The Baltic 130 My Song lost in the Mediterranean
The loss of the yacht My Song has been in the news in recent days. The 130-foot custom-made sailboat built by the Finnish Baltic shipyard fell off the deck of the cargo ship that was carrying it from the West Indies to the Mediterranean. It likely sank as a result of the damage caused by the accident. If we had not initially mentioned the event, considering the information despite its sadness as a matter of fact, the emerging debate on responsibilities seemed interesting to us. Attacked from all sides, Peters & May, owner of the cargo ship, reacted by questioning the solidity of the ship's berth. Supplied by the owner of My Song and built by Naval Tecnosud, who is responsible for the tooling? Was it used properly?... The press release below from Peters & May illustrates the situation, revealing a sensitive subject that arises more often than one might think.
Peters & May defends itself in the sinking of My Song
We do not normally comment on loading incidents, but given the high-end nature of this yacht and the interest of the media, we believe that we need to provide formal clarifications. Several individuals give their judgments about what would or would not have happened and we will try to provide clarity, albeit at an early stage of the investigation. Our reputation comes first and foremost and we will not let it be tarnished by any individual asserting judgments without elements in hand. I would add that I am disappointed that confidential photos have leaked into the media.
We were informed of the loss of a yacht on the deck of the MV Brattinsborg at approximately 04:00 LT on 26 May 2019. This yacht is the sailboat My Song. Upon receipt of the information, Peters & May instructed the captain of the MV Brattinsborg to attempt the rescue while third party rescuers were designated.
The vessel maintained visual contact with My Song until the maritime and air searches began. At 09:00 BST on 28 May 2019, rescue attempts continue. To ensure the safety of the remaining vessels, Peters & May instructed the transport vessel to continue its journey to Genoa as planned. No other vessels were involved in the incident.
A full investigation into the causes of the incident has been launched. Nevertheless, the first observations are that the yacht's berry (owned and provided by the yacht, guaranteed by the yacht for transport at sea and assembled by the yacht's crew) collapsed during the journey from Palma to Genoa and consequently caused the loss of the My Song overboard. I would add that this is only an initial statement, subject to confirmation in due course.
As a leader in yacht transport for the past 40 years, we are proud of what we do and go beyond standard operating procedures to ensure the safety of the yachts we transport. We have procedures in place to respond to this type of incident, although we hope they are never necessary.
This incident is more than regrettable, however, the transport of yachts on cargo ships remains one of the safest and most economically efficient solutions when conducted by a respectable company like Peters & May.
More information will be made available in due course, but in the meantime, I ask everyone to respect the sensitivity of the situation for the parties concerned.
