Transport Canada detains boat linked to fatal B.C. sinking, citing violations

Transport Canada detains boat linked to fatal B.C. sinking, citing violations

The detention order cites violations including lack of registration

Transport Canada has ordered the detention of a boat operated by a British Columbia fishing charter operation whose other vessel sank last month, leaving one person dead and six missing and presumed drowned.

The order, dated Thursday, is displayed on the window of the 11-metre boat operated by Top Vancouver Fishing Charter, whose nine-metre sister vessel went down in the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver on June 28.

The order 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.

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The order identifies the owner of the vessel as Lihe Yin.

Police say the company's other boat, the nine-metre Top Ocean, sank on the morning of June 28 with 10 people aboard, none of whom were wearing life-jackets.

Four were rescued about an hour later, one of them later died in hospital, while six have been lost at sea.

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RCMP said on Wednesday that investigators were examining whether the operation of the vessel played a role in the sinking.

The captain of the Top Ocean, 22-year-old Chen Ming, is among those lost at sea.

His mother, Ashley Lin, and girlfriend, Hailey Lee, have both said Chen complained of a broken side door on the vessel, and Lee said she was aboard two days before the sinking when the door sprang open and flooded the boat.

"Investigators continue to identify and engage with additional individuals who may possess relevant information regarding previous voyages involving the vessel," police said.

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

Calls made by The Canadian Press to Top Vancouver Fishing Charter over the past week were answered by someone who identified himself as "Rocky," but he has repeatedly declined to comment. He did not pick up on Thursday.