Saudi Arabia's ambitious new crown prince is reportedly hiding out on his superyacht, 'fearing for his security'

REUTERS/Amir Levy

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud at UN headquarters in New York City, March 27, 2018.

• Mohammed bin Salman, the 32-year-old crown prince of Saudi Arabia, has been touted as a reformer and embraced by the US.
• But Salman's policies at home and abroad have reportedly angered people inside the kingdom.
• Amid what is reported to be growing ire with the crown prince, he is said to be spending more time on his superyacht for security.

Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammed bin Salman's elevation to crown prince in 2017 set the stage for him to pursue aggressive policies that included confrontations with many rivals around the region.

But changes to the royal line of succession and decisions by the 32-year-old crown prince at home and abroad have undermined the kingdom's longstanding stability and left Salman in doubt about his own safety, according to Bruce Riedel, director of the Brookings Institution's Intelligence Project.

Salman is reportedly aware of the growing enmity.

"Fearing for his security, the crown prince is said to spend many nights on his half-billion-dollar yacht moored in Jeddah," Riedel wrote for Al-Monitor, where he is a columnist.

Phil Walter/Getty Images

The superyacht Serene moored in Auckland, New Zealand, on January 21, 2015.

Salman reportedly dropped a half-billion dollars on the 440-foot-long yacht, named Serene, in late 2016, after spotting it while vacationing in the south of France.

He bought it from a Russian billionaire who moved out the day the deal was signed, and the vessel includes two helipads, an indoor climbing wall, a fully equipped spa, and three swimming pools.

But Salman bought it as he helped push severe austerity at home, including major spending cuts and a freeze on government contracts. Such spending is often used to quell dissent.

"It's a floating palace longer than a football field and with many perks," Riedel wrote of the yacht. "It is also a potential escape hatch."

'A foolish and dangerous approach'

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Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House.

The main foreign-policy issues that have raised ire toward Salman are the now four-year-old war in Yemen - Salman's signature initiative - and the blockade of Qatar.

Criticism of Salman's bloody and disastrous war in Yemen, which has subjected many Yemenis to famine and disease, has been brewing inside Saudi Arabia for months, according to Riedel.

A video of Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz - the half-brother of the current Saudi king, who is Salman's father - publicly blaming Salman for the war went viral in the kingdom this month.

Saudi Arabia's turn on Qatar reportedly came as a surprise to many US officials, frustrating them even as US President Donald Trump castigated the Qataris. The blockade has been unwelcome within Saudi Arabia - one cleric has been arrested and faces execution for criticizing it - and has split the Gulf Cooperation Council, Riedel wrote.

Salman's roundup of powerful businessmen and members of the royal family last fall may have been his biggest domestic miscalculation. It spooked investors and led to capital flight, diminishing confidence in Salman's ability to manage economic issues.

AP Photo/Cliff Owen

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Pentagon, March 22, 2018.

Among the dozens of businessmen and princes who were arrested was Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, the leader of the Saudi national guard, the kingdom's premier fighting force, which, along with his campaign in Yemen, may further alienate Salman from the military.

The removal of Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah was seen as likely to stir discontent, and Salman's moves, particularly the roundup, have fed the impression inside the kingdom of Salman "as someone who has disturbed the status quo for the sake of massive personal enrichment and political aggrandizement," according to Rosie Bsheer, a history professor at Yale.

Salman remains the most likely heir as long as his father is alive, but his actions have helped make the kingdom the least stable its been in 50 years, according to Riedel. Should the current king, now 81 years old, die in the near future, succession could be disputed, and the process to appoint the next king could turn violent.

"The Trump administration has given Saudi Arabia a blank check and supports its war in Yemen," Riedel wrote. "The crown prince has been touted by the White House. It's a foolish and dangerous approach."