Iraqi dictator's superyacht winds up as sailors' hotel

Then, in 1980, the head of the Iraqi fleet got in touch about adapting a research vessel design to build a presidential yacht. After lengthy negotiations involving visits to Iraq and delegations of tight-lipped admiralty staff from Baghdad, a deal was struck for a “ship of class” which went into the order books as number 423. “With its 82 metres, this motor yacht was among the largest of its kind in the world.”