missing six, who came from B.C., Ontario and Washington state, and were aged 22 to 33.<\/p>\n
The post on Red Note has now been deleted, but it was seen by The Canadian Press and saved as a screenshot.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo boats headed out today, and the haul was off the charts. Big fish all day, live prawns, meaty crabs \u2014 you name it, and we caught it. Fish, prawns, and crabs all in one trip,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
The accompanying video showed happy people reeling in fish.<\/p>\n
Top Vancouver Fishing Charter\u2019s 11-metre boat, made by Axopar, remained moored at Steveston\u2019s docks on Thursday, in a space reserved for the Top Ocean, identified by its official number, C34952BC.<\/p>\n
The Transport Canada detention notice was pasted to the Axopar\u2019s window.<\/p>\n
The Top Ocean\u2019s registration shows it was owned by Lihe Yin and Shengnan Song, who give the same residential address, a 930-square-metre mansion in Richmond, B.C., while Transport Canada identified Yin as the owner of the larger vessel.<\/p>\n
Lin and Chen\u2019s girlfriend told The Canadian Press last week that Chen had complained of a broken side door on the Top Ocean.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6a502658fc0893e030b72d1djpeg-1024x720.jpg\")
Survivors of the sinking of a fishing charter boat in the Strait of Georgia are seen in an inflatable dinghy being helped by Coast Guard officers on Sunday, June 28, 2026, in this photo taken by sailor Dorothy Stauffer, who helped rescue them. Six people are missing and presumed drowned in the sinking, while four people were saved. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Handout-Dorothy Stauffer(Mandatory Credit)<\/p>\n
Girlfriend Hailey Lee said she was on the boat with Chen two days before the sinking and there was a close call when the door sprang open and the boat filled with water.<\/p>\n
RCMP said on Wednesday that investigators were examining whether the operation of the vessel played a role in the sinking.<\/p>\n
Lin said she did not know if her son, who she called a \u201cresponsible child,\u201d was properly licensed to captain a charter boat.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestigators continue to identify and engage with additional individuals who may possess relevant information regarding previous voyages involving the vessel,\u201d police said.<\/p>\n
Calls to Top Vancouver Fishing Charter were answered by someone who identified himself as \u201cRocky,\u201d but he has repeatedly declined to comment. He did not pick up on Thursday.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
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