Most second-half-of-the-twentieth-century oceanographic ships remain in a discreet anonymity, but a very few have grabbed the news headlines. The minisubmarine Alvin came into the public eye, but its image and fame never matched that of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Calypso. The Calypso is surrounded by myths and stories about which her wily boss seldom commented. It remains gainsaid that the ship has had a scientific and adventurous career, numerous episodes of which unfolded on millions of television screens. That does not detract from the value of her expeditions and her scientific worth. The lives of the ship and Cousteau are intertwined. If ever an "oceanographic" ship was involved in controversies, the Calypso places among the ones on top of the list. This is the case for her scientific campaigns, for her cinematographic presentations, and now for her legal imbroglios. The authors have covered some of the Calypso's odysseys in previous papers; the present one briefly unfolds more of the Calypso's fascinating "life" and deplores her far from glorious end amidst tedious legal wrangles.
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