Zuckerberg's Yacht Allegedly 'Refused' Coast Guard Calls To Help Stranded Boat Despite Being 'Closer'

Mark Zuckerberg's yacht allegedly failed to respond to repeated US Coast Guard radio calls regarding a stranded vessel in Alaska, despite reportedly being closer to the boat, according to an account from a passenger aboard another cruise ship that ultimately assisted the family.

The incident took place near Farragut Bay in south-east Alaska, where the UnCruise Adventures vessel Wilderness Legacy reportedly assisted a boat carrying two women, a child and a dog. The account came from Michael Love, a New York software developer travelling on a small-ship Alaska cruise with his son, who said his vessel eventually stepped in to help.

Zuckerberg's Yacht Was Reportedly Closer to the Stranded Boat

Love described the incident in a post on social media, saying his cruise ship rescued the stranded vessel after the Coast Guard had apparently attempted to contact Zuckerberg's yacht. '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,' Love wrote.

He added that there was 'near-unanimous booing' among passengers when the ship's captain announced what had happened.

The account was later examined by the Alaska Beacon, which reported that vessel-tracking services appeared to support Love's description of the yacht's movements. According to the report, later cited by Raw Story, Zuckerberg's yacht was seen slowing to a halt outside Farragut Bay, a roughly five-mile-wide bay in southern Alaska.

That tracking information does not, however, establish why the yacht stopped, whether its crew received every Coast Guard transmission, or why it allegedly failed to respond. Love said the stranded vessel had been 'going too far with too little gas'. In a follow-up post, he said his cruise ship provided fuel and helped the people aboard find an anchorage for the night.

The Yacht Involved is Launchpad Love told the Alaska Beacon that he found the reported failure to respond difficult to understand, particularly given the yacht's apparent proximity to the stranded vessel.

'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,' he said.

Zuckerberg's yacht is called Launchpad, built by Feadship, a 118-metre (387-foot) superyacht, in 2024. Feadship's own fleet page confirms the vessel's hull number as 1010, its 118-metre length and 2024 completion date. The reported purchase price is about US$300 million (£225 million), although that figure is an estimate rather than a publicly disclosed purchase price. YachtWorld and other yacht publications put the value at around that level.

It is 118 metres or 387 feet long, was built by Feadship in the Netherlands in 2024, and has exterior design by Espen Øino and interior design by Zuretti. The yacht has a gross tonnage of about 5,528 GT, a steel hull, an aluminium superstructure, a reported top speed of around 24 knots, capacity for roughly two dozen guests, and a crew of roughly 50. It flies the Marshall Islands flag.

It is not just a large yacht. It is essentially a floating private resort.

Feadship lists a private owner's deck with a Jacuzzi, two certified helipads, a swimming pool with a movable floor, a beach club and an enclosed observation lounge on the top deck.

The yacht was built under the project name 1010 and had previously been associated with Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin. After the vessel changed hands, it was renamed Launchpad. Yacht publications reported that Zuckerberg acquired it in 2024.

There are also reports that Launchpad can disable or limit its AIS tracking, meaning its position is not necessarily continuously visible to the public. A local Seattle publication specifically noted that the yacht is known to operate with limited or disabled AIS tracking

Zuckerberg's operation includes a support vessel called Wingman. It is substantially smaller than Launchpad but is still enormous at around 80 metres or 262 feet, according to reporting from GeekWire.

Wingman is effectively a floating support platform. It can carry smaller boats, watercraft, equipment and a helicopter, with an onboard crane used to move equipment between the vessel and the water.

Is Zuckerberg Aboard?

The Beacon said Launchpad had been a regular presence in south-east Alaska waters during the summer. It's also worth noting that there is currently no evidence in the reporting I've found that Zuckerberg himself was aboard Launchpad during the incident, nor that he personally heard or rejected a Coast Guard request.

The allegation is specifically about the yacht and its crew.