A superyacht owned by Mark Zuckerberg has become the target of heavy criticism after it allegedly refused to help a motorboat that ran out of fuel off the coast of Alaska. The incident, reported by The Guardian, took place last week in the southeastern part of the state, near the capital Juneau.
The stranded motorboat had run out of fuel and began drifting. The Coast Guard was informed at approximately 9:30 p.m. and, after determining that those on board were not in danger, issued a request for assistance on their behalf. The call was answered by a cruise ship operated by UnCruise Adventures – the „Dziedzictwo dzikiej przyrody” – which towed the motorboat to Farragut Bay.
Passengers booed when the ship was identified
A passenger on the cruise ship later described the rescue on Bluesky.
– „At night our ship rescued a drifting boat. We did it after the Coast Guard contacted us. Apparently Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht, which was closer, repeatedly refused to react” – wrote the passenger.
According to the same passenger, when the name of the ship that had ignored the earlier request was announced, almost everyone on board booed.
A Reddit user from Juneau also commented.
– „I live in Juneau and have to look at this awful sight moored in Auke Bay. F*** Zuckerberg” – wrote one Reddit user.
Another user wrote on X.
– „Bravo, Zuck, true 'man of the people’. Maybe it’s true that rich people couldn’t care less about the rest of us” – wrote another commenter.
The story quickly spread online and drew a wave of criticism directed at Zuckerberg.
Spokesman denies crew ignored the call
Zuckerberg’s spokesman Brian Baker responded to the criticism in a conversation with Forbes. He denied that the crew of the yacht „Silicon Valley” – reportedly worth around $300 million – deliberately ignored the motorboat’s request for assistance.
Baker said the crew had been monitoring a different radio channel and only checked the frequency used by the motorboat once the rescue operation was already underway. He also stressed that Zuckerberg was not on board the yacht at the time of the incident.
– „We are glad everyone is safe” – stressed Baker.
Źródło: polsatnews.pl, Fot. polsatnews.pl
