Zuckerberg’s yacht didn’t ignore assistance call and he wasn’t aboard, spokesperson says

Ship belonging to Meta CEO was initially tuned to a different radio channel, according to statement; incident results in a flurry of international criticism

Lauchpad, a private yacht owned by Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, in San Diego on Oct. 24, 2024. (Photo by Ed Uthman published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

A yacht owned by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook parent Meta Platforms, did not hear an initial call for help from a vessel in Southeast Alaska a week ago because it was operating on a different radio channel, according to a company spokesperson.

The spokesperson also said Zuckerberg and his family were not aboard the vessel at the time.

The billionaire founder of CEO has been subjected to international criticism after the Alaska Beacon reported Friday that a 21-foot skiff ran out of fuel between Petersburg and Juneau last Monday night. The UnCruise ship Wilderness Legacy made a detour to assist the skiff, but vessel tracking services show Zuckerberg’s Launchpad, a $300 million, 387-foot yacht, was closer.

That resulted in a flood of social media and other comments from people accusing the yacht’s crew of violating international agreements requiring assistance to vehicles in distress. Michael Love, a passenger aboard the UnCruise cruise ship, stated on Bluesky there was near-unanimous booing by people aboard when the captain announced Zuckerberg’s yacht hadn’t responded.

The Beacon reported the skiff sent a request for assistance, not a distress call, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. A statement provided to the Beacon and other media organizations by a Meta spokesperson during the weekend notes “Mark and his family were not on board at the time of the incident."

"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,” the statement notes.

The Launchpad has been in Southeast Alaska much of the summer, including when family members lightered ashore from False Outer Point to cheer Zuckerberg’s sister, Randi, as she finished second among women in the Juneau Marathon on July 25. While there were goodwill exchanges between the family and community members then, the rescue incident has resulted in harsher comments getting a high profile.

“I live in Juneau and I’ve been having to look at that excessive eyesore parked up in (Auke Bay) for too long now,” the British newspaper The Guardian reported Sunday, citing a Reddit user's response to the rescue story. “(Expletive) Zuckerberg.”

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.