The Transportation Safety Board of Canada confirmed Monday that Top Vancouver Fishing Charter, also known by its Chinese name Hai Shang Hai Diao, operated the charter vessel that sank in the Strait of Georgia on June 28, leaving six people presumed drowned and four survivors.
Company Details and Fleet
Top Vancouver Fishing Charter advertises itself as offering a “premier fishing experience” with more than 5,000 “happy clients.” According to its website, the company’s fleet consists of two vessels: a 30-foot KingFisher—the one that sank—and a 37-foot Axopar, a luxury sport boat. Private charters on the KingFisher cost $1,700 per day, while private charters on the Axopar are listed at $2,200.
The company is one of several charter operators in Richmond that focus on serving the Chinese-speaking recreational fishing market. A typical deepsea fishing day trip departs from the Imperial Landing Docks near Steveston Village and includes setting traps for prawns and crab before traveling to a fishing spot for halibut and salmon, then returning in the early evening to cook the catch at a nearby restaurant.
Vessel Ownership and History
Tim Milne, who hosts and produces a television series documenting West Coast boating and fishing life, said he sold the aluminum KingFisher vessel, called Big Coast, to new owners four years ago through a dealer. He noted ongoing frustration because the new owners had not registered the boat’s automatic identification system under a new vessel name.
Milne said Transport Canada contacted him last summer when the Big Coast was caught fishing in a protected area off Pender Island. He shared the boat’s permanent hull number, QBSY3196G617. When that 12-character identification number is entered into Transport Canada’s vessel registration search system, it lists two current owners: Lihe Yin and Shengnan Song.
B.C. business incorporation records list Shengnan Song as sole director of Top Vancouver Fishing Charter Inc. B.C. personal property registry records list among Song’s assets a 2017 KingFisher 3025 boat with the same identification number.
Investigation and Aftermath
The TSB previously said its investigators were conducting interviews and collecting information surrounding the sinking. It had no further updates Monday. The agency confirmed there were two crew members and eight passengers on the boat.
A Postmedia reporter found the company’s other vessel, the Axopar, moored at a dock along Steveston Harbour last Friday. A Fisheries and Oceans Canada sport fishing licence—active from April 2026 through March 2027—was visible through the vessel’s window. The licence, whose holder was listed as Lihe Yin, showed his phone number.
When Postmedia called the number, a man answered and confirmed he was Yin. When asked if he had any knowledge of the sunken vessel, he said Postmedia had the wrong person and hung up. He has not responded to a follow-up letter.
Flowers were left from a weekend vigil at the Imperial Landing Docks in Steveston for the six people presumed drowned.
