A £30 MILLION superyacht, owned by an Italian billionaire, was lost at sea while being transported by an Eastleigh-based logistics firm.

The My Song sank in the Mediterranean sea after falling off a cargo ship between Mallorca and Genoa.

The 40-metre yacht, owned by fashion heir Pier Luigi Loro Piana, was destined for Sardinia, where it was due to take part in the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta.

It was being transported by Eastleigh-based firm Peters and May on the MV Brattingsborg at the time of the incident, on May 26.

Bosses at the company, a leading transporter of yachts for more than 40 years, say the incident happened because of an error by the yacht's crew.

The company's CEO, David Holley, said: "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."

Mr Holley added: "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."

The My Song was built in 2016 by Baltic Yachts of Finland.

It had been named Best Yacht at the World Superyacht Awards and set a speed record during last year’s Royal Ocean Racing Club Transatlantic Race.