Author Topic: Anyone Want a Yacht? Cheap? Slightly Dented. (Read 548 times)

Dune · « **on:** April 11, 2003, 12:31:10 AM »

Quote

SADDAM'S YACHT... COURTESY OF THE RAF Apr 11 2003
From Tom Newton Dunn

HE named it Al Mansur, The Victor, but now Saddam Hussein’s yacht stands as a pathetic symbol of defeat.

The tyrant’s bombed out vessel was yesterday drifting aimlessly on the current of the Shatt-al-Arab waterway near Basra’s dockyard.

It was once one of the world’s largest and most impressive yachts with an interior that would not look out of place in a Saddam palace.

(Image removed from quote.)
WRECK: Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's burned and bombed yacht Al Mansur floats near Basra's dockyard yesterday, a shell of its former palatial self

But 16 RAF bombs and missiles fired during the two-week siege of Basra transformed it to a floating hulk of twisted, scorched metal and shattered glass.

Yesterday we persuaded local fishermen to take us out to the eight-deck yacht for a look around.

At 350 feet long and weighing 7,359 tons, it looked more like a cross channel ferry than a private boat.

What we saw soon began to betray the opulence of its owner. Polished mahogany railings lined the exterior and internal passages. In the middle was a broad glass atrium, under which as many as 200 guests could be seated for dinner.

The boat had five expansive state cabins for Saddam and his family.

There was even a secret escape route leading from the tyrant’s room to a submarine launch pod.

Its entire central section has all but disappeared after a bomb ripped through it. Subsequent fires had left the vessel covered in soot.

(Image removed from quote.)
SMASHED: Broken side of boat

The few intact windows that remained were bullet proofed. We found a bathroom with a bidet and a large jacuzzi bath. Rows of beauty lights surrounded a large mirror.

In another room a broken table tennis table lay on top of a heap of velvet-lined dining chairs.

Then we discovered the remains of what looked to be Saddam’s private operating theatre.

Surgical equipment, electronic scanners, packets of medicines and plastic gloves were scattered around a leather operating table.

While the rest of Iraq suffers a shortage of the most basic of drugs, the dictator’s personal stash seemed to have been unused for years.

Built by a Finnish firm, Al Mansur was launched in 1982. It was the largest vessel in the Iraqi navy, but it had no military use.

The craft was designed to Saddam’s specifications and decorated in marble and exotic woods with silver and gold fittings.

It was permanently staffed by 120 Special Republican Guard troops.

Just days before the war began Saddam ordered the yacht to be moved from the port of Umm Qasr to Basra – for better protection.

It didn’t work and now, like his regime, it lies in tatters.

Animal · « **Reply #1 on:** April 11, 2003, 01:44:21 AM »

Why did they bomb it?

I bet it was a juicy target, if I was a tornado pilot I'd love to strafe it, but they could have repossed it. It was a nice boat.

GRUNHERZ · « **Reply #2 on:** April 11, 2003, 01:48:29 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Animal
Why did they bomb it?

Because of Oil...

GRUNHERZ · « **Reply #3 on:** April 11, 2003, 01:55:15 AM »

Hey animal how did you make your avatar, can it be done on photoshop?

Animal · « **Reply #4 on:** April 11, 2003, 02:07:18 AM »

Dunno, someone made it for me

GRUNHERZ · « **Reply #5 on:** April 11, 2003, 02:09:49 AM »

lazy bastige ok i gotta go learn it

straffo · « **Reply #6 on:** April 11, 2003, 02:20:58 AM »

If you have paint shop pro (event the trial version) just launch the Animation shop it's pretty easy to use.
Or donwload GIF animator http://www.creabit.com/gif/

Else just post me the picts and I'll do it for you.

GRUNHERZ · « **Reply #7 on:** April 11, 2003, 02:27:02 AM »

Thx straffo I'm gonna look into that - I've been playing with imagage edoting stuff a bit lately and I wanna learn it myself.

SOB · « **Reply #8 on:** April 11, 2003, 02:40:38 AM »

Make a multi-layer image in Photoshop...bring it into Imageready...make frames from layers...save as .GIF, and then you too can have a gay avatard!

SOB

Kanth · « **Reply #9 on:** April 11, 2003, 03:25:27 AM »

there's also this

http://www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/gifcon.html

pretty straight forward

from here:

http://ftp://ftp.mindworkshop.org/pub/alchemy/gcsp20.exe

Staga · « **Reply #10 on:** April 11, 2003, 04:46:29 AM »

We should stop building ships you guys can't sink

Dowding · « **Reply #11 on:** April 11, 2003, 06:19:47 AM »

Seems to me that thing is resting on the shore after drifting from its moorings.

Nice boat though. Very James Bond arch enemy.

Fishu · « **Reply #12 on:** April 11, 2003, 07:14:45 AM »

Aww.. such a senseless bombing of a defenceless yacht, which could been very well been re-used after the war

I'm sure Saddam never intented to be on that boat during the war..
Hes not that suicidal, like we can see from the pictures why.

And argh.. it's finnish made!
but hey, it still floats.. mwahaha.

Curval · « **Reply #13 on:** April 11, 2003, 07:20:20 AM »

I assume that they thought Sadaam was aboard?

If NOT then I don't see the point. A yacht like that could be sold and the funds used to buy food, which is what it should have been used for in the first place.

Monk · « **Reply #14 on:** April 11, 2003, 08:20:08 AM »

Where would have Saddum gone with the thing anyways? Not like it would have attracted attention.