Sale of Saddam's Yacht could be Derailed

How does a 269 foot yacht with a swimming pool, opulent salons, a helicopter pad, a rocket launcher just in case and even a mini submarine for a quick gettaway from the authorities. All this can be yours for only $35 million, if the deal is allowed to go through...

PARIS — For sale: A palatial pleasure yacht with swimming pools, opulent salons and, should the winds of war blow, a rocket launcher and mini-submarine.

The sale of the 269-foot Ocean Breeze, built for Saddam Hussein and docked on the French Riviera, could be thwarted, however, if Iraq can prove it belongs to someone in the late dictator's entourage — and now, therefore, to the government in Baghdad.

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A court hearing will likely be held in March to determine the rightful owner.

The government in Baghdad suspects the yacht, which French authorities seized on Jan. 31, is still Iraqi. But the posh yacht brokerage firm Nigel Burgess says other owners, whom it will not name, have asked it to sell the vessel. The price has reportedly been set at $35 million.

Viewing is strictly forbidden, but several photos of the interior on the Internet site of Nigel Burgess show an opulent Middle East-style decor in blue and gold hues that match the azure sea at sunset.

A desert fox more than a sailor, Saddam never used the boat he had built in 1981, according to a lawyer representing the Iraqi government, Ardavan Amir-Aslani.

In fact, it barely spent time in Iraqi waters. As war with Iran raged, the vessel was moved to the safety of Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Jiddah in 1986.

The vessel was originally called "Qadisiyah Saddam." The name appears to have been an attempt by Saddam to cast his war against Iran in Quranic context, drawing on an epic battle against the Sassanian Persian army that was part of the conquest of the region by the Arab Muslim army around A.D. 630.

Saddam often tried to cast the 8-year-long Iran-Iraq war in religious context, a push to shore up his image as the new Arab and Muslim leader staving off the onslaught of Shiite Persians.

The vessel reportedly remained at Jiddah until last fall, when it showed up in Nice with a new name, "Ocean Breeze," embossed on its streamlined white hulk, Amir-Aslani said.

Its ownership is now as uncertain as Iraq's shifting sands, shrouded in mystery and perhaps intrigue. A cohort of Saddam? A Saudi royal? Or a jet-setter hiding behind a shell company?

"The yacht was ordered and paid for by the Iraqi government at the beginning. That is certain," the lawyer said by telephone. Now, the Iraqis believe the vessel "may belong to Saddam's entourage."

"Iraq is basically trying to recover the money of the Iraqi people that was unlawfully transferred abroad," Amir-Aslani said.

The vessel, however, has a Caribbean connection. A "legal entity" incorporated in the Cayman Islands claims to own the boat, the lawyer said, but it is hiding the "beneficial owner." Whom that may be "is what we need to discover."

This is not the first time Iraq has sought the return from France of Saddam's treasures. Just months ago, it successfully reclaimed a villa in Cannes, Amir-Aslani said. Other cases are pending, but he refused to give details.

When it hears of assets that may belong to Saddam or his entourage, the lawyer said, "Iraq immediately reacts."

The vessel now bobs majestically in the port of Nice, an "extremely luxurious" gem, said Amir-Aslani, who paid a visit.
According to an account in the French daily Le Figaro, corroborated by Amir-Aslani, the Ocean Breeze, made for a 35-member crew, has about 10 rooms, several salons with large-screen TVs, pools, saunas, gold plumbing fixtures, a prayer room and a portable helicopter pad.