Mark Zuckerberg's $300 million superyacht, Launchpad, has pulled into port for repairs after a monthslong voyage that drew attention for its massive environmental footprint, according to Luxurylaunches.
The 387-foot vessel recently docked at the La Ciotat shipyard in southern France, a facility known for servicing some of the world's most expensive yachts. It follows a globe-spanning year at sea that took Zuckerberg, his wife Priscilla Chan, and their family to destinations from Norway's fjords to the Greek islands, the outlet reported.
Launchpad is among the largest private yachts in the world, per Luxurylaunches. The Espen Øino-designed vessel can host 26 guests and 42 crew across four decks. It travels with a $30 million support ship called Wingman. Together, the pair have logged more than 9,600 nautical miles in recent months.
The trips came with staggering pollution. According to the Yacht CO₂ Tracker Collective, Launchpad released more than 5,300 tons of carbon dioxide since October 2024, fueled by over 2 million liters of diesel, Luxurylaunches reported. In one four-day stretch between Positano and Naples alone, the vessel produced 6.2 tons of pollution.
Online observers have highlighted the contrast between the environmental costs of luxury superyachts and the global calls to reduce pollution.
When Zuckerberg pulled into Longyearbyen — a remote town in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard — earlier this year, critics highlighted the contrast between the environmental costs of luxury superyachts and global calls to reduce pollution.
"If he thinks he can come to one of the most threatened and fragile places in the world with two yachts (while one of them emits 40 tons of CO₂ per hour), without being criticised, he's thinking wrong," read an Instagram post from local activist group Arctic Climate Action Svalbard (@arcticclimateaction), as reported by NRK.
Zuckerberg's yachts have become symbols of a widening climate gap: the ultra-rich using high-emission transport in places already bearing the brunt of rising global temperatures.
The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the global average, according to one study. Meanwhile, superyachts such as Launchpad can burn thousands of gallons of fuel per day, releasing as much pollution in a few hours as the average person does in a year.
Voz Media reported that each hour of cruising burns about 1,165 gallons of fuel and releases 40 tons of CO₂ — roughly equal to the amount of CO₂ released by 630 family cars in the same period, or the same as driving a gasoline car nearly 100,000 miles.
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