Did Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht really leave a stranded boater in the cold waters off Alaska? No, but his crew apparently missed another boat’s request for help, and a nearby cruise ship stepped in instead.
According to a report by The Alaska Beacon, a small skiff ran out of fuel off the coast of Alaska last week and radioed the U.S. Coast Guard for maritime assist. The Wilderness Legacy, a small cruise ship, wound up towin the skiff into Farragut Bay in Southeast Alaska and refueled it.
Mr. Zuckerberg’s yacht, Launchpad, was nearby but did not respond. Michael Love, a passenger aboard the Wilderness Legacy, wrote on Bluesky on Aug. 5 that the Coast Guard “radioed Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht — which was closer — and they repeatedly refused to respond.” Mr. Love said there was “near unanimous booing” when the captain announced what had happened.
A Meta spokesperson told the Alaska Beacon that Launchpad’s crew did not initially hear the call. Importantly, the request was not a distress call, which, by law, requires every ship to respond unless doing so would put its own vessel at risk. A maritime assist call issued in events where lives aren’t in danger and are typically the result of mechanical breakdowns.
Mr. Zuckerberg and his family were not aboard at the time, the spokesperson said. By the time the crew noticed the Coast Guard’s contact on a different radio channel, the rescue was already underway.
In a statement to the Halifax Shipping News, the Coast Guard confirmed that there was no distress call, writing: “The Coast Guard can confirm that a 21-foot Hewescraft vessel hailed the Coast Guard for assistance on VHF-FM channel 16 at approximately 9:32 p.m. August 3rd in the vicinity of Point Highland, Alaska. At approximately 9:56 p.m., the Coast Guard determined they were not in distress and issued a marine assistance request broadcast on their behalf. The vessel Wilderness Legacy responded to the Coast Guard’s marine assistance request broadcast and arrived on scene with the 21-foot vessel at approximately 10:58 p.m. The Wilderness Legacy towed the vessel to Farragut Bay, and the 21-foot vessel was reported to be safety anchored in the bay at approximately 12:50 a.m. August 4th.”
“We’re grateful all parties are safe,” the Meta spokesperson said.
Read more:
• Zuckerberg spokesperson says his yacht did not hear call for maritime assist
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to the maritime assist call as a distress call.
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