Mark Zuckerberg’s enormous, luxury diesel-powered yacht

Mark Zuckerberg’s enormous, luxury diesel-powered yacht raises questions about the tech billionaire’s commitment to climate responsibility. Zuckerberg’s yacht burns through enough fuel in one hour of optimal cruising to heat nearly 423 homes for an entire day.
Zuckerberg’s megayacht, Launchpad, is a pinnacle of modern engineering. This technological marvel is powered by four MTU Diesel Engines 20V 4000 M93L. These engines are designed to deliver a remarkable power output of 4,300 kW, allowing the yacht to maintain a cruising speed of 16 knots with a maximum speed of 24 knots. At a moderate 14 knots, it has a range of 6,000 nautical miles, fueled by 423,000-liter fuel tanks. In fact, the Launchpad is the largest-volume Dutch-built superyacht to date. However, as it could be reasonably expected, this power and performance comes at a significant environmental cost.

Each engine consumes about 291 gallons of diesel per hour under optimal conditions. With all four engines operating, fuel consumption skyrockets to 1,165 gallons per hour. In adverse weather, this can escalate to about 1,353 gallons per hour. To put this in perspective, consider the average single-family home in the United States, which consumes about 2.75 gallons of heating oil per day. Zuckerberg’s yacht burns through enough fuel in one hour of optimal cruising to heat nearly 423 homes for an entire day.