Prince Rupert, B.C. – The B.C. Coroner’s Service is trying to find out how a 52-year-old Prince Rupert man ended up dead at the helm of his boat.

Prince Rupert RCMP were called out by the Canadian Coast Guard Thursday after fishing vessels spotted a boat that had run aground in the passage between Baron Island and Dunira Island. Inside the boat, officers of the RCMP Marine Section found the man’s lifeless body slumped over the helm.

Police say the bow of the vessel suffered severe damage and items were found strewn about the cabin, all signs that the boat slammed into the rocks hard. The vessel was completely out of the water and on the rocks when it was initially spotted.

RCMP have turned the man’s body over to the coroner so that a cause of death can be determined. But police say the death is not considered suspicious.

The man’s name has not been released.