A GENERATION ago it was one of the most glamorous yachts in the world, the naval flagship where Marshal Tito, Yugoslavia’s dictator, welcomed stars and statesman including Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren and Winston Churchill.

Today the 1,930-ton presidential yacht Galeb (Seagull) is a rusting hulk, moored on the quayside of the Croatian port of Rijeka. It is for sale at auction next month with a reserve price of just £85,000, less than its value as scrap metal.

Like the ruined former state of Yugoslavia, its deserted decks and staterooms are a vivid reminder of faded glory and national pride.

The yacht came to international attention in 1953 when Tito sailed up the Thames to meet Churchill on the first visit to Britain of a communist head of state. He was greeted on board by the Duke of Edinburgh.

Tito loved the glamour the 384ft yacht conferred on his regime. He used it for parties, foreign visits and diplomacy. World leaders entertained there included Khrushchev, Gadaffi and Gandhi. Tito was particularly excited to welcome Taylor and Burton, who played Tito in the 1973 war epic Sutjeska.

The Croatian authorities have made a preservation order on the ship and hope to turn it into a museum if they secure ownership at the auction. It will cost up to £22.5m to restore it.

Vojko Obersnel, the mayor of Rijeka, vowed to maintain it: “This ship is of huge historical and cultural importance, which is why we want to buy it.”

Built in Genoa in 1938, the Galeb was originally a fruit ship. During the second world war it was used by the Nazi fleet to lay mines, until it was sunk by British bombers off Rijeka in 1945.

The new Yugoslav socialist state salvaged the Galeb and converted it into Tito’s private yacht.

Nostalgia surrounds the vessel. A string of films has stirred memories of what local papers call “the high hopes and prosperity of a bygone era”.

A former bandsman aboard the Galeb, accordion player Zoran Joksimovic, 48, said he could never forget the “glory days”.

“The Galeb was truly a dream ship; it emanated beauty: Persian carpets, precious wooden furniture, golden dishes and cutlery. Back then I could barely believe my eyes.”

After Tito’s death in 1980 the Galeb was docked in Croatia until the outbreak in 1991 of the civil war that was to shatter Yugoslavia. It was moved to Montenegrin waters where it remained until 2000, when it was bought by John Paul Papanicolaou, a Greek tycoon who also owns Aristotle Onassis’s former yacht Christina O.

He had planned an elaborate restoration but after a series of financial disputes the shipyard gained a court order for its repossession.

The sale is scheduled for May 9. Veterans who fought under Tito’s command have appealed to the city authorities to save the ship as “part of our cultural and historic heritage”.

A spokesman for the League of Anti-Fascist Fighters said it was a reminder of “the times we are proud of”. Nenad Car, director of the shipyard, claimed that despite its appearance, the ship, which still has its original twin diesel engines, was in fairly good shape: “It is in much better condition than Christina O was before we rebuilt it a few years ago.”

Zeljko Matejcic, the officer guarding the Galeb, said: “I am no communist, nor do I approve of everything Tito did, but I love the Galeb. I think it would be a shame to let it perish.”

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