Meta says crew on Zuckerberg's yacht didn't hear Alaska skiff's distress call

A spokesperson for Mark Zuckerberg says the crew of his superyachtLaunchpad never heard a radio distress call from a skiff that ran out of fuel off the coast of Alaska, and by the time they did, another vessel had already stepped in.

According to the Alaska Beacon, the small boat issued a call for assistance through the U.S. Coast Guard last week. A nearby small cruise ship, Wilderness Legacy, towed the skiff into Farragut Bay in southeast Alaska and refueled it. One passenger from the cruise ship later described the scene on social media, saying authorities had radioed Zuckerberg's yacht and that the crew "repeatedly refused to respond."

The episode drew rapid attention largely because Launchpad, one of the largest yachts in the region at the time, was reportedly closer to the stranded skiff than the cruise ship that carried out the rescue. That initial gap in reporting fueled speculation that the superyacht had declined to help.

But a Meta spokesperson told the Alaska Beacon in an email Sunday that the yacht's crew initially did not hear the call. "Mark and his family were not on board at the time of the incident. 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," the spokesperson said.

Maritime safety experts point out that responding to distress calls is considered a fundamental obligation among mariners, though not always mandatory under law. In this case, no formal distress alert appears to have been broadcast on the main VHF emergency channel, which may explain why Launchpad's crew missed it while monitoring another channel. The skiff was apparently in no immediate danger, and the Wilderness Legacy reached it before the situation escalated.

The episode is likely to persist as an online flashpoint, but the Coast Guard has not faulted Launchpad or its crew. Zuckerberg and his family were not aboard at the time, and Meta says all those involved are safe.