The Iraqi government will sell former dictator Saddam Hussein’s luxury yacht, which was handed back to the state in July after a drawnout legal wrangle, the government spokesman said on Sunday.
The 82-metre Ocean Breeze, equipped with several swimming pools, a mosque, a missile-launcher and mini-submarine, has been moored among millionaires’ yachts in a harbour near the Riviera city of Nice since November.
“The cabinet has decided to sell the yacht of Saddam Hussein, docked in Nice (France), and the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs were responsible for the transaction,” spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh said in a statement.
In a letter dated July 1, Jordan renounced claims to ownership of the craft.
On July 17, the Iraqi ambassador to France flew to Nice, where the boat is docked and flying the Iraqi flag.
The vessel, built in Denmark in 1981, started life as the Qadissiyat Saddam but was never actually delivered to Iraq.
The Cayman island-based firm Sudeley Limited, part-owned by King Abdullah of Jordan, claims to be legal owner of the floating palace.
A London broker acting for Sudeley’s put the yacht up for sale last year for 23.5 million euros, or $34.5 million.
But the Iraqi government – which has a right to recover the late dictator’s property – in January managed to have a French commercial court block the sale until its ownership was firmly established.
Follow us on
