The Sam Simon is an antipoaching vessel named a?fter the late 'Simpsons' co-creator and owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an animal-rights group dedicated to marine causes.

Amid security concerns and heightened police patrols, a camouflaged ship with jagged shark's teeth on its hull anchored in the waters directly in front of the Grand Hotel prompted "what?s that?" buzz on the first day of the fest.

he Hollywood Reporter has learned it's the Sam Simon, an antipoaching vessel named a?fter the late Simpsons co-creator, who financed its acquisition. The ship is owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an animal-rights group dedicated to marine causes.

The aggressive direct-activism organization, which can make PETA look mild, has arrived ahead of a planned May 14 press conference, with supporter Pamela Anderson calling attention to its ongoing legal campaign against Antibes' Marineland, a SeaWorld-like amusement park that?s the largest of its kind in Europe. Sea Shepherd contends that an orca and numerous other animals unnecessarily died after flooding on the property last fall. (Marineland reopened in March.)

"We are presently suing for negligence," says Paul Watson, founder and president of the activist group. "They don't want to release the autopsy for the orca. The pools on the property were filled with diesel and other chemicals."

Marineland, which has in the past denied abuse allegations and ensured that conditions are "carefully and strictly controlled by several European and international organizations and regulations," did not respond to THR's request for comment.

Sea Shepherd's members are no strangers to the Croisette, having made the scene repeatedly in the past. They attended a 2010 screening of Peter Jay Brown's out-of-competition documentary about the group, Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist. "We've come to the festival at various times because we believe the camera is incredibly powerful," says Watson.