Mourners gather at B.C. dock to mourn six lost at sea in fishing charter sinking

RICHMOND — About 100 mourners gathered at a public dock in Richmond, B.C., to commemorate six victims missing and feared drowned after a charter boat sinking in the Strait of Georgia a week earlier.

Dozens of bouquets of white flowers, a symbol of mourning in Chinese culture, were placed on Imperial Landing Docks in Steveston, B.C., around sunset on Sunday, as victims’ friends and relatives gathered in silence, hugging each other and wiping away tears.

Chen Ming, 23, from Richmond, B.C., has been identified as the captain of the boat and is among those lost at sea.

His girlfriend, Hailey Lee, and his tearful mother, Ashley Lin, scattered white flower petals into the sea at the ceremony.

Chen was remembered as a good friend and a caring person by mourners, including Bob Zhang who said they worked at T & T Supermarket together and shared the same hobbies of fishing and playing video games.

Zhang, who attended the vigil with his brother and friends, said they all shared “deep relationships” with Chen.

Zhang said he was on the boat that sank in late May and was aware of a broken side door, which Lee said last week sprang open and flooded the boat with water in an incident two days before the sinking on June 28.

“We got lucky we didn’t get so many waves and winds that day,” said Zhang.

When he first heard about the accident, he hoped it didn’t involve his friend, and it’s painful to accept reality, Zhang said.

Zhang said he had a “feeling about the tragedy” when he first heard of it. He tried to convince himself that it wasn’t his friend’s vessel, but as more information emerged, he knew Chen wouldn’t be back.

Lin said last week that the boat that went down in deep water with 10 people aboard was operated by a charter firm known as Top Fishing.

The Canadian Press reached out to Top Fishing on Monday, but the owner of the charter boat said he didn’t want to comment.

Lin said she has never received condolences from the charter firm following the sinking.

Four people who were suffering hypothermia were rescued, and RCMP said no one was wearing a life jacket.

Conservative MP Chak Au attended the vigil and said he learned about the sinking from his son, a member of Richmond’s search and rescue team, who participated in the search operation.

“They spent the whole afternoon last Sunday trying to find the victims, and my son was later heartbroken to learn that six lives were lost,” Au said, shaking his head.

Au said the news hit hard for his family and he plans to donate $5,000 to Chen’s family.

“We all gathered here with a heavy heart since victims’ families, whether they are here or overseas, are experiencing immense grief and sorrow,” Au said to the crowd, many of whom were sobbing. “We should offer endless compassion, care, and help for them.”

Au said the tragedy raised concerns, both about the importance of wearing life-jackets and being on a vessel that is inspected annually for safety.

“I understand adults aren’t legally required to wear a life-jacket in Canada, but sometimes boats can tilt in seconds, leaving no time to put on a life-jacket,” said Au, “Maybe we should consider implementing more regulations related to boating safety.”

But Au said there are still many unknowns about “what went wrong” that day.

Richmond RCMP said Monday there were no new updates on the search for the vessel or the investigation into the sinking, but they expected to provide more information later in the week.

The news also sent out shock waves throughout B.C.’s Chinese-speaking community.

Many messages of condolence were left on Little Rednote, Chen’s Chinese social media account.

Chen’s girlfriend, Lee, didn’t speak at the vigil, but she expressed her feelings.

“I hope everyone can leave comments wishing for a miracle instead of just saying ‘rest in peace.’ Let’s send our blessings to him,” said Lee.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2026.

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press