Ocean Breeze, a super-yacht which was built to satisfy the playboy lifestyle of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, is now on sale following a court dispute over ownership of the luxury liner.
"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," Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement.
The 270 ft floating palace, originally named Qadissiyat Saddam, after a famous Arab victory over the Persians in 637 AD, was built by Danish shipbuilders Helsingor Vaerft in 1981. Although it was never actually delivered to Iraq, the yacht was meant to be a sister ship of another of Hussein's ships, Al Mansur ("The Victor").
The Ocean Breeze features Arabesque arches, dark wood carvings, deep-pile carpets, and loose rugs woven in Islamic cities, and is decorated throughout with fine mahogany, gold, silver and marble. The vessel also includes a mosque and ornate fountains.
Every detail was designed with luxury, including the bathrooms' gold taps, Jacuzzis, steam rooms, hi-tech entertainment suites and games parlours, swimming pools, tennis and pool tables and multiple flat-screen TVs.
An escape passage and mini-submarine pod are additional features designed for the ship, as is the machine gun and surface-to-air missile storage facility. All of the glass onboard is bullet-proof.
The purchaser of Ocean Breeze will also receive the ship's dinnerware, including silverware for 200 people. A helicopter pad, health clinic, and mini-operating room are also included, though the yacht can only sleep 28 people.
The Cayman iIsland-based firm Sudeley Limited, partly- owned by King Abdullah II of Jordan, claimed to be legal owner of the floating palace.
But the Iraqi government, which has a right to recover the late dictator's property, petitioned to have a French commercial court block the sale in January until its ownership was firmly established.
The Iraqi dictator openly engaged in war against Israel throughout his reign, launching 39 Scud missiles against the Jewish State during the seven weeks of the Gulf War in 1991. In what has been popularly accepted as a miracle, no Israelis were killed by the missiles.
Saddam Hussein was executed by an Iraqi court on December 30, 2006 after being found guilty of crimes against humanity. Video footage of his hanging was publicized throughout the world.