Mark Zuckerberg was reportedly not on his massive superyacht when it failed to respond to a nearby stranded boat in waters off Alaska last week.
A small cruise ship towed the skiff to safety after it ran out of fuel between Petersburg and Juneau last Monday night, according to the Alaska Beacon, despite Zuckerberg’s $300 million 377-foot yacht Launchpad being nearby.
Mark Zuckerberg’s superyacht “Launchpad” docked in the commercial pier of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida iStock
A software developer from New York City, Michael Love, posted on social media site Bluesky that the captain of the cruise ship announced to passengers that the billionaire Meta owner’s yacht was closer but hadn’t responded to the small boat’s radio call for help.
“There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this,” he said.
The Coast Guard confirmed there was a call for help just after 9.30pm Monday night (3.30pm AEST Tuesday).
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Nic Coury
The boat was determined not to be in distress and the Coast Guard then issued a marine assistance request broadcast.
The Wilderness Legacy cruise ship responded and rendered assistance.
A spokesperson for Zuckerberg told the Beacon that the yacht was operating on a different radio channel and by the time the crew reviewed the broadcast they discovered “the assist was already underway”.
The spokesperson also confirmed Zuckerberg and his wife and family were not onboard the yacht at the time.
“Mark and his family were not on board at the time of the incident,” they said.
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.
“We’re grateful all parties are safe.”
No one was injured.