Ataturk's yacht hits shoals of sex scandal

A historical yacht belonging to the founder of modern Turkey will be delivered to the nation's Culture Ministry after the boat became embroiled in a prostitution scandal involving underage girls, reports Hurriyet Daily News.

Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay demanded Wednesday that the yacht be turned over to his control. The yacht, the Savarona, was used by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and is currently the property of the Finance Ministry, which has rented the boat to businessman Kahraman Sadikoglu for 49 years.

Fourteen people onboard the Savarona were detained Monday in a raid on an alleged prostitution ring as the boat lay moored near the Mediterranean town of Gocek. Those detained included foreign businessmen and underage girls brought from Russia and the Ukraine for high-cost prostitution.

The girls were obtained through foreign modeling agencies, news wires said. Among the suspects was an individual who said he was an adviser to Kazakhstan's prime minister.

A prosecutor in Antalya in charge of organized crime said they had learned that the Savarona had twice before been used for prostitution.

The Savarona is a 136-meter yacht with 17 luxury suites built in 1931 for the daughter of Brooklyn Bridge chief engineer John A. Roebling. It was sold to Turkey in 1938 and used by Ataturk to host important guests before his death later that year. In 1989, Turkish businessman Sadikoglu paid $60 million to the Finance Ministry for the rights to operate the Savarona for 49 years, daily Haberturk said.

Sadikoglu rents the yacht to tourists for $30,000-$40,000 a day to help cover annual costs of more than $3 million. He was in Iraq at the time of the raid and said he would evaluate the situation upon his return, Habertürk said.