The crew of a yacht owned by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not hear a radio call for assistance from a small skiff that ran out of fuel off the coast of Alaska. By the time the yacht crew became aware of the call, another nearby vessel had already provided help, a spokesperson for Zuckerberg said.

The incident occurred near Farragut Bay in southeast Alaska. According to the Alaska Beacon, the stranded skiff issued a call for help through the US Coast Guard last week. A small cruise ship, the Wilderness Legacy, responded by towing the skiff into Farragut Bay and refueling it.

Although Zuckerberg’s yacht, named Launchpad, was closer to the stranded boat, it did not respond to the call. The spokesperson told the Alaska Beacon via email that the yacht’s crew initially did not hear the distress call. Mark Zuckerberg and his family were not aboard at the time.

The US Coast Guard confirmed that the skiff was not in distress and noted that by the time the yacht crew reviewed the Coast Guard contact on a different radio channel, the assistance was already underway.

A passenger on the Wilderness Legacy had posted on social media claiming that authorities had radioed Zuckerberg’s yacht, which “repeatedly refused to respond,” though Meta’s spokesperson disputes this, citing the missed radio call.

Sources