Steve Zissou’s boat is named Belafonte in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
The Belafonte is the research vessel and floating headquarters of Steve Zissou, a fictional oceanographer played by Bill Murray. After a jaguar shark kills his longtime collaborator Esteban du Plantier, Zissou assembles a crew to make a documentary and hunt the animal. The voyage mixes maritime adventure, family revelations, workplace rivalries, and deadpan comedy.
The ship’s name alludes to Harry Belafonte, the Jamaican-American singer and actor. The film’s soundtrack includes Brazilian Portuguese versions of David Bowie songs performed by Seu Jorge, who plays crew member Pelé dos Santos. This music became one of the film’s most recognizable features.
The Belafonte is sometimes mistaken for the name of the shark or for a real research vessel. It is neither: it is the fictional ship used by Zissou and his crew. The film itself was released in 2004.