Zuckerberg’s yacht crew did not hear call for help, says spokesperson

A yacht owned by Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg did not respond to a United States Coast Guard call for assistance when a boat nearby ran out of fuel because his crew did not hear the request in time, his spokesperson has said.

The incident off the coast of Alaska provoked criticism online, but Zuckerberg’s spokesperson said on Sunday that he was not on board at the time.

Under maritime law, crews are generally obligated to respond to a distress call unless doing so would put their own vessel at risk.

According to the news organisation Alaska Beacon, the skiff put out a call for help via the Coast Guard and a small cruise ship nearby responded. The Wilderness Legacy towed the skiff into Farragut Bay for refuelling.

Zuckerberg’s yacht, Launchpad, was reportedly closer but did not answer the call.

The incident drew attention after Michael Love, a passenger aboard the Wilderness Legacy, described it in a Bluesky post last week. Love said he was on an Alaska cruise with his son when the crew rescued a stranded boat.

He said passengers then erupted in “near-unanimous booing” when the ship’s captain announced what had happened.

“Frankly, if I was Mark Zuckerberg I would be absolutely ecstatic at a chance to do something helpful for someone in need and maybe get some good PR out of it,” Love said.

The spokesperson for Facebook’s owner noted that the Coast Guard had determined the skiff was not in distress.

By the time the crew reviewed the Coast Guard’s contact, which had gone out on a different radio channel than the one they were monitoring, the Wilderness Legacy’s assistance was already under way, the spokesperson said, adding that all parties involved were safe.