[imagesource: Getty]

When the reigning champion superyacht, ‘My Song’, was almost lost at sea, it wasn’t the worst news for everyone competing in the annual Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta, held in Porto Cervo on the Italian island of Sardinia, last June.

It was on a cargo ship being transported between the Spanish island of Mallorca and the Italian city of Genoa when it slipped off into the ocean, was briefly lost, and then retrieved after days of searching, only to reveal extensive damage to the boat.

The irony of the whole thing was that the yacht’s owner, Italian billionaire Pier Luigi Laro Piana, had commissioned shipping company Peters and May to transport it to the event to “keep it safe”.

Footage was recorded of the damage, but otherwise, little was reported after the accident:

Now we have an update, via The Daily Mail:

Mr Piana is suing the the firm for the replacement value of yacht [£30 million/R690 million].

However, the Southampton-based Peters and May deny responsibility.

Image: Press Mare

According to court papers: ‘The primary assessment is that the yacht’s cradle – owned and provided by the yacht, warranted by the yacht for sea transport and assembled by the yacht’s crew – collapsed during the voyage.’

Mr Piana’s lawyers are seeking to have the case returned to an Italian court.

Piana (below with Sharon Stone) claims that losing the yacht is like losing a home.

My Song is described as ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ – she has a 56-metre-high mast and under full sail can reach more than 30 knots.

Image: Getty

One yachting expert said: ‘It is a terribly sad end for the illustrious yacht that was the belle of the ball at the 2017 World Superyacht Awards picking up the trophy for Best Sailing Yacht of its size.

‘She was packed with cutting edge design and technology and also served as a comfortable cruising yacht.’

The court case is ongoing as it’s bounced between courts in the UK and Italy.

That shipping company can’t be feeling too good about the media attention it’s getting.

[source:dailymail]