Zuckerberg yacht missed Alaska boat assistance call, spokesperson says

The crew of Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht did not hear an initial radio call seeking help for a small boat that had run out of fuel off Alaska, and another vessel was already assisting by the time the yacht received the message, a spokesperson for the Meta CEO said.

The account responded to a report by the Alaska Beacon, an independent news outlet covering the state, about a 21-foot skiff that ran out of fuel between the fishing community of Petersburg and the city of Juneau. The skiff issued a call for assistance through the U.S. Coast Guard last week, according to the Alaska Beacon.

A small cruise ship, the Wilderness Legacy, ultimately helped the skiff, towing it to Farragut Bay in southeast Alaska and refueling it, the Alaska Beacon reported. The report said Zuckerberg’s yacht, called Launchpad, was closer but did not respond to the call.

A passenger aboard the Wilderness Legacy, Michael Love, wrote in an Aug. 5 social media post that the cruise ship had rescued the stranded vessel after the Coast Guard contacted Zuckerberg’s yacht.

“I’m on a small-ship Alaska cruise with my son; our boat rescued a stranded vessel last night and apparently we did that after the Coast Guard radioed Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht – which was closer – and they repeatedly refused to respond. (There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this),” Love wrote.

Zuckerberg’s spokesperson said Launchpad was operating on a different radio channel and did not hear the call when it was first made. The spokesperson also said Zuckerberg and his family were not aboard the yacht at the time.

“As the Coast Guard noted, the boat was not in distress, and by the time the crew reviewed the Coast Guard contact on a different radio channel from the one they were operating on, the assist was already underway,” the spokesperson said. “We’re grateful all parties are safe.”

CBS News reported that the spokesperson said the yacht received the call only after the vessel in need had already received assistance from another ship.

The incident drew attention after the Alaska Beacon’s Aug. 8 article and Love’s social media post about the captain’s announcement aboard the Wilderness Legacy. The available accounts agree that the skiff was helped by the cruise ship and that no one was reported harmed. They differ on why Launchpad did not respond: the passenger described it as a refusal, while Zuckerberg’s spokesperson said the yacht’s crew did not initially hear the Coast Guard contact because it came over a different radio channel.

Launchpad is a 387-foot yacht that can host up to 24 guests, according to YachtWorld, which CBS News cited as saying it was built in 2024 at an estimated cost of $300 million.