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The megayacht Al Salamah was commissioned in 1998 by Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and featured 22 luxury suites, five kitchens, a helipad, cinema, spa, and three hospitals spread across different decks; the medical space reserved for the prince included an underwater treadmill designed for physiotherapy, according to information gathered about the vessel.
The megayacht Al Salamah was created to meet demands that surpassed any common standard of luxury at sea. With a length of 139 meters and a cost exceeding US$ 280 million at the time of its construction, the vessel of Saudi Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud housed an unusual structure: three independent hospitals on board.
The most surprising detail was not just the existence of medical care within a private yacht, but its hierarchical division. There was a unit intended for the prince, another for guests and Saudi authorities, and a third for the crew, while the space reserved for the owner included an underwater treadmill developed for physiotherapy.
Megayacht was born as an out-of-scale luxury project
The Al Salamah emerged in 1998 under the project name MiPos, an abbreviation for “Mission Possible.” The proposal was to build a vessel capable of functioning not only as a means of maritime transport but as a floating extension of the institutional and private life of a central member of the Saudi royalty.
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The result was a megayacht of 139 meters, with dimensions comparable to a large vertical construction and more than 12,000 square meters of internal area. The estimated value of the vessel exceeded US$ 280 million at the time, while the annual maintenance cost was estimated to be between US$ 15 million and US$ 28 million.
The project’s scale indicated that the goal was not just to navigate comfortably, but to reproduce at sea a structure of residence, work, ceremony, and exclusive service. The yacht needed to accommodate the prince, his close circle, invited authorities, and dozens of professionals responsible for keeping the operation active.
For this reason, the Al Salamah came to be described more as a floating royal palace than as a leisure vessel. Its internal organization reflected the same separation between functions, access, and levels of proximity expected in environments linked to royal protocol.
Three hospitals transformed luxury into exclusive medical structure
Superyachts often have infirmaries or basic equipment to respond to emergencies during trips. On the Al Salamah, however, the chosen solution went much further: the vessel had three separate hospitals, installed in different internal areas.
One of the hospitals served exclusively the prince. Another was planned for VIP guests and high-ranking Saudi officials. The third was intended for the crew members responsible for operating and maintaining the megayacht.
The medical division reproduced the very social hierarchy of the vessel. Even in a health situation, royalty, prestigious visitors, and workers would not necessarily share the same care spaces.
The hospital reserved for the prince was also the best equipped. Among its resources was an underwater treadmill intended for physiotherapy, a structure that would allow exercises with reduced impact on joints and body movements.
Underwater physiotherapy was the most unexpected detail
The presence of an underwater treadmill inside a private hospital at sea made the Al Salamah unique even among billionaire vessels. The feature was not described as a merely decorative item, but as equipment aimed at physical rehabilitation.
In specialized medical centers, exercises in water can allow movements with less body load. In the case of the megayacht, the installation showed that the concern for individualized care had been incorporated into the project since the distribution of internal spaces.
The prince would not only have access to emergency care during travels but to a structure prepared for monitoring and physiotherapy without leaving the vessel. This characteristic set the Al Salamah apart from yachts that focus their attractions on leisure, gastronomy, or entertainment.
The private hospital was part of a series of resources aimed at life on board. The project combined rest, work, reception, and personal care environments into a single maritime complex, designed to minimize the need to interrupt the royal routine.
Royalty, guests, and crew occupied separate areas
The division of the hospitals followed the logic of the rest of the Al Salamah. The internal spaces were organized in layers, with areas designated for royalty, guests, and workers who made the operation happen.
The prince and the closest members of royalty occupied the seventh deck, where his suite, office, secretary, and environments for trusted personnel were located. Below, on the sixth deck, were VIP guests and high-ranking Saudis.
The crew, which could reach 96 people, worked and stayed on the lower decks. The design of the megayacht not only accommodated different people but maintained separation between them as part of the experience and protocol on board.
This organization extended to essential services. In addition to the three hospitals, the Al Salamah had five kitchens, allowing different groups to be served according to their needs and positions within the vessel.
22 suites and five kitchens formed a palace at sea
The size of the Al Salamah allowed for the installation of a lodging structure comparable to luxury establishments on land. The megayacht had 22 suites, with teak wood finishes and decor designed to meet the standards of opulence associated with the Saudi royal family.
The indoor environments also included areas designated for meetings, rest, and reception. The goal was to allow the vessel to host high-level guests without compromising the prince’s privacy and the spaces reserved for the operational team.
The five kitchens demonstrate how life on board was treated as a complete system, not just as a maritime journey. Food preparation, hospitality, service, and protocol needed to function simultaneously for different groups.
By concentrating so many environments in a single vessel, the project transformed the yacht into a place capable of sustaining prolonged stays, private events, and movements with a high degree of autonomy.
Cinema, spa, and helipad completed the luxury structure
Besides the medical area, the Al Salamah gathered equipment related to entertainment and comfort. The list included a private cinema, library, meeting room, beauty salon, spa, and gym.
The vessel also featured four auxiliary boats, a rescue boat, and a helipad. These resources expanded passenger mobility and allowed movements between the ship, the coast, and other points without relying solely on conventional docking.
Another detail was the existence of a dressing room for artists performing exclusively for the Saudi royal family. The megayacht was designed for leisure, ceremony, work, health, and entertainment to occur within the same controlled environment.
This set explains why the presence of the three hospitals is so surprising. In a vessel already marked by extreme luxury, the investment in separate medical areas revealed a specific concern with care, hierarchy, and privacy.
Saudi prince also maintained a connection with health projects
Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had a career linked to the high echelons of Saudi Arabia. For years, he held prominent positions in the government, including the defense and aviation sectors, and was named crown prince in 2005.
The attention given to the medical structure of the Al Salamah is also related to the public image associated with the prince. He was known for funding care and rehabilitation projects through the Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Foundation.
Among the cited initiatives is the Sultan bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City, inaugurated in Riyadh in 2002, with an investment of US$ 320 million. The complex was presented as a comprehensive rehabilitation structure, with medical centers and hundreds of beds.
In this context, the presence of hospitals on the megayacht ceases to seem merely extravagant and reflects a personal and institutional priority linked to medical care. Even so, the separation between the prince, guests, and crew reinforced the rigid nature of the hierarchy existing on board.
Annual cost kept operation reserved for a few
Building a vessel like the Al Salamah was just part of the investment. A megayacht of this size requires a large crew, technical maintenance, fuel, security, permanent services, preservation of internal environments, and operation of special equipment.
The cited estimates indicate an annual cost between US$ 15 million and US$ 28 million to maintain the yacht. The amount shows that the vessel was not just a high-luxury purchase but a continuous operation accessible to an extremely restricted group.
Hospitals, kitchens, suites, helipad, and entertainment spaces required a permanent professional structure. Up to 96 crew members might be necessary to sustain the ship’s routine, keeping services and systems available for the prince and his guests.
This cost helps to size the Al Salamah: it was not a property used occasionally without significant expenses, but a mobile structure that demanded high resources even outside of notable trips.
Al Salamah remained linked to the Saudi kingdom
Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud died in 2011, at the age of 86. Even after his death, the Al Salamah and its unique medical structure remained associated with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to the information gathered about the vessel.
The yacht became remembered not only for its size or value but for a characteristic difficult to match: three hospitals distributed according to the position of each group within life on board.
Amidst superyachts marked by pools, helicopters, luxurious salons, and leisure areas, the Al Salamah stood out for carrying a separate and highly specialized medical care structure to the sea.
This combination transformed the vessel into a record of an era and a logic of power: a ship created to ensure transportation, comfort, privacy, medical treatment, and royal protocol without relying on common life on land.
Megayacht revealed luxury organized by hierarchy
The megayacht Al Salamah showed that the luxury of a royal vessel can go far beyond sophisticated rooms and leisure areas. Its 139 meters, cost exceeding US$ 280 million, 22 suites, five kitchens, and three hospitals made the ship a kind of floating medical and residential palace.
The prince’s private hospital, equipped with underwater physiotherapy, was the most unusual symbol of an entire vessel planned to separate royalty, guests, and crew. More than displaying wealth, the yacht reproduced at sea a complete structure of power, service, and exclusivity.
The existence of three medical units within a single ship shows how far private projects can advance when cost and scale are no longer relevant limits.
And you, do you find the value of this megayacht more surprising or the fact that it was designed with three separate hospitals to serve people according to their position on board? Share your opinion.
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