Don’t laugh; some people are attracted to notoriety.
Though her official listing on Burgess’ Web site says “price on application,” and though there’s no hint as to who owns/owned her, major media outlets are reporting that for £17 million (about $34 million), you can lay claim to owning a megayacht commissioned by the late Saddam Hussein.
Of course, you’d have to be an avid yacht follower to know that Ocean Breeze, the 269-footer in question, was originally custom-made for the Iraqi dictator, as Qadissivat Saddam. She was intended to be a sister of sorts to Al Mansur, another megayacht Hussein owned, and which you may recall was bombed beyond recognition by American coalition forces four years ago.
While no such bad luck befell this yacht, Hussein never actually took delivery of her. She ended up in Saudi Arabia in the Royal Family’s hands and was known as Al Yamamah; some people have speculated that Hussein asked them to keep her there in case anything ever happened to Al Mansur.
Regardless, as you can see from the photos here, she appears to be in good shape both inside and out. Built in 1981 by the Danish yard Helsingoer Vaerft, the yacht accommodates 26 guests in 13 staterooms (nine doubles, four twins), while a crew of 35 tends to their and the owner’s needs. The various social areas are lavishly decorated, and twin 3,000-hp MTUs propel her to an 18-knot cruise speed and give her a 7,000-nautical-mile range.
That’s enough to get her from the western Med, where she’s sitting now, to anywhere else on the globe. Perfect for the ultimate getaway.
No doubt the late dictator would approve.
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