A yacht owned by Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg did not respond to a United States Coast Guard request for assistance when a nearby vessel ran out of fuel off the coast of Alaska, according to statements made by his spokesperson on Sunday. The spokesperson indicated that Zuckerberg himself was not aboard the vessel at the time of the incident.
According to the Alaska Beacon, the stranded skiff issued a call for help through Coast Guard channels, and a nearby small cruise ship called the Wilderness Legacy responded to the request. The Wilderness Legacy subsequently towed the skiff to Farragut Bay for refueling. Zuckerberg’s vessel, named Launchpad, was reportedly positioned closer to the stranded boat but did not answer the call.
The incident gained public attention after Michael Love, a passenger on the Wilderness Legacy, posted about the experience on Bluesky. Love described being on an Alaska cruise with his son when the crew rescued the stranded vessel. He recounted that cruise ship passengers responded with “near-unanimous booing” when the captain announced details of the rescue operation. Love suggested that assisting those in need could have provided positive publicity for Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg’s spokesperson clarified that the Coast Guard had not classified the skiff as being in distress. The spokesperson further explained that the crew reviewed the Coast Guard contact, which had been transmitted on a different radio channel than the one being monitored, only after the Wilderness Legacy had already begun providing assistance. The spokesperson confirmed that all parties involved in the incident remained safe.
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