A senior Iraqi government official Ali al-Dabbagh said that the government hopes for a sale within the next few weeks.

Built in 1981, the Ocean Breeze is said to be modest in size compared with other “megayachts”.

However, it is decked out with the sort of familiar features that abounded in Saddam’s luxurious, gold-trimmed, palaces. It boasts of gold taps, a mini-operating theatre, a helicopter landing pad and a secret escape passageway.

Dabbagh said that an ownership dispute over the yacht had concluded in a French court.

“The ruling was in favour of Iraq,” 'The Telegraph' quoted him as saying.

Saddam, whose decades-long regime came to an abrupt end after the US-led invasion in 2003 and who was hanged in 2006 for crimes against humanity, was known for a lavish lifestyle while many of his people lived in extreme hardship with the country under economic sanctions.

US officials estimated that Saddam and his family may have amassed a fortune of up to 25 billion pounds while he ruled Iraq.