Second boat was with B.C. charter before fatal sinking, raising rescue questions

A second boat was reportedly operating under the same B.C. charter arrangement before a fatal sinking, raising questions about rescue coordination. The Top Vancouver Fishing Charter said its two vessels went out together on June 28, but only one returned, while the Top Ocean, a nine-metre sport fishing boat, sank about two hours earlier. The sinking left six people missing and feared drowned, as a rescue operation saved four others; one, described as a Chinese woman, later died in hospital. Police received the first mayday at 11:45 a.m., after signals from the Top Ocean’s automatic identification system stopped, with the last message sent at 10:35 a.m. Transport Canada ordered the larger vessel detained, citing safety deficiencies including operation as a commercial passenger vessel. The Strait of Georgia incident triggered searches involving military aircraft and police.