My Song, a 130-foot Baltic 130 Custom superyacht, owned by billionaire Pier Luigi Loro Piana, was in transport between the Spanish island of Mallorca and the Italian city of Genoa when a storm in the early hours of Sunday broke the yacht's cradle on top of a cargo ship and plunged it into the sea, reported Yachting World.

According to other media reports supported by maritime tracking data, the 452 feet cargo ship was on the final leg of its voyage from the Caribbean when it encountered a storm in the Balearic Sea, east of Spain, that was the moment on early Sunday morning when the incident occurred.

The Miami Herald said the cradle on the cargo ship deck (a pedestal designed, manufactured, and guaranteed by the yacht manufacturer) suddenly collapsed during high seas, plunging the superyacht into the Mediterranean.

New pictures have emerged of the half-sunken yacht seen 40 nautical miles northeast of Menorca (Spain).

Peters & May, the logistics company responsible for transporting the yacht, issued a statement confirming the loss of the $45 million yacht.

The full statement from David Holley, CEO of Peters & Ma reads as follows:

"This press release is in response to the on-going 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 judgement 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 judgement 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 on-going. 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."

Several years ago, The Boat Show made a short documentary of My Song - showing how the 100-tonne racing yacht can glide across the water at nearly 30 knots.