By PETER ALLEN

Last updated at 11:01 17 December 2007

A super-yacht built in secret for executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has gone on sale for £17 million.

Decor aboard the flaoting palace -originally called Qadissivat Saddam - include Arabesque arches, dark wood carvings, deep pile carpets, and loose rugs woven in Islam's holiest cities.

As well as other typically Muslim features, including prayer rooms and ornate fountains, the Danish bulders also installed gold-tap bathrooms, whirl pools, steam rooms, and hi-tech bathrooms.

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The vessel, moored off the French port of Nice, was named after a famous Arab victory over the Persians in 637 AD.

It was meant to be the sister ship of Al Mansur - or "The Victor" - another of Saddam's yacht which ended up being bombed to pieces by Anglo-American forces during the Iraq War of 2003.

The Qadissivat Saddam has been kept abroad since it was built in Denmark in 1981, however, and is completely untouched by the numerous wars Saddam was involved in during his reign.

Instead it remains an astonishing testament to the playboy lifestyle enjoyed by Saddam and his entourage.

Now diplomatically renamed The Ocean Breeze, the 270 feet craft is full of customised fittings personally ordered by the Iraqi from Danish builders Helsingor Vaerft.

Decorated throughout with fine mahogany, gold, silver, and marble, the Qadissivat Saddam was described by her builders as "lavish in every details and very Arabic in style".

With state banquets in mind, there was tableware and silverware for 200 people who could be seated in a broad shatter proof glass atrium.

Despite this, the yacht was first and foremost built for Saddam's private use, and therefore had only a few cabins, allowing a relatively modest 28 people to sleep comfortably.

There was a helicopter landing pad and health clinic, complete with mini-operating theatre.

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Security measures included a secret passage which ran throughout the length of the "Qadissivat Saddam", which would have allowed Saddam to get to a fast patrol boat in case of trouble.

A mini-submarine pod was also connected to the secret passage below deck for emergency exits.

The luxury vessel and its 35 man crew was due to have been on standby 24 hours a day, all year round, and the necessary fittings were also included to store a wide range of armaments, including heavy machine guns and surface to air missiles.

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All of the glass on board was bullet proof, and there were numerous 'anti- boarding' devices including sophisticated alarms and CCTV.

When the yacht was originally built all of the workers involved were sworn to secrecy, signing official gagging orders.

They nicknamed it "Saddam's Toy", but were not allowed to take photographs or tell anybody about it.

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The vow of secrecy was agreed with the Iraqi government and, so far, has never officially been annulled, despite Saddam's toppling in 2003.

The Danish shipyard expected the Qadissivat Saddam to go straight to Iraq, but instead it was never actually delivered.

Instead it ended up in Saudi Arabia, were it was renamed Al-Yamamah.

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Saddam had close links with the Saudi regime, and many believe that it was kept there for safety and as a "spare" in case anything happened to Al Mansur.

"Al Mansur" was itself a gift from the Saudis to thank Saddam for fighting Iran in one of the bitterest and most destructive conflicts since the Second World War.

"Qadissivat Saddam" was known to have been moored in Jeddah for at least 10 years, but its exact movements since 1981 are largely shrouded in mystery.

Saddam loved his yachts and, five days before the beginning of the Iraq War, found time to move Al Mansur to what he thought was the relative safety of the Umm Qasr harbour in Basra.

As it turned out, the multi million pounds craft was bombed 16 times in coalition air strikes. Of the 16 shells fired at it, eight were direct hits.

The blackened vessel continued to float for a few days before disappearing from radar screens.

Brokers Burgess of London are selling the The Ocean Breeze, inviting offers of around £17 million.

They have chosen to moor it close to the French Riviera towns of Cannes and Grasse, where villas which used to belong to Saddam still stand empty and unsold.