Mark Zuckerberg faces questions after yacht failed to respond to Alaska maritime aid call

Spokesperson for Meta CEO says yacht didn’t initially hear the call for assistance

Mark Zuckerberg is facing questions after the crew of a yacht owned by the Meta CEO reportedly did not respond to a call for assistance from another vessel last week off the coast of Alaska.

The Alaska Beacon reported that a small skiff that ran out of fuel had issued a radio call for assistance on Aug. 3 through the U.S. Coast Guard and that a nearby small cruise ship, the Wilderness Legacy, towed it into nearby Farragut Bay in southeast Alaska.

Maritime law requires every ship to respond to a distress call or request for assistance, unless doing so would put that ship at risk.

“Human beings are required to save the lives of other human beings if they can do so at sea,” said maritime law expert Ian Ralby.

“The whole point of this is that maritime issues are dangerous, being out at sea is dangerous, and we want to try to protect the lives of anybody who takes that risk no matter what they’re doing.”

Although it was closer, Zuckerberg’s yacht, called Launchpad, had not responded to the call.

A spokesperson for Zuckerberg told the Alaska Beacon that the crew did not hear the call for help from the skiff, and by the time they did, another nearby ship had already rendered assistance.

“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 in an email, the Alaska Beacon reported on Sunday.

Zuckerberg and his family were not on board the yacht at the time of the incident, the spokesperson said.

Related stories from around the poles:

Canada: Canada invests $1.3M into Arctic search and rescue project, Eye on the Arctic

Russia: Russia withdraws from Euro-Arctic rescue cooperation, The Independent Barents Observer