The last of Saddam Hussein’s water toys, a 269-foot steel-hulled
mega-yacht with bullet-proof glass, a getaway boat and a helicopter
pad, has appeared as a listing in a London yacht brokerage. The asking
price: a cool $34 million.
[img]http://www.madmariner.com/files/images/SADDAM_YACHT_FOR_SALE_P1v1.jpg" border=“0” alt=“Caption TK?: BURGESS YACHTS” hspace=“7” vspace=“7” width=“350” height=“245” align=“right” /><span class="inline_right]<span class=“credit” style="width: 348px]BURGESS YACHTS</span><span class=“caption” style="width: 348px]<strong>The Ocean Breeze moored in Nice. </strong></span></span>Tales
of riches belonging to the late Iraqi dictator, who was executed last
year after being convicted of crimes against humanity, flowed steadily
out of Iraq in the days following the U.S.-led invasion that ousted him
from the throne in 2003. Among these holdings were no fewer than three
large motoryachts.
The best-known vessel was the Al Mansour (“The Victory”),
which was targeted by the American Navy during the invasion and struck
repeatedly with precision-guided bombs – eight direct hits – in the
port of Umm Qasr in Basra (see photo). A smaller yacht was sunk up the
Tigris river, near Baghdad.
But the fate of a third boat was not widely known – until it
appeared for sale on the website of the Burgess Yachts brokerage in
London last month (see link).
http://www.madmariner.com/vessels/story/SADDAM_YACHT_FOR_SALE_122107_VX
2003 photo:
[img]http://www.madmariner.com/files/images/SADDAM_YACHT_FOR_SALE_P3v1.jpg" border=“0” width=“350” height=“221” />
