Remember last week when I wrote how the saga of Ocean Breeze, with her opulent rooms like the one above, was finally resolved? Not so fast: The lawyers for Sudeley Limited, the Cayman Islands firm partly owned by King Abdullah of Jordan and which presently claims ownership of the megayacht, were granted more time to prove their case.
I should have known something was up: A few times last week after I posted the story, which mentions how a French appeals court upheld the Iraqi government’s contention that the yacht was illegally transferred from Saddam Hussein’s ownership, I visited the Web sites of Burgess as well as Yacht Council and continued to find the 269-footer listed for nearly $35 million. When I saw it on Monday the 16th, I assumed that the listing just hadn’t been taken down yet. But after a few days of continuing to see it online, I began to wonder if more appeals were in the works. (After all, what lawyer do you know who’ll accept “no” for an answer?) My confusion was resolved yesterday when a member of Power & Motoryacht’s Megayachts forum posted a link to an Agence France-Presse story reporting that a French court postponed a hearing until November.
So, the only certainty at this point is uncertainty over who really owns the yacht.
If more news emerges over the summer, I’ll post updates accordingly. Otherwise look for my next story on this subject this fall.
Update: The court ruled early, and the yacht was deemed Iraqi property. She’ll reportedly head to Iraqi waters this month.
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