A mysterious barge belonging to Google has been spotted in San Francisco Bay and reports suggest that it could be a prototype of a floating Google data center or perhaps the Google Store.
The mysterious structure is four stories high and has been spotted floating near Treasure Island in the midst of San Francisco Bay and is docked at Hangar 13.
Tech publication CNET and a local TV station KPIX 5 have offered different theories as to what the Google structure may hold. CNET showed the picture of the floating structure to experts who opine that it could be a data center as Google has a patent for the same.
Reportedly, the structure is 250 feet long, 72 feet wide and 16 feet deep.
"Could the structure be a sea-faring data center? One expert who was shown pictures of the structure thinks so, especially because being on a barge provides easy access to a source of cooling, as well as an inexpensive source of power -- the sea. And even more tellingly, Google was granted a patent in 2009 for a floating data center, and putting data centers inside shipping containers is already a well-established practice," reports CNET.
KPIX 5 (a CBS affiliate), on the other hand, revealed that per its source Google is building a marketing center (like the Apple Store) for its Google Glass - a floating Google Store.
"KPIX 5 has learned that Google is actually building a floating marketing center, a kind of giant Apple store, if you will - but for Google Glass, the cutting-edge wearable computer the company has under development," reports CBS San Francisco.
However, per the source, Google does not have a permit for parking the barge on the waterfront.
"Google has spent millions on this," said an insider close to the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, per CBS. "But they can't park this barge on the waterfront without a permit, and they don't have one."
Reportedly, Google intends to have the barge shifted to Fort Mason where it will be accessible to the public, per the anonymous source.
However, per Lawrence Goldzban, executive director of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission who has "no idea" what Google's structure would be used for, it would be illegal for the vessel to be stationed in the bay and used as a permanent store.
"Under the law of California, vessels cannot be moored for long periods of time," said Lawrence to ABC News.
Moreover, per a report from the Portland Press Herald a similar-looking mysterious floating vessel has been spotted in the Portland Harbor. The U.S. Coast Guard is reportedly investigating into the issue.
