Google is selling its floating barge in Portland, Maine, thereby eliminating the once-mysterious structures in the most anti-climactic way possible.
Last October, the structures (there's another one in San Francisco) became objects of curiosity after being discovered by the press. Initially, Google kept mum about the structures. After a month of speculation from the media, the company eventually gave in, revealing that the barges were intended for use as a floating showroom, particularly for new products like Google Glass. It was also revealed that the structures were headed to New York City as a venue for an exclusive party.
"Google Barge...A floating data center A wild party boat? A barge housing the last remaining dinosaur? Sadly, none of the above. Although it's still early days and things may change, we're exploring as an interactive space where people can learn about new technology," the company told TechCrunch.
Now it seems that plan has been scrapped. According to a report from the Portland Press Herald, the floating barge, which has the registration number "BAL 0011" will instead be sold for scrap. Last Wednesday, a tugboat was said to have towed the Portland barge from Ricker's Wharf Marine Facility to Turner's Island Cargo Terminal. The owner of Turner's Island Terminal was quoted as saying that an unnamed company had bought the barge and was preparing to take it to an undisclosed location. The containers, on the other hand, will be scrapped at the terminal.
The floating barge, which carried 63 shipping containers assembled to form a four-story high building, was built in a facility in New London, Connecticut. According to the Press Herald report, the 250-foot barge may be worth a lot of money. The Louisiana company that built the structure, C&C Marine, had pegged the structure's value at around $4 million.
There's no official word on why Google decided to sell the structure. However, this may be due to the company's lowered expectations for Glass. The floating barge in California has so far escaped the fate of the Portland structure. Google's dummy company, By and Large LLC, has reportedly paid the barge's docking fees through October.
