Saddam Hussein's yacht up for sale
A senior government official said that the yacht, the palatial 270-foot Ocean Breeze, has been moored off the southern French resort of Nice. It has been estimated that it could fetch approximately £20 million.
The official, Ali al-Dabbagh, said that the government hopes for a sale within the next few weeks.
While grand when it was built in 1981, the Ocean Breeze is modest in size compared with the "megayachts" commissioned by a new wave of super-rich.
However it is decked out with the sort of familiar features that abounded in Saddam's luxurious, gold-trimmed, palaces. It boasts gold taps, a mini-operating theatre, a helicopter landing pad and a secret escape passageway.
Mr Dabbagh said that an ownership dispute over the yacht had concluded in a French court.
"The ruling was in favour of Iraq," he said.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The official, Ali al-Dabbagh, said that the government hopes for a sale within the next few weeks.
While grand when it was built in 1981, the Ocean Breeze is modest in size compared with the "megayachts" commissioned by a new wave of super-rich.
However it is decked out with the sort of familiar features that abounded in Saddam's luxurious, gold-trimmed, palaces. It boasts gold taps, a mini-operating theatre, a helicopter landing pad and a secret escape passageway.
Mr Dabbagh said that an ownership dispute over the yacht had concluded in a French court.
"The ruling was in favour of Iraq," he said.