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Iraq decides to sell Saddam's luxury yacht

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-03 09:43

BAGHDAD – Iraq says it has decided to sell Saddam Hussein's luxury yacht after winning a legal dispute over its ownership.

In this file photo, The 82-metre (270-feet) Ocean Breeze, originally called -'Qadisiyah Saddam', built in 1981 by Danish shipyard Helsingor Vaerft for Saddam Hussein, is seen docked in the harbor at Nice, France, Wednesday, February 13, 2008. French authorities seized the boat on January 31 after it docked in Nice on France's Mediterranean coast. The yacht remained there while courts settled the row over the ship's ownership. The Iraqi government has decided, Sunday, November 2, 2008, to sell Saddam Hussein's luxury yacht after winning a legal dispute over its ownership. [Agencies]

Saddam Hussein's 269-foot superyacht is fitted with swimming pools, salons, a secret passage and a rocket launching system.

Iraq's government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh says in a statement that the government on Sunday agreed to part with the superyacht.

French authorities seized the boat on Jan. 31 after it docked in Nice on the Mediterranean coast. The yacht remained there while courts settled a row over the ship's ownership.

A yacht brokerage firm had tried to sell the boat for a reported $35 million. But Iraq said the yacht still belonged the country.