Representatives for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg have denied claims that his superyacht, The Launchpad, ignored a distress call from a stranded skiff in Alaskan waters.
The incident occurred on August 3 between Juneau and Petersburg. A 21-foot skiff ran out of fuel and initially contacted the Coast Guard for assistance. Officials determined the skiff was not in distress and issued a marine assistance broadcast. The cruise ship Wilderness Legacy responded and towed the skiff to Farragut Bay.
According to Michael Love, a passenger on the Wilderness Legacy, the cruise ship's captain announced that Zuckerberg's yacht, which was closer to the skiff, had repeatedly failed to respond to calls for assistance. Love reported that this announcement was met with "near-unanimous booing" from passengers.
However, Brian Baker, a spokesperson for Zuckerberg, told Forbes that The Launchpad was operating on a different radio channel at the time the assistance request was made. Baker added that by the time the yacht's crew reviewed the broadcast, another vessel had already begun responding. Zuckerberg was not aboard the yacht during the incident, according to his spokesperson.
Zuckerberg purchased the $300 million yacht, named The Launchpad, in 2024. The 387-foot vessel has faced criticism regarding its environmental impact, with reports indicating it burns hundreds of gallons of fuel per hour. In a nine-month period between 2024 and 2025, the yacht reportedly consumed over 528,000 gallons of diesel fuel, resulting in more than 5,300 tons of carbon emissions.
The yacht has been accompanied by a 220-foot support ship, the Wingman, which carries smaller boats, a submarine, and a helicopter. Critics have accused Zuckerberg of hypocrisy for owning such a large, fuel-intensive vessel while advocating for climate change policies.
U.S. regulations require mariners to assist a vessel only when it is "in danger of being lost." Since the Coast Guard determined the skiff was not in a distress emergency, the situation appears to align with the legal requirements for assistance. Vessel-tracking data cited by the Alaska Beacon indicated the yacht maneuvered around the cruise ship before it towed the skiff.
Love noted that the defense did not dispute that the yacht was near the skiff, but rather claimed the call was not received, rather than intentionally ignored. He expressed a desire for an explanation regarding why the yacht stopped at that particular moment.