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Saddam Hussein’s former superyacht Basrah Breeze is turned into a hotel for sailors

• Stef Bottinelli

$30 million superyacht Basrah Breeze was built for Saddam Hussein in 1981 but the late Iraqi dictator never set foot on it

The 82m Basrah Breeze superyacht, built for  Saddam Hussein in 1981, has been turned into a hotel. The yacht is to be specifically used as a hotel facility by pilots who guide shipping in and out of the port of Basra in southern Iraq.

The $30 million superyacht was built for the late Iraqi president by a Danish shipyard, but Hussein never set foot on it.

Basrah Breeze spent most of its life abroad, but after a court battle, the Iraqi government got the yacht back on its shore in 2010. After failing to find a buyer, due to its hefty price tag, the government lent it to Basra University to use it as a marine research vessel.

Basrah Breeze is now moored it permanently in Basra and has become a hotel for shipping pilots, many of whom don’t permanently live in the Iraqi city.

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

“The port needs the boat to be a station where sea pilots can rest,” Reuters reports Basra port spokesman Anmar al-Safi as saying.

Basrah Breeze boasts Hussein’s presidential suite, large dining rooms, dozens of bedrooms,  17 smaller guest cabins  and 18 crew cabins. It was plushly decorated for the dictator and his quarters boast silk curtains and even a gold rimmed bathroom.

Saddam Hussein's yachts were once signs of luxury. Now, one is a wrecked picnic spot for fishermen and the other was almost turned into a hotel.

• Saddam Hussein's yachts were once luxurious signs of the dictator's power.
• One boat is now a wrecked picnic site for fisherman. Another was reportedly almost a hotel.
• Photos show these yachts today as Iraqi officials debate what to do with them. 

Saddam Hussein's superyachts were once symbols of luxury, built in the 1980s and fitted with spacious presidential suites, marble tile, and various amenities.

But decades after his death, Hussein's vessels have met very different fates: one remains wrecked in a river —a picnic site for fishermen — while the another nearly became a hotel. 

The "Al-Mansur" multimillion-dollar yacht was once fitted to the personal requirements of Hussein, featuring gold trimming and an impressive atrium, according to Superyacht Content. Although it was never boarded by Hussein, the almost 400-foot boat remained moored at port for safekeeping. 

When US forces invaded Iraq in March 2003, the "Al-Mansur" was a juicy target. Troops destroyed the boat, leaving it to sink in the Shatt al-Arab waterway. 

20 years later, any sign of wealth or glamour is gone. "Al-Mansur" has been looted and stripped, its right side sunk deep into the riverbed. 

But fishermen told Reuters it's not such a bad outcome. "When it was owned by the former president, no one could come close to it," said fisherman Hussein Sabahi, who enjoys a cup of tea on the wreck after a long day of fishing. 

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"I can't believe that this belonged to Saddam and now I'm the one moving around it," he added.

Some Iraqis told Reuters they think the wreck should be preserved for history. Others say governments, which have not funded any preservation efforts, are right to leave it to the river. 

Another one of Hussein's superyachts, the 270-foot "Bashrah Breeze," was built in 1981 for $25 million, or $100 million today, according to Yacht Harbour.

After Hussein's execution in 2006, ownership of the boat changed hands a few times.

But in 2008, a Cayman Island entity put the yacht up for sale, according to Boat International. NPR reported at the time that the boat — fitted with gold faucets, swimming pools, and a rocket launching system — could sell for as much as $35 million. 

But it wasn't sold. Iraq stepped in and courts decided the "Bashrah Breeze" belonged to the government. 

Since then, the yacht's briefly hosted researchers from Basra University on a marine trip, as reported by Yacht Harbour. At the time, officials said it was in good condition and functioning well.

In 2018, reports that "Bashrah Breeze" would be made into a hotel for pilots made international headlines. This was disputed by the former Director of the Marine Science Center at Basra University Ali Douabul, who told Boat International the rumors were "completely wrong."

"If they'd used it for pilots, they would have ruined it in no time. It's never been used as such. I got a very, very unpleasant call from the minister about that."

It's unclear if the boat will be made into a museum or moored somewhere permanently.

• Main content

By SuperyachtNews 23 May 2018

Saddam Hussein’s presidential yacht repurposed as hotel

The 82m motoryacht, ‘basrah breeze’, will now operate as a hotel for maritime pilots in iraq….

On 22 May, Reuters reported that the 82m superyacht, Basrah Breeze , once owned by the former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, will now have a formal purpose as a hotel and recreation facility for maritime pilots who guide ships in and out of the port of Basra, Southern Iraq’s largest city.

The vessel was built for the Iraqi dictator in 1981, although he never reportedly set foot on board. Following a court case in 2010, Iraq recovered the yacht after it had spent three decades overseas, during which it changed hands a number of times, including a stint in Saudi Arabia under the ownership of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, however it has barely left Basra since its reclamation.

The Iraqi government listed the yacht for sale at $30 million upon her return, however, perhaps due to its acrimonious shrouding, it never found a buyer. For the last two years, the vessel has been used as a maritime research hub for Basra University while the government has struggled to find a formal use for the ship.

The king-sized bed, silk curtains and gold-rimmed bathroom of the master suite, highlighted by mainstream media as the yacht’s major selling points, are comparatively modest features when matched against the latest constructions gracing the water, however, the captain has told Reuters that the yacht is in good enough shape for its new purpose.  

Images courtesy of Essam Al-Sudani

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Saddam Hussein’s Former Superyacht Now a Hotel for Maritime Pilots in Iraq

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Yacht called “Basrah Breeze”, once owned by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a U.S.-led invasion in 2003, is seen in the southern port of Basra, Iraq May 14, 2018. Picture taken May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani

But the Iraqi dictator never boarded the 82-meter (270-foot) “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 U.S.-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.

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 $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.”

But authorities have now decided to moor it permanently as a hotel and recreation facility for the southern port’s pilots, many of whom live in distant cities.

“The port needs the boat to be a station where sea pilots can rest,” said Basra port spokesman Anmar al-Safi.

Built by a Danish shipyard while Iraq was at war with Iran, the yacht was passed on to Saudi Arabia – then a Saddam ally – to protect it from air strikes on Basra, officials giving Reuters an exclusive tour said.

The kingdom, which fell out with Saddam after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, then handed the vessel over to Jordan. Its subsequent movements were unclear until Iraq tracked it down in the French resort of Nice, where a court seized it and sent it home.

While the “Basrah Breeze” survived the turmoil of Saddam’s decline and demise, its sister ship “al-Mansur” – which he also never boarded – suffered a different fate, sinking in the Shatt al-Arab waterway that passes through Basra after it was hit by U.S. planes and then stripped bare in the chaotic aftermath of his overthrow.

Saddam had ordered it in 2003 to leave Umm Qasr, Iraq’s biggest port outside Basra, where it had been moored, to Basra in a vain attempt to avoid air strikes.

“I told the captain of the yacht, who was a brigadier, to get rid of the military uniforms of the crew, weapons and munitions and pose as civilian ship in case it is caught by the American warships,” said Ali Hussein, a port pilot who guided the yacht at the time.

As regards “Basrah Breeze,” Basra museum has not given up hope of persuading the port to allow it to dock the vessel next to its exhibition halls in one of Saddam’s former palaces overlooking the Shatt al-Arab.

“Future generations could see how a dictator lived,” said Jawad Abdul Kadhim, the museum’s deputy director. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Kadhim Atti; editing by John Stonestreet)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018.

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'Basrah Breeze,' Saddam Hussein's Superyacht, Turned Into Floating Hotel

Hussein's BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) — The king size bed in Saddam Hussein's superyacht is made, the silk curtains around it have been drawn back and, in the gold-rimmed bathroom next door, a barber's chair awaits its occupant.

But the Iraqi dictator never boarded the 82-meter (270-foot) "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 U.S.-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.

Watch: Saddam's superyacht ends up as hotel for sailors

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 $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."

But authorities have now decided to moor it permanently as a hotel and recreation facility for the southern port's pilots, many of whom live in distant cities.

"The port needs the boat to be a station where sea pilots can rest," said Basra port spokesman Anmar al-Safi.

Built by a Danish shipyard while Iraq was at war with Iran, the yacht was passed on to Saudi Arabia — then a Saddam ally — to protect it from air strikes on Basra, officials giving Reuters an exclusive tour said.

The kingdom, which fell out with Saddam after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, then handed the vessel over to Jordan. Its subsequent movements were unclear until Iraq tracked it down in the French resort of Nice, where a court seized it and sent it home.

While the "Basrah Breeze" survived the turmoil of Saddam's decline and demise, its sister ship "al-Mansur" — which he also never boarded — suffered a different fate, sinking in the Shatt al-Arab waterway that passes through Basra after it was hit by U.S. planes and then stripped bare in the chaotic aftermath of his overthrow.

Saddam had ordered it in 2003 to leave Umm Qasr, Iraq's biggest port outside Basra, where it had been moored, to Basra in a vain attempt to avoid air strikes.

"I told the captain of the yacht, who was a brigadier, to get rid of the military uniforms of the crew, weapons and munitions and pose as civilian ship in case it is caught by the American warships," said Ali Hussein, a port pilot who guided the yacht at the time.

As regards "Basrah Breeze", Basra museum has not given up hope of persuading the port to allow it to dock the vessel next to its exhibition halls in one of Saddam's former palaces overlooking the Shatt al-Arab.

"Future generations could see how a dictator lived," said Jawad Abdul Kadhim, the museum's deputy director.

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Kadhim Atti; editing by John Stonestreet)

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Saddam’s luxury yacht to become a high-seas hotel.

Despite a presidential suite and luxurious guest rooms, the 270-foot Basrah Breeze is destined to become accommodation for pilots guiding shipping at Iraq's busiest port. May 23, 2018

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Saddam Hussein's Superyacht Winds Up As Sailors' Hotel

Authorities have now decided to moor it permanently as a hotel and recreation facility for the southern port's pilots.

The Iraqi dictator never boarded the 82-metre (270-foot) "Basrah Breeze" built for him in 1981 (Reuters)

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

But the Iraqi dictator never boarded the 82-metre (270-foot) "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 U.S.-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.

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 $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."

But authorities have now decided to moor it permanently as a hotel and recreation facility for the southern port's pilots, many of whom live in distant cities.

"The port needs the boat to be a station where sea pilots can rest," said Basra port spokesman Anmar al-Safi.

Built by a Danish shipyard while Iraq was at war with Iran, the yacht was passed on to Saudi Arabia - then a Saddam ally - to protect it from air strikes on Basra, officials giving Reuters an exclusive tour said.

The kingdom, which fell out with Saddam after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, then handed the vessel over to Jordan. Its subsequent movements were unclear until Iraq tracked it down in the French resort of Nice, where a court seized it and sent it home.

While the "Basrah Breeze" survived the turmoil of Saddam's decline and demise, its sister ship "al-Mansur" - which he also never boarded - suffered a different fate, sinking in the Shatt al-Arab waterway that passes through Basra after it was hit by U.S. planes and then stripped bare in the chaotic aftermath of his overthrow.

Saddam had ordered it in 2003 to leave Umm Qasr, Iraq's biggest port outside Basra, where it had been moored, to Basra in a vain attempt to avoid air strikes.

"I told the captain of the yacht, who was a brigadier, to get rid of the military uniforms of the crew, weapons and munitions and pose as civilian ship in case it is caught by the American warships," said Ali Hussein, a port pilot who guided the yacht at the time.

As regards "Basrah Breeze", Basra museum has not given up hope of persuading the port to allow it to dock the vessel next to its exhibition halls in one of Saddam's former palaces overlooking the Shatt al-Arab.

"Future generations could see how a dictator lived," said Jawad Abdul Kadhim, the museum's deputy director.

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Al-Mansur: The unexpected fate of Saddam Hussein’s largest yacht

Saddam Hussein's 82-metre superyacht Basrah Breeze is still on the water today but his larger yacht, 121-metre al-Mansur suffered a different fate. Now lying in the shallow waters of a major Iraqi city, Katia Damborsky discovers how it has become an unusual floating base for locals fishing on the river. 

In March 2003, tensions between the US and Iraq were coming to a head. In the face of imminent invasion, the then-president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, ordered his yacht, 121-metre al-Mansur , to leave her berth in the port city of Umm Qasr and move 36 nautical miles upriver to be stationed in Basrah. Basrah was a stronghold of Iraq, producing much of the country’s oil and strategically located at the convergence of two rivers.

It would make sense to have a military ship manning the city’s harbour — and while al-Mansur was no military vessel, she did have reinforced steel decks, bulletproof windows almost five centimetres thick and high-grade on-board hospital facilities complete with an operating theatre.

But, she still wasn’t equipped to hold down the fort at Basrah. It has been reported — though not confirmed — that US and UK military forces intercepted a radio transmission that revealed the yacht’s movement. On her way up the river, she came under attack by fighter jets, which deployed specialised explosives that detonated just before impact, effectively blowing away much of the yacht’s upper decks. Eight bombs are thought to have hit her and although she didn’t sink, she was engulfed by a raging inferno that rendered her inoperable.

It would have been a remarkable sight for the people of Basrah, watching the dictator’s yacht ablaze and drifting unmanned down the Shatt al-Arab river. It was almost ironic — here was a yacht with the name meaning “God-assisted victor” or “conqueror” printed proudly on its bow, being reduced to a charred, bomb-blasted hull.

Like most yachts owned by dictators, al-Mansur was a symbol of Hussein’s power and prominence. She was delivered in 1983 (the same year that Hussein met with then-US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld) by now-defunct Finnish shipyard Wärtsilä and as a gift from the Saudi Royal Family. The ongoing war in Iraq complicated the physical delivery of the vessel (she was technically completed in 1982) and she was stored at the shipyard in Finland before she could be eventually handed over the next year in Morocco.

But after the bombing, al-Mansur was a far cry from the pleasure palace that she started life as. It is understood that the yacht’s content was cleared by the local port authority and officials acting on behalf of Hussein. Even in her sorry, scorched state, she had a lot of valuable materials on board — expensive silverware, solid marble surfaces, exotic wood accents and thick velvet upholstery. The design theme of the yacht was “plush Arab hotel”, according to reporting by the BBC. She was even thought to have solid gold furnishings on board.

She was looted too, according to a source speaking to BOAT International , a local taxi driver who goes by Mohamad. Once she was plundered, opportunists began chopping away at the hull and selling it for scrap. No one put a stop to the practice — it was a war zone, after all. 

Hussein's yacht remained upright for a few years after the bombing but was eventually scuttled close to Basrah’s dry docks. She’s in good company, with several other wrecked vessels rusting in the shallow water there. For the locals, it’s a constant reminder of the war — although, “you never forget the war,” says Mohamad.

The biggest problem that al-Mansur presents isn’t so much logistics, it’s the threat it poses to the water quality, says Mohamad.  “We use this water for everything in our life,” says Mohamad and for that reason, “people would like to remove all the sunken ships.”

The wreck is owned by the government, but “no one knows” whether there are plans to remove it anytime soon. It’s the biggest vessel that’s sunk in the river, and it would be costly and complicated to dismantle and remove it, speculates Mohamad. For now, the wreck is used by local fishermen, who perch on the protruding decks and cast their lines into the water. Mohamad’s cousin is one such fisherman, using al-Mansur as a base for carp fishing.

Al-Mansur is not the victorious power symbol that her owner had in mind, but she does represent a small victory for the Iraqi people. After years of conflict, Iraq is repairing itself and souvenirs of its troubled past are slowly fading away — much like al-Mansur ’s decaying hull.

The rest of Hussein's fleet

Just a few hundred metres from the remains of al-Mansur sits Basrah Breeze, the first yacht that Hussein owned. In contrast to her big sister, Basrah Breeze is on the water and remains in good condition. She is partially open to the public, serving as a floating museum dedicated to Basrah. The yacht is in largely the same state as when she was first launched over forty years ago, with busily-patterned walls, thick curtains and an opulent four-poster canopy bed in the master suite. 

In 2007, she left Iraq and resurfaced in Nice, listed for sale with a £17 million price tag. She didn't find a buyer, possibly in part because of her dubious past and questions surrounding her ownership. She served a brief stint as a research vessel back in Iraq until her running costs were finally deemed too expensive.

Hussein also owned a 60-metre pleasure craft designed for cruising the rivers. It was more practical than al-Mansur and Basrah Breeze , but still shared the same luxurious finishes and military-grade protection. Its fate is not known.

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Saddam Hussein's rusting yacht al-Mansur now serves as a picnic spot for Iraqi fishermen

Capsized in a river in southern Iraq, the rusting wreck of a yacht that had belonged to Saddam Hussein serves as a stark reminder of his iron-fisted rule that ended with the US-led invasion two decades ago.

Key points:

• The 121-metre al-Mansur was ordered in 2003, but was never boarded by Saddam Hussein
• It capsized when US forces targeted the yacht
• Some Iraqis say the wreck should be preserved, but its preservation has not been funded

The 121-metre al-Mansur — a symbol of Saddam's wealth and power when it was built in the 1980s — is today a destination for sightseers and fisherman who clamber aboard the wreck to picnic and drink tea.

"When it was owned by the former president, no one could come close to it," fisherman Hussein Sabahi said as he enjoys ending a long day on the river with a cup of tea aboard the wreck.

"I can't believe that this belonged to Saddam and now I'm the one moving around it," he said.

Saddam issued orders for the yacht, which he never boarded, to leave its mooring at the Umm Qasr port for safekeeping, a few weeks after the invasion began on March 20, 2003.

However, it was targeted by US-led forces, and later capsized in the Shatt al-Arab waterway as it fell into decay.

In the turmoil that followed Saddam's downfall, the yacht was stripped bare and looted, with everything from its chandeliers and furniture to parts of its metal structure removed.

One of three yachts owned by Saddam, the al-Mansur could accommodate up to 200 guests and was equipped with a helipad.

In 2003, US officials estimated that Saddam and his family may have amassed up to $US40 billion ($60 billion) in ill-gotten funds.

Another of his yachts has been turned into a hotel in Basra.

Although some Iraqis say the wreck should be preserved, successive governments have not allocated funds to recover it.

"This yacht is like a precious jewel, like a rare masterpiece you keep at home," Zahi Moussa, a naval captain who works at the Iraqi ministry of transport, said. 

"We feel sad that it looks like this."

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