Mark Zuckerberg's superyacht Launchpad was the closest vessel to a small boat that had run out of fuel off Alaska early last week, but it was a cruise ship farther away, the Wilderness Legacy, that ultimately went to help and towed it to shore.
The incident happened near Farragut Bay in southeast Alaska, where the boat lost the ability to move under its own power. Automatic Identification System (AIS) data reviewed by Alaska Beacon and Halifax Shipping News, and reported by The Verge, shows the Launchpad was sailing in the area and was closer to the stranded boat than the Wilderness Legacy, the small cruise ship that carried out the rescue.
A superyacht worth at least $300 million
The Launchpad is a 118-meter yacht with a beam of 16.3 meters and a draft of 4.4 meters, built by the Dutch shipyard Feadship and delivered to the Meta founder in 2024. It is powered by four MTU 20V4000M93 diesel engines producing 3,900 kW each, carries tanks for 423,700 liters of fuel and 130,000 liters of fresh water, and has a range of 5,250 nautical miles at 14 knots. Its amenities include two certified helipads, a large pool with a movable floor, a spacious beach club and a private open-air deck with a jacuzzi.
What Zuckerberg paid for the Launchpad is generally put at around $300 million, though the figure has never been confirmed by him. Forbes has since estimated its value at $390 million. Zuckerberg uses the yacht for private trips and family vacations, and in June 2024 he was aboard with his wife, Priscilla Chan, and their three daughters off Mallorca, where they celebrated Father's Day and his own father's 70th birthday. The Launchpad usually travels alongside the Wingman, a roughly 67-meter support boat that is part of Zuckerberg's fleet.
Conflicting accounts of what happened
Michael Love, a passenger aboard the Wilderness Legacy, said on Bluesky that the captain told passengers Zuckerberg's yacht was closer but had repeatedly declined to respond. He said the announcement drew boos from people on board the cruise ship.
The navigation data provides some context but does not show what communications each boat actually received. The tracking shows the Launchpad near the entrance to the bay while the Wilderness Legacy continued on, passed it, and then changed course toward the stranded boat. The cruise ship eventually took it under tow and brought it to safety.
The US Coast Guard offered an account that softens the severity of the episode. Its public affairs specialist, Shannon Shepard, told Alaska Beacon that at around 9:56 p.m. the Coast Guard determined the occupants were not in danger and issued a request for maritime assistance so a nearby vessel could help them.
Zuckerberg's spokesperson responds
People close to Zuckerberg also deny that the Launchpad's crew deliberately ignored a distress call. Brian Baker, a spokesperson for Zuckerberg and Chan, told The Verge that neither the Meta founder nor his family were aboard when the incident took place.
Baker said that, as the Coast Guard noted, the boat was not in danger, and that by the time the crew checked the Coast Guard's notice, which had arrived over a different radio channel than the one they were using, the assistance operation was already underway. He said they were grateful everyone was safe.
That leaves two competing accounts. A Wilderness Legacy passenger maintains the Launchpad did not respond despite being closer, while Zuckerberg's spokesperson says the crew did not see the message until another boat was already handling the rescue. What the AIS data does show is that the superyacht was nearby, and that it was ultimately the Wilderness Legacy that changed course to help.
