All aboard: after 37-year saga, Iraq is finally putting Saddam’s superyacht to good use

The 82-metre yacht is serving as a floating hotel for shipping pilots who guide vessels at Basra port

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The master cabin of the Basrah Breeze was intended for former owner Saddam Hussein. But he never boarded the vessel. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:49pm, 23 May 2018Updated: 8:30pm, 23 May 2018

The king-size bed in Saddam Hussein’s superyacht is made, the silk curtains around it have been drawn back and, in the gold-trimmed bathroom next door, a barber’s chair awaits its occupant.

But the Iraqi dictator never boarded the 82-metre Basrah Breeze, built for him in 1981 – and its amenities will now be enjoyed by the pilots who guide shipping in and out of the port of Basra, the main southern city.

In common with other treasures left by Saddam, toppled in 2003 during the US-led invasion of Iraq and hanged three years later for crimes against humanity, the governments that succeeded him have been struggling to find a use for the ship.

An Iraqi policeman walks past the Basrah Breeze in the southern port of Basra. Photo: Reuters

The Basrah Breeze, docked in its namesake, the southern port of Basra, Ira. Photo: Reuters

Since Iraq got it back in 2010 following a court battle and a three-decade odyssey abroad, it has been mostly moored in Basra.

Equipped with a presidential suite comprising Saddam’s private quarters, dining rooms and bedrooms, as well as 17 smaller guest rooms, 18 cabins for crew and a clinic, the opulently equipped and decorated vessel was put on the market for US$30 million.

The government failed to find a buyer, and for the past two years the Basrah Breeze has served Basra University, hosting researchers on trips to study marine life.

“The presidential yacht is in a very good condition. Its two engines and generators are functioning,” said Abdul-Zahra Abdul-Mahdi Saleh, its captain. “It only needs periodic maintenance.”