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Mother's returning on a vessel; a Chinese one (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sampan

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'a chinese one' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how they can define each other.

'mother's returning on a vessel' is the wordplay.
'mother's' becomes 'ma's' (ma can mean mother).
'returning' is a reversal indicator.
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a vessel' becomes 'pan' (vessel or container for cooking).
'mas' reversed gives 'sam'.
'sam'+'pan'='SAMPAN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sampan that I've seen before include "Small 10 boat" , "Small Chinese flat-bottomed boat" , "Flat-bottomed Chinese skiff" , "Small oriental rowing boat" , "Small Asian rowing boat" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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