A spokesman for Mark Zuckerberg has responded to accusations that the crew of the Meta CEO's superyacht, the "Launchpad," ignored a stranded boat off the coast of Alaska on August 3. The 387-foot vessel was reportedly the closest to a 21-foot skiff that had run out of fuel.
A tourist on a separate tour boat claimed that the Coast Guard had radioed Zuckerberg's yacht, but the crew repeatedly refused to respond, leading to audible booing from the tourist boat's passengers. The tourist posted about the incident on social media.
Zuckerberg's spokesman, Brian Baker, stated that the yacht's crew did not hear the call for assistance because they were monitoring a different radio channel than the one used by the Coast Guard. "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," Baker said. He added, "We’re grateful all parties are safe." Zuckerberg and his family were not aboard the yacht at the time.
Maritime law expert Ian Ralby explained that while vessels are obligated to respond to distress calls, a request for help due to running out of fuel is not legally classified as a distress situation, unlike a 911 call. "It’s the difference between calling AAA and 911," Ralby said. He also noted that it is unusual for a vessel to not monitor the standard emergency radio channel, Channel 16.
Retired Coast Guard Captain Aaron C. Davenport, who served for three decades, agreed that running out of gas does not constitute an emergency and the "Launchpad" was under no legal obligation to assist. However, he acknowledged the common courtesy among mariners to help one another, especially in remote areas like Alaska where a non-emergency situation can quickly become critical.