Mark Zuckerberg’s $300M Yacht Reportedly Ignored Stranded Boat’s Distress Call
- Edited by: Sagar Kar
- Updated Aug 10, 2026, 03:02 IST
Mark Zuckerberg is facing criticism after his $300 million superyacht reportedly ignored repeated distress calls from a stranded boat in Alaska, forcing a farther away cruise ship to carry out the rescue instead.
Mark Zuckerberg.
Mark Zuckerberg is facing scrutiny after reports emerged that his massive 387 foot superyacht failed to assist a stranded boat off the coast of Alaska, even though it was reportedly closer to the scene than the vessel that eventually came to the rescue, according to The Guardian.
The yacht, said to be worth around $300 million, reportedly turned down repeated requests to help when a nearby boat put out a call for assistance last week. A representative for Zuckerberg told Forbes that the Meta CEO was not aboard the yacht at the time of the incident.
What Happened on the Water
The trouble began when a 21 foot skiff ran out of fuel while traveling between the towns of Petersburg and Juneau in southeast Alaska. Rather than Zuckerberg’s yacht responding, it was crew members from a cruise ship, one that was actually positioned farther away, who ultimately went to help, according to the Alaska Beacon.
A passenger aboard the UnCruise Adventures vessel Wilderness Legacy shared details of the rescue in a post on Bluesky, saying they were on a small ship Alaska cruise with their son when their boat rescued the stranded vessel. The passenger wrote that the rescue happened only after the Coast Guard had first radioed Zuckerberg’s yacht, which was closer, but that the yacht’s crew reportedly refused to respond despite repeated attempts to reach them. The passenger added that when the ship’s captain announced this to those on board, it was met with near unanimous booing.
Zuckerberg’s Team Responds
Brian Baker, a spokesperson representing both Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, pushed back on parts of the account in comments to Forbes. Baker confirmed that neither Zuckerberg nor Chan were on the yacht, which is named Launchpad, at the time of the incident.
According to Baker, the yacht’s crew had simply been monitoring a different radio channel when the distress call went out. He said that by the time the crew became aware of the broadcast and reviewed it, the rescue effort was already underway through other means.
A Story That Adds to Existing Criticism
Regardless of whether Zuckerberg was personally on board, the incident is unlikely to help his public image. The Meta CEO has already been under fire on multiple fronts, including concerns over the broader societal impact of his social media platforms, his increasingly friendly relationship with Donald Trump, and criticism over what has been described as his lavish lifestyle.
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Sagar is a journalist with an interest primarily in geopolitics and American domestic politics. Before joining Times Now, he wrote for Republic and Sw… View More
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/world
