Mark Zuckerberg’s spokesperson responds after $300m yacht accused of declining rescue call

Mark Zuckerberg’s spokesperson has responded to controversy surrounding his reportedly $300 million superyacht.

It stems from the reports mentioning that Meta CEO’s yacht, Launchpad, declined to assist the small boat stranded in south-east Alaska that ran out of the fuel.

According to Alaska Beacon, when the small stranded boat made the distress maritime call the 387ft yacht was closer to the boat. Instead of Zuckerberg’s yacht, a cruise ship, the Wilderness Legacy, came to its rescue and refueled it.

Michael Love, a passenger, wrote on Bluesky, “I am on a small-ship Alaska cruise with my son. Our boat rescued a stranded vessel last night and apparently we did that after the Coast Guard radioed Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht, which was closer, and they repeatedly refused to respond.”

As reported by Associated Press, the Meta’s spokesperson defended the response, stating the crew of the yacht did not hear a radio call for maritime assistance from the small boat.

When the issue came to the knowledge of the yacht crew, the other ship had already assisted the skiff, the spokesperson said.

“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 email to the Alaska Beacon read.