After spending a couple of months on the French Riviera for maintenance and upgrades, Mark Zuckerberg’s 387-foot (119-meter) Feadship superyacht Launchpad has left Europe and is now making its way across the Atlantic. The $300 million vessel spent late summer and early autumn at La Ciotat, one of the Mediterranean’s most exclusive shipyards for superyacht servicing, before stopping in Gibraltar to refuel ahead of what appears to be a repositioning voyage toward the United States or the Caribbean for the winter season.
Local French press photographed Launchpad anchored off La Ciotat on Monday, 4 August 2025, before it moved into the high-security MB92/La Ciotat Shipyards complex for service. AIS and port call data indicate that the vessel stayed there for roughly two and a half months. It departed La Ciotat on 24 October 2025 at about 13:48 UTC, reached Gibraltar on 26 October around midday, and was still there on 28 October.
Data from vessel trackers show the yacht then underway at more than 22 knots on a 219-degree southwest course, marked as “partially loaded” and transmitting “destination: Gibraltar.” The last position ping, timestamped 29 October, placed it west of the Strait of Gibraltar, off the West African coast. This southwesterly route at the end of October typically means an Atlantic crossing, often via the Canary Islands, as large yachts migrate toward warmer waters for winter. Captains often keep their next destination vague on AIS for privacy, and Launchpad is known to occasionally run with limited or masked tracking data.
La Ciotat Shipyards, operated by MB92 La Ciotat, is often described as the Formula 1 pit lane of superyachting. It specializes in refitting vessels between 80 and 120 meters and houses one of Europe’s most advanced lift and repair infrastructures. The yard’s 4,300-ton shiplift platform, known as Atlas, can haul a yacht of Launchpad’s size completely out of the water in under three hours.
Facilities include a 200-meter dry dock, 1,600 meters of berthing space, and heavy electrical capacity for shore power and testing, all within an enclosed, access-controlled site equipped for waste treatment and environmental management. MB92 invested more than €47 million (about $55 million) in the shiplift alone to handle the new generation of billionaire-owned flagships.
Regional media described Launchpad’s stay as a “technical service and maintenance period,” a standard procedure after a yacht’s first full cruising season. Zuckerberg took delivery of the 5,000-gross-ton Feadship vessel only recently, and like most new builds of this scale, it requires a detailed shakedown and customization phase. Typical work during such a stay includes overhauling generators and main propulsion systems after thousands of miles of continuous running, fine-tuning vibration isolation, and balancing HVAC systems for comfort across multiple decks.
Crews also inspect and clean the underwater hull, stabilize fins, and refresh the yacht’s gleaming paint and teak decks. Other possible upgrades involve updating the IT and communications network, improving crew access systems, and performing helideck safety and fire checks. For a yacht of this complexity, a two to three-month yard period can easily cost in the low to mid-single-digit millions of euros, even when the focus is primarily on warranty adjustments and personalization.
After leaving La Ciotat, Launchpad’s next destination was Gibraltar, one of the busiest bunkering hubs at the intersection of the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The port’s facilities are open around the clock, catering to everything from commercial vessels to the world’s largest private yachts. Gibraltar is a favored stop for refueling because of its tax advantages and the reliability of marine gas oil supply. Port agents such as Evolution Yacht Agents and GibYachts coordinate fuel delivery, customs formalities, crew logistics, and spare parts so that yachts can take on supplies and depart with minimal delay.
Fueling a vessel of this scale is a major operation. Launchpad’s tanks hold approximately 423,700 liters, and in late October 2025, marine gas oil in Gibraltar was priced in the high six hundreds of US dollars per metric ton for low-sulfur product. A near-full refill could cost around $250,000, excluding provisions, helicopter support, or technical fly-ins.
By 28 October, Launchpad had departed Gibraltar, accelerating southwest at more than 22 knots. This timing, right after a major refit, suggests the yacht is now repositioning for the winter cruising circuit across the Atlantic. Like most flagship yachts of its class, it is likely bound for the Caribbean or Florida, ready for another season of long-distance voyages after months in the Mediterranean shipyard spotlight.
