Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is facing questions after his $300 million superyacht didn’t rush to help passengers stuck on a ship in Alaskan waters, according to a report.
The 387ft monster ship, Launchpad, didn’t act on requests for assistance when a 21-foot skiff ran out of fuel on a trip between Petersburg and Juneau, Alaska, on Monday night, the Alaska Beacon reported.
Instead, a small cruise ship, Wilderness Legacy, came to the vessel’s help.
But as the rescue was under way, the cruise’s captain made the announcement that Zuckerberg’s superyacht The Launchpad had been closer to the stranded vessel than his own ship, and “refused” to lend a helping hand, according to a passenger. Bloomberg via Getty Images
As the rescue was underway, the cruise’s captain made the announcement that Zuckerberg’s superyacht had been closer to the stranded vessel than his own ship — but had “refused” to lend a helping hand, according to a passenger.
“There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this,” according to a Bluesky post by vacationer Michael Love.
The tiny skiff had sent out a call for assistance around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, the Coast Guard said.
“There was near unanimous booing” when the cruise ship’s captain announced that Zuckerberg’s ship didn’t come to the rescue of the ship, passenger Michael Love said in a Bluesky post. Frederick M. Brown for California Post
The Coast Guard determined that the vessel wasn’t in distress but issued a marine assistance request broadcast about 30 minutes later.
Vessel-tracking services show that the Wilderness Legacy, operated by UnCruise Adventures, was farther away from the stranded vessel than Zuckerberg’s superyacht at the time, according to the Beacon.
Vessel-tracking services show the UnCruise Adventures ship Wilderness Legacy as being farther away from the stranded skiff than Zuckerberg’s own vessel at the time the distress call for the stranded skiff went out, according to the Alaska Beacon. Bloomberg via Getty Images
It also shows the cruise ship sailing past Launchpad on its way to help the stranded ship — as the social media tycoon’s mega-yacht stays floating in the middle of the water, the outlet reported.
The stranded skiff was towed back to safety in protected Farragut Bay by the Wilderness Legacy.
Zuckerberg’s spokesperson insisted in a statement that the tech billionaire and his family were not aboard the ship — and that his yacht crew had been operating on a different radio channel.
“Mark and his family were not on board at the time of the incident,” the statement provided to the Beacon 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.”
