Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is facing questions after his $300 million superyacht didn’t rush to help passengers stuck on a ship in Alaskan waters, according to a report.
The 387-foot monster ship, Launchpad, didn’t act on requests for assistance when a 21-foot skiff ran out of fuel on a trip between Petersburg and Juneau, Alaska, on Monday night, the Alaska Beacon reported.
Instead, a small cruise ship, Wilderness Legacy, came to the vessel’s help.
As the rescue was underway, the cruise’s captain made the announcement that Zuckerberg’s superyacht had been closer to the stranded vessel than his own ship — but had “refused” to lend a helping hand, according to a passenger.
“There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this,” according to a Bluesky post by vacationer Michael Love.
The tiny skiff had sent out a call for assistance around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard determined that the vessel wasn’t in distress but issued a marine assistance request broadcast about 30 minutes later.
Vessel-tracking services show that the Wilderness Legacy, operated by UnCruise Adventures, was farther away from the stranded vessel than Zuckerberg’s superyacht at the time, according to the Beacon.
It also shows the cruise ship sailing past Launchpad on its way to help the stranded ship — as the social media tycoon’s mega-yacht stays floating in the middle of the water, the outlet reported.
The stranded skiff was towed back to safety in protected Farragut Bay by the Wilderness Legacy.
Zuckerberg’s spokesperson insisted in a statement that the tech billionaire and his family were not aboard the ship — and that his yacht crew had been operating on a different radio channel.
“Mark and his family were not on board at the time of the incident,” the statement provided to the Beacon said.
“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.”
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