A small cruise ship sailing through Southeast Alaska made an unexpected detour Monday night after a 21-foot skiff ran out of fuel between Petersburg and Juneau. But the rescue quickly attracted attention for another reason: Mark Zuckerberg’s $300 million yacht, the 387-foot Launchpad, was reportedly nearby when the call for assistance went out.
Passengers aboard the UnCruise Adventures vessel Wilderness Legacy watched as their ship changed course and eventually helped the stranded boat reach sheltered waters.
Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht was reportedly nearby
Michael Love, a software developer from New York City who was traveling aboard the Wilderness Legacy, described the incident on Bluesky. According to Love, the ship’s captain told passengers that Zuckerberg’s yacht was closer to the stranded skiff and had not responded to the radio call for assistance.
“There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this,” Love said in a Bluesky post. The incident quickly generated discussion online, with some social media users questioning why the much larger yacht had not responded while the smaller cruise ship went to assist.
However, information from the US Coast Guard and the Marine Exchange of Alaska provides additional context to what happened that night.
The cruise ship changed course to help the stranded skiff
Vessel tracking data showed the Launchpad slowing near Farragut Bay while the Wilderness Legacy continued through the area. The cruise ship then stopped near the apparent location of the 21-foot skiff and eventually towed it into sheltered waters in Farragut Bay.
UnCruise spokeswoman Sarah Scoltock later said the Wilderness Legacy was able to refuel the skiff after towing it to safety. “The next day the (Wilderness Legacy’s) captain, Sean Manske, contacted them and received word they made it safely to Petersburg,” she said by email.
For Love, the episode was less about the yacht itself and more about seeing the cruise ship respond to a situation unfolding nearby.
“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.
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Coast Guard says the boat was not in distress
According to US Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist Shannon Shepard, the Coast Guard received the call for help shortly after 9:30 p.m. Monday.
“At approximately 9:56 p.m., the Coast Guard determined they were not in distress and issued a marine assistance request broadcast on their behalf,” she said.
That distinction is important because the stranded skiff had run out of fuel, but authorities did not classify the situation as a distress emergency.
John Hollingsworth, chief operations officer of the Marine Exchange of Alaska, said the organization helped the Coast Guard broadcast the request and eventually contacted the Wilderness Legacy.
“We did assist the Coast Guard with callouts on our radio and (were) able to hail the Wilderness Legacy who ended up rendering assistance,” he said.
Why the yacht did not immediately respond
Hollingsworth also cautioned against drawing conclusions based solely on vessel-tracking information. “From my experience, I know that situations like this contain myriad details for the vessels involved, so that the AIS (tracking) snippet you obtained only reveals one of those details,” he said.
He added that the Wilderness Legacy is very familiar with Alaska waters, which may have helped explain why its crew was able to respond quickly.
The circumstances surrounding the Launchpad became clearer after the article was initially published.
A spokesperson for Zuckerberg said the Meta founder and his family were not aboard the yacht when the incident happened.
“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 Launchpad, a 387-foot superyacht reportedly worth around $300 million, has spent much of the summer cruising around Southeast Alaska.
The yacht has attracted considerable attention because of its size and its association with Zuckerberg, but there was no information available about who was aboard the vessel Monday evening.
