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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 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. 

"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.

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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

The luxurious yacht was built for Saddam Hussein in a style the Wall Street Journal called "Liberace Babylon." It features staterooms, gilt furniture, and a secret escape hatch.

Saddam Hussein’s Yacht Is Sailing Again With a New Mission

It’s weathered changes in ownership and a difficult legal battle, but one of the world’s most elaborate yachts has found a fresh purpose.

BASRA, Iraq — After three decades of being passed around by Middle Eastern monarchs, Saddam Hussein’s yacht is now in the hands of Iraqi marine researchers.  

Built for the then-president’s personal use in 1980, the 270-foot-long (82 meter) vessel boasts four decks, a bevy of gilt and mahogany furniture, and a secret bedroom with an escape hatch, dwarfing the two smaller boats that make up the rest of Iraq’s research fleet.

“It cost $25 million when it was commissioned,” Captain Hussein Ghazi   Khalifa said on a recent tour of the yacht that went from the cavernous engine room to the helicopter pad. “Now it would cost four times that.”  

The ship’s luxurious dining, sleeping, and sitting areas have been converted to accommodate scientists, but much of the décor is still intact. Its period smoked glass, clunky Panasonic televisions, and rococo china cabinet, all built in a style one commentator called “Liberace Babylon,” remain as the recently-rechristened   Basrah   Breeze   explores the Persian Gulf’s changing biology and chemistry for the University of   Basrah’s   Marine Science Center.

It must be the world’s most extravagantly appointed research vessel. And it took an odd combination of geopolitics, economics, and happenstance to land the   Basrah   Breeze   in its namesake port.  

A Middle Eastern White Elephant

Even though he had it custom made for his own use, with a dozen bedrooms for guests, marble-tiled bathrooms, and a presidential suite that includes an office and a hair salon, Saddam Hussein never set foot on the yacht.

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Originally called   Qadissiyat   Saddam   (the name is a reference to a 7th   century battle in which Arabs triumphed over Persia), the boat was built in Denmark at a time when Iraq—then an ally of the U.S.—was locked in a bloody fight with Iran. The boat couldn’t be safely delivered, and it ended up moored in Oman for years as the war dragged on.  

A salon is among the many luxurious rooms featured on the yacht. While some modifications have been made to accomodate researchers, much of the boat's décor remains intact. 

In the mid-1980s, Hussein gave the boat as a gift to King Fahd bin   Abdulaziz   Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, who   Khalifa   says gave it the alluring name   al-Yamamah , which he translated as Woman with Big Eyes. But the boat also has a big appetite. To power its two 3,000 horsepower engines and four generators on long journeys, the ship’s fuel tanks were built to hold 200 tons of diesel. At current prices, it would cost more than $100,000 to fill it up.

Even to an oil-rich ruler like   Fahid, it must’ve seemed like a white elephant. He passed the ship to Jordan’s King Hussein. When the king died in 1999, his successor, Abdullah II, sent the ship to the south of France under ownership of a company based in the Cayman Islands but reportedly controlled by Jordan.

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Then came the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, which resulted in Hussein’s capture. He was executed three years later. In 2007, when the Cayman Islands company tried to sell the ship, the Iraqi government claimed ownership. Khalifa   estimates the Iraqi government spent $1 million to secure clear title to the yacht, which a French court granted in 2008 after documents were found in the ship confirming it was still legally an Iraqi vessel.  

A Ruler's Folly Proves Research Boon

Attempts to sell the vessel foundered, and Iraqi officials had no choice but to bring it home. In 2010, the ship arrived in Basra with its current name and much fanfare.  

“The return of the yacht means that the people's will is stronger than the tyrant's,” said then-Minister of Transportation   Amer   Abdul   Jabbar   at the celebration. “Saddam Hussein built this yacht to be used to his own personal purposes, but here it is returned to Iraqi people.”  

But the boat didn’t get much use at first. Plans to turn it into a museum of Hussein’s excess—or a hotel that made use of the large staterooms, each with a different color scheme—were floated, but nothing came of them. The ship slowly rusted in the brackish waters of the Shatt-al-Arab on the Basra waterfront until 2014, when, according to   Khalifa, well-connected professors from the University of Basra convinced the government to turn it over to them. At the time, Iraq’s modest research fleet had already made some important discoveries, such as the recent find that a coral reef is growing off the Iraqi coast. That’s a sign of increasingly clear and saline water at the head of the Persian Gulf, rather than the fresh and muddy outflow of the past, and it spells ill for the nation’s water supply and ecosystems.  

In early 2015, the newest member of the Iraqi research fleet went on its inaugural research mission, carrying 75 Iranian, Kuwaiti, and Iraqi researchers into the Persian Gulf to study water quality and sea life. Two additional voyages have been made since. Although the decks show signs of weathering and the engine control room still uses early 1980s technology, the vessel appears surprisingly shipshape.

The bedroom built for Saddam Hussein is in the bow of the ship. The vessel has many additional bedrooms for guests, but they're now being used by marine researchers. 

Ali   Douabul, a marine chemist at the Marine Research Center, said he hopes to use the   Basrah   Breeze   for further studies of the coral reef and to survey the northwestern Persian Gulf. But the pockets of an Iraqi university can’t match those of an Arab monarch, even though researchers only use a small portion of the massive fuel tank for each mission.  

“We want to sail in 2016, but the financial crisis prevents us,”   Khalifa   said. The captain added that he hope that international cooperation with wealthier countries along the Persian Gulf could help by splitting the fuel bill.  

Sitting at the helm, looking across the sprawling city below, he sighed and looked wistful. “I love the sea,” he said. “It’s so much better on the open water. You are free from all the problems of the Earth.”  

He just needs someone to help fill the tank.

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Saddam's ageing superyachts a legacy of excess - in pictures

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NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Saddam Hussein’s rusting superyacht is now a picnic spot for Iraqi fishermen

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It was once the height of luxury and a demonstration of power by the man who ruled Iraq with an iron fist for more than 20 years.

But now two decades later, the ‘al-Mansur’ superyacht previously belonging to Saddam Hussein is slowly rusting away in the Shatt al-Arab river in the south of the country.

And fishermen and sightseers use it as a relaxing spot to have a cup of tea or enjoy a picnic.

‘When it was owned by the former president, no one could come close to it,’ said fisherman Hussein Sabahi.

‘We were dreaming of seeing it. And now the days have passed and the world has changed and now it’s capsized.

‘I can’t believe that this belonged to Saddam and now I’m the one moving around it.’

He said fishermen use the abandoned vessel as a place to rest and to hook their things to it.

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Video: Saddam Hussein's rusting superyacht now a picnic spot for Iraqi fishermen

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,' said fisherman hussein sabahi, who enjoys ending a long day on the river with a cup of tea aboard the wreck..

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‘We sometimes submerge our fishing cages and some people fish from atop the ship,’ the fisherman said. ‘Other people come to take photos.

‘It would be better if they could turn it into a museum, or they should just move it out of here and keep it as state property.’

The US-led invasion on March 20, 2003, targeted the 400ft yacht and it was capsized where it lies now.

He had never actually stepped foot on the yacht, but had issued orders for it to be moved from its mooring at Umm Qasr to Basra for safekeeping – but it never made it.

In the chaos of Saddam’s downfall it was looted and stripped bare of everything including chandeliers and furniture.

It was one of three yachts owned by the fifth Iraqi president, which could accommodate up to 200 guests and even had its own helipad.

It is thought Saddam and his family may have amassed up to $40 billion in ill-gotten funds.

Many argue the wreck should be preserved, but governments have never allocated funds to do this.

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

‘We feel sad that it looks like this.’

Another of Saddam’s yachts has been turned into a hotel in Basra.

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In iraq, saddam's ageing superyachts a legacy of excess, war.

Frozen in time for 20 years, two superyachts lie at the confluence of Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, bearing witness to the false glories of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

Just a few hundred metres separate the grandiose vessels on the Shatt al-Arab waterway in Iraq's southern city of Basra but, despite their proximity, they have met very different fates.

The Al-Mansur (Victorious) now lays on its side, having capsized after it was struck during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that ended Saddam's decades of iron-fisted rule.

Moored at a nearby quay, the Basrah Breeze -- equipped with swimming pools and at one time a missile launcher -- is by contrast partially open to curious spectators eager to board this relic of the war-scarred country's past.

"Everyone who comes is amazed by the luxury of the yacht," said Sajjad Kadhim, an instructor at the University of Basra's maritime science centre which now has jurisdiction over the boat and uses it as a base for its research projects.

But to the surprise of many visitors, Saddam never sailed aboard the Basrah Breeze, which at a length of 82 metres (90 yards) was just one example of the former ruler's extravagance.

The interior of the vessel is like a time capsule, bearing all the gilded trimmings typical of the late strongman's vast collection of properties.

The yacht's presidential suite is decorated in golden and cream tones with a king-sized canopy bed and plush, 18th-century style armchairs, while the vast bathrooms are embellished with golden faucets.

- 'Wasteful' -

During his nearly 24 years in power, Saddam was not known to spare any expense, and the Basrah Breeze, delivered in 1981, was no exception.

With a capacity to board nearly 30 passengers and 35 crew, the boat has 13 rooms, three lounge areas and a helipad.

Perhaps most impressive is a secret corridor leading to a submarine, offering an escape from any imminent threats, as noted on an information panel on the boat.

"While the Iraqi people were living through the horrors of war and an embargo, Saddam owned such a ship," said Kadhim, 48, decrying the "wastefulness of the former regime".

Fearing the repercussions of the Iran-Iraq war during the 1980s, Saddam had given the boat to Saudi Arabia, before it travelled on to Jordan, Kadhim explained.

By 2007, the vessel had come to be moored in Nice, France, where a year later it became the centre of a protracted legal dispute.

Iraqi authorities had claimed ownership over the Basrah Breeze after having discovered plans to sell it for nearly $35 million by a company registered in the Cayman Islands.

With its claim to the boat finally recognised, the Iraqi government in 2009 decided to moor the boat in Basra, having been unable to sell it.

"What I like is the old equipment, the fax and the old telephones in the cockpit," university professor Abbas al-Maliki told AFP. "It reminds me of the pre-internet era."

- 'Costly and difficult' -

The state of the Basrah Breeze is a far cry from the Al-Mansur, half-submerged, its rusty carcass protruding from the waters of Shatt al-Arab.

Measuring 120 metres in length and weighing more than 7,000 tonnes, the former presidential yacht had been assembled in Finland and delivered to Iraq in 1983, according to the website of Danish designer Knud E. Hansen.

It has a capacity of 32 passengers and 65 crew members.

In the period just before the US-led invasion two decades ago, the Al-Mansur had been moored in the Gulf.

But Saddam would later send it up along the Shatt al-Arab "to protect it from bombardment by American planes", according to maritime engineer Ali Mohamed.

"This was a failure," he added.

According to Basra's former chief of heritage Qahtan al-Obeid, in March 2003 "several raids were launched on the yacht over a number of days.

"It was bombed at least three times, but it never sank," he said.

In pictures taken by an AFP photographer in 2003, Al-Mansur can be seen still floating on the water, its top floors charred from a fire that erupted due to the bombing.

But by June of that year, the boat was already tipping precariously.

It tilted heavily "when the motors were stolen. This created openings and the water rushed in, causing it to lose balance," Obeid said.

In a country wracked by decades of war, the authorities launched a campaign to clear the flotsam of smaller boats stranded in Shatt al-Arab.

But Al-Mansur "is a very big boat, it has to be dismantled then removed," said Obeid, a process that would be "costly and difficult".

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Evenimentul Istoric

Soldatul american care a plâns după execuția lui saddam hussein: „a fost ca și cum aș fi pierdut un membru al familiei”.

Printr-o întorsătură surprinzătoare a evenimentelor, în timpul ultimelor zile ale lui Saddam Hussein în 2006, o camaraderie neașteptată a părut să se dezvolte între el și gardienii săi americani. În ciuda animozității intense din jurul regimului său, reacția unui soldat la batjocura mulțimii a demonstrat o profunzime a emoțiilor care a fost neașteptată.

Soldatul american care a plâns după execuția lui Saddam Hussein

În timp ce dictatorul irakian își petrecea timpul rămas ascultând muzică și împărtășind povești cu gardienii săi din închisoare, o legătură remarcabilă părea să se fi format între ei. Gardienii, însărcinați inițial să-l supravegheze pe Saddam, au ajuns să formeze legături de prietenie cu el, ceea ce a dus la o adevărată durere în rândul lor atunci când acesta și-a găsit sfârșitul.

Rogerson, reflectând asupra perioadei în care l-a păzit pe Saddam Hussein în ultimele sale săptămâni de viață, a descoperit în celebrul dictator o fărâmă neașteptată de umanitate.

 În ciuda reputației sale de despot ucigaș în masă, Hussein a arătat o latură mai blândă care a creat treptat o legătură între ei.

Pe măsură ce au petrecut mai mult timp împreună, soldații au devenit prieteni cu dictatorul

Aceștia au facilitat vizitele cu familia sa, care i-a adus cadouri simple, cum ar fi batiste și bomboane. Saddam Hussein a împărțit aceste dulciuri cu gardienii săi, dezvoltând un sentiment de legătură în mijlocul circumstanțelor lor neobișnuite.

În timpul misiunii, soția lui Rogerson i-a trimis lumânări parfumate. Acesta a decis să ofere una dintre lumânări lui Hussein, care a răspuns cu un gest impresionant. Fostul președinte a sculptat o poezie în arabă pe lumânare, intenționând ca aceasta să fie un cadou sincer pentru fiica gardianului.

Această relație unică pune în lumină dinamica complexă care poate apărea în cele mai improbabile circumstanțe.

Saddam Hussein a găsit alinare în locuri neașteptate în ultimele sale zile din 2006

În ciuda circumstanțelor în care se afla, îi făcea plăcere să îngrijească o mică bucată de pământ, îngrijind cu atenție buruienile ca și cum ar fi fost flori. Acest hobby ciudat i-a oferit un sens și, poate, un scurt răgaz de la limitele captivității sale.

În plus, Saddam afișa o abordare meticuloasă a meselor sale, respectând o rutină strictă chiar și în activitățile banale. Ritualul său pentru micul dejun era atent pregătit, fiecare componentă fiind consumată într-o anumită ordine. 

Aceste detalii aparent banale oferă o privire asupra caracterului și mentalității lui Saddam în ultimele sale zile. 

SUA au invadat Irakul în martie 2003, președintele George W. Bush declarând că dorește să pună capăt „sprijinului acordat de Saddam Hussein terorismului”

Președintele irakian a fugit în timp ce raidurile aeriene se abăteau asupra țării pe care o conducea din 1979.

Câteva luni mai târziu, soldații americani l-au găsit ascuns într-o mică gaură în care abia încăpea o persoană în Ad-Dawr, în centrul Irakului.

Dictatorul, despre care se estima că este responsabil de moartea a cel puțin 250 000 de irakieni, urma să fie judecat pentru multiple acuzații, inclusiv crime de război, genocid și crime împotriva umanității.

Atunci când nu era ținut într-o celulă sub clădirea Înaltului Tribunal irakian, unul dintre numeroasele foste palate ale lui Hussein era acum închisoarea sa, iar Rogerson era unul dintre cei 12 soldați americani însărcinați să îl păzească.

Având în vedere reputația lui Hussein de criminal în masă, tortură și represiune brutală, tânărul soldat poate fi iertat că nu a fost entuziasmat când a aflat că va petrece atât de mult timp cu cel supranumit „ Măcelarul din Bagdad ”.

Dar, în lunile care au urmat, au legat cea mai improbabilă prietenie – Rogerson a izbucnit în lacrimi când Hussein a fost executat în decembrie 2006.

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