PHOTOS: Saddam Hussein’s $30M ‘superyacht’ now used as hotel for marine pilots
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A $30 million, 270-foot (82-meter) superyacht owned by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is now being used as a hotel and recreation center for Iraqi maritime pilots in the country’s southern port city of Basra.
According to a Reuters report, the new role for the superyacht, known as the “Basrah Breeze,” was announced by Iraqi authorities.
“The port needs the boat to be a station where sea pilots can rest,” Basra port spokesperson Anmar al-Safi said.
“The presidential yacht is in a very good condition. Its two engines and generators are functioning,” Captian Abdul-Zahra Abdul-Mahdi Saleh added. “It only needs periodic maintenance.”
Following several years of political and legal confusion about the ownership of the boat as well as a two-year period where it was used as a maritime research hub for Basra University, the superyacht will now serve a purpose.
“Basrah Breeze” contains 17 guest rooms and 18 cabins for crew members as well as many dining areas and bathrooms.
Arguably the most decorated room in the yacht, the presidential suite includes a king size bed surrounded by silk curtains and a gold-rimmed bathroom with a personal barber’s chair, Reuters reported.
The vessel was built in 1981 by Danish shipyard Helsingor Vaerft for then Iraqi President Hussein and originally called the “Qadissiyat Saddam.”
Boat International reported that Hussein “was never able to enjoy the yacht” due to the ensuing war with Iran. It added that Hussein gave the yacht as a gift to King Fahd bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia in the mid-1980s before it eventually ended up in Basra.
