What we know about the deadly charter boat sinking off B.C.’s coast

On June 28, 2026, a charter fishing boat with 10 people aboard sank in the Strait of Georgia off the coast of Richmond, B.C.

Six people, including the boat’s 22-year-old captain, remain missing and are presumed dead. Four others were initially pulled from the water but one among them later succumbed to her injuries in hospital.

Questions have since emerged about the tragedy as investigators say they are examining whether the operation of the vessel played a role in the sinking. 

Here’s what we know so far.

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The nine-metre charter boat Top Ocean, formerly known as Big Coast, sank near Roberts Bank in Richmond.

Its last automatic identification system signal went out at 10:35 a.m. PT

When the boat went down, the mayday call came not from the sinking vessel, but from a nearby couple on their sailboat at around 11:45 a.m. 

Brian Angus and Dorothy Stauffer were on the passing boat, when they were stunned to see five people in the water without life-jackets. 

The couple, a former airline captain and service director with Air Canada, called in a mayday, then began circling the group and used the dinghy they were towing as a life raft. 

They were able to get three of the five people on the dinghy while a fourth was saved later by rescue crews.

A large search involving military and coast guard aircraft and RCMP vessels was launched following the mayday call, which was eventually called off later that evening. In a subsequent update, police said the six missing people were presumed drowned.

Richmond RCMP say the group on board included eight charter guests, the vessel operator and one person assisting the operator. Everyone aboard was in their 20s or 30s and came from B.C., Ontario and Washington state.

A 28-year-old Chinese woman living in Seattle, Wash., who was one among the four rescued after the sinking, died of her injuries in hospital, police said on Wednesday. 

The three survivors are a 33-year-old woman from Toronto, a 26-year-old man from Richmond and a 33-year-old man from Redmond, Wash. They have all since been released from hospital.  

Family demands answers after B.C. boat tragedy

RCMP said the families have asked police not to release the names of those involved but the mother of a young fisherman has identified her 22-year-old son, Chen Ming, as the charter boat’s captain.

Ashley Lin says she remembers her son as caring and responsible.

“I believe that at the moment of the accident, he must have wanted to help everyone on the boat,” she told CBC News earlier this week.

Ming’s girlfriend, Hailey Lee, said he was deeply passionate about fishing and the ocean. She said the couple had been planning a future together and hoped to travel to Taiwan in September.

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Police located the Top Ocean about 153 metres below the surface using a remotely operated underwater vehicle on Monday, but said they didn’t find any of the missing people on the surrounding seabed.

Investigators are limited in their ability to examine the interior of the boat, according to RCMP, due to the depth of the water, darkness and underwater conditions. 

RCMP say they expect to provide more information next week about whether the sunken vessel can be brought to the surface.

Heartbroken girlfriend of B.C. captain tells of close call days before deadly sinking

Top Vancouver Fishing Charter is the operator of Top Ocean and another, larger fishing boat, which has now been detained by Transport Canada.

According to reporting by The Canadian Press, the company sent both vessels into the water on June 28.

It then took to social media on June 28 to describe a successful day of fishing. 

“This is what makes fishing in Vancouver so addictive — every trip brings a surprise, and we always head home with a full haul,” read the post on Chinese-language social media platform Red Note, posted at 12:24 p.m. on the day — almost two hours after the Top Ocean sent its last tracking signal. 

The post was later deleted but CBC News has reviewed a screenshot showing the post and its timestamp.

The boat captain’s mother, Lin, told The Canadian Press that the operator of the larger boat told her the two vessels had left only minutes apart.

She said she wants 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. 

Lin said she was told by the owner that he called RCMP immediately after losing contact with the other boat. 

She said she hopes the boat’s owner can help explain what happened. 

Chen’s mother and his girlfriend have both said he complained about a broken side door on the vessel.

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.

Transport Canada seizes second boat linked to fatal B.C. sinking

She added that her boyfriend had raised the issue with his boss.

Lin has also said she does not know if her son was properly licensed as a charter boat captain. 

Transport Canada has ordered the detention of the charter company’s 11-metre vessel.

The order, dated Thursday, is displayed on the window of the boat and says the vessel is being detained for violations or safety deficiencies, including that it is a pleasure craft being operated as a commercial passenger vessel, and that it is not registered or marked properly.

It identifies the owner of the vessel as Lihe Yin. 

CBC News has made multiple attempts to contact Top Vancouver Fishing Charter, however the person who answered the company phone number has declined to comment.