EXCLUSIVE – My Song case, the official response of the shipping company

Directly approached by our editorial staff in connection with the loss of Pigi Loro Piana’s 130′ My Song, the Peters&May company, in charge of transporting the yacht from the Caribbean to Genoa, responds with an official statement, which we quote in full (original version below), in the person of CEO David Holley.

THE PETERS&MAY STATEMENT

“This press release is in response to continued media speculation in reference to the loss of the sailboat My Song in the Mediterranean. Normally we would not comment on cargo incidents, but given the high-profile nature of this yacht and the media interest we feel we need to formally provide some clarification. There are several individuals who make judgments about what may or may not have happened, and we will try to offer some clarification, albeit at an early stage of the investigation. Our reputation is second to none and will not be tarnished by unqualified people making judgments without facts in hand. We add that we are disappointed that confidential photographs were leaked to the media. We were informed of the loss of a yacht from the deck of the MV Brattinsborg at approximately 0400 hours LT (Local Time) on May 26, 2019. The yacht in question was the sailing boat My Song. Upon receiving the news Peters & May instructed the captain of the MV Brattinsborg to attempt the rescue while third-party rescuers were appointed.

The vessel maintained visual contact with My Song until the air and sea search was initiated. As of 0900hr BST on May 28, 2019, rescue attempts are still ongoing. In order to ensure the safety of the remaining yachts, Peters & May instructed the transport vessel to continue its scheduled voyage to Genoa. No other vessels were affected by this accident.

A full investigation into the cause of the accident has been launched, but the main assessment is that the yacht’s slip (owned and supplied by the yacht, secured by the yacht for sea transport, and assembled by the yacht’s crew) collapsed during the voyage from Palma to Genoa and subsequently caused My Song to be lost at sea. I would add that this is the initial assessment and is subject to confirmation in due course.

As a leading yacht transporter for the past 40 years, we take great pride in what we do and go beyond all normal operating procedures to ensure the safe transit of all vessels we transport. We have procedures in place to respond to this type of incident, although we hope they will never be required.

This incident is more than regrettable; however, the transport of yachts on cargo ships continues to be one of the safest and most economical solutions when carried out by a reputable company such as Peters & May. More information will be made available in due course, but in the meantime I ask that everyone respect the sensitivity of this issue for all parties involved.”

HERE
the photos referred to in the statement

HERE
the first reconstructions

HERE
our conclusion

THE ENGLISH VERSION

This press release is in response to the ongoing media speculation in reference to the loss of sailing yacht MY SONG in the Mediterranean.

We would not normally comment on cargo incidents but given the high-profile nature of this yacht and the media interest we feel that we need to formally give some clarification. There are several individuals passing judgment on what may or may not have happened and we will attempt to offer some clarity, albeit at an early stage of the investigation. Our reputation is second to none and we will not have it tarnished by unqualified individuals passing judgment without facts in hand. I will add that I am disappointed that confidential photographs were leaked to the media.

We were informed of the loss of a yacht from the deck of the MV Brattinsborg at approximately 0400hr LT on 26th May 2019. The yacht is sailing yacht MY SONG. Upon receipt of the news Peters & May instructed the captain of the MV Brattinsborg to attempt salvage whilst 3rd party salvors were appointed.

The vessel maintained visual contact with MY SONG until the air and sea search was initiated. As of 0900hr BST on 28th May 2019 the salvage attempts are still ongoing. To ensure the safety of the remaining yachts, Peters & May have instructed the carrying vessel to continue her planned voyage to Genoa. No other yachts have been affected by this incident.

A full investigation into the cause of the incident has been launched, however the primary assessment is that the yacht’s cradle (owned and provided by the yacht, warrantied by the yacht for sea transport and assembled by the yacht’s crew) collapsed during the voyage from Palma to Genoa and subsequently resulted in the loss of MY SONG overboard. I will add that this is the initial assessment and is subject to confirmation in due course.

As a leading yacht transporter for the past 40 years we take great pride in what we do and go above and beyond all standard operating procedures to ensure safe transit of all yachts carried by us. We have procedures in place to respond to this kind of incident, although we hope that they are never required.

This incident is more than regrettable, however the transport of yachts on cargo vessels continues to be one of the safest and most cost-effective solutions when carried out by a reputable company such as Peters & May.

More information will be made available in due course but in the meantime, I request that everyone respects the sensitivity of this issue to all parties concerned.

If this statement is published it should be published in full.