Back in August, my colleague Deidre Woollard reported on a court ruling that Saddam Hussein’s yacht Basra Breeze (formerly Ocean Breeze) belonged to the Iraqi government after a Cayman island firm partly owned by King Abdullah of Jordan claimed possession. Now the Iraqis have put the 269-ft. megayacht up for sale with a pricetag of $30 million, but the décor is so tacky and outdated it will require at least another $30 million to overhaul the ship, the London Times reports.
Launched in 1981, the ship features acres of marble and gold, Arabesque arches, dark wood carvings, “deep pile carpets in lurid colours and rugs woven with views of holy cities”, and gold faucets in the bathrooms. There’s also a bulletproof atrium with banquet seating for 200, two medical treatment centers and a mini operating theater, and a helipad. In Saddam’s time the ship had a crew of up to 35 on 24-hour call, but the dictator was so paranoid he barely ever left Iraq or spent any time onboard.
Gallery: Ocean Breeze
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