The Concordia was a steel-hulled barquentine built in Poland in 1992, serving as a sail training vessel for the West Island College Class Afloat program. She measured 57.50 meters (188 feet 8 inches) in length, with a beam of 9.44 meters (31 feet) and a draft of 4.00 meters (13 feet 1 inch). Her overall height to the top of the highest mast was 35.00 meters (114 feet 10 inches). The vessel was rigged as a barquentine, combining traditional sailing rigging with modern steel construction, which provided both aesthetic appeal and durability for training purposes. Concordia’s propulsion system included a MAN diesel engine, capable of reaching speeds of up to 9 knots (17 km/h), supplementing her sail power. Her design was by Ryszard Langer, and she was registered in Bridgetown, Barbados, though she was based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Her construction was completed in April 1992 by Colod of Szczecin, Poland. Throughout her service, Concordia experienced a tragic incident on December 5, 1996, when an onboard explosion during battery charging resulted in the death of 18-year-old crew member Derek Zavitz, who was thrown overboard and never recovered. The vessel continued her training missions until her sinking in 2010. On February 17, 2010, Concordia encountered a microburst approximately 550 kilometers southeast of Rio de Janeiro. The vessel was struck by severe weather, leading to a rapid knockdown where she capsized onto her side within 15 seconds and sank 20 minutes later. The incident prompted a comprehensive investigation, which concluded that the vessel was operated in a manner that did not adequately account for changing weather conditions, contributing to the inability to react appropriately to the storm. Despite the fast sinking, all 64 aboard—comprising students, teachers, and crew—successfully abandoned ship, using liferafts. Rescue operations took approximately 30 hours, with all survivors safely recovered. The sinking of Concordia marked a significant event in maritime training history, highlighting the importance of weather awareness and vessel stability management in sail training operations.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.