The mysterious Google barges that appeared from out of nowhere on the coasts of San Francisco and Portland, Maine around this time last year have been scrapped after the Coast Guard officials deemed they were floating buildings waiting to bet set on fire.
A report by the Wall Street Journal cites documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that say Google's media-grabbing four-story barges on the East and West Coasts were fire hazards.
Google, seeing that it required more work to overhaul the project, decided to scrap it altogether. The West Coast barge in San Francisco was moved 80 miles to Stockton in March, with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission only saying it didn't have its paperwork in order. The East Coast barge was dismantled and sold for scraps.
"These vessels will have over 5,000 gallons of fuel on the main deck and a substantial amount of combustible material on board," Robert Gauvin, acting chief of commercial vessel compliance of the Coast Guard, wrote in a March 2013 email to Foss Maritime, Google's contractor.
Another email dated September 2013 warned Foss Maritime that the barges needed more safety features, such as lifeboats and flotation devices, which are needed if people onboard are forced to jump into the sea, as in the case of a fire.
In 2011, Google began construction on the barges, which it originally intended as floating retail stores. Earlier this year, when the barges were discovered by CNET, Google confirmed its ownership of both barges and said they would house "an interactive space where people can learn about technology" and its new products, such as Google Glass and Google's self-driving cars.
By 2012, the Journal reported that Google was already starting to cozy up to the Coast Guard and the National Park Service to get safety approval.
However, inspections by the Coast Guard and independent fire safety bodies revealed a long list of gaps in Google's fire safety measures, which the Coast Guard detailed in a 20-page document.
Google reportedly tried to woo regulators by picking them up "in a special Google speed boat" and giving them a tour of the California barge. Foss Maritime also said that only 150 people will be allowed on board the barges at a single time, but the Coast Guard was not satisfied.
"I am unaware of any measures you plan to use to actually limit the number of passengers," Gauvin said. "While I understand there is a sense of urgency, I am concerned that significant work has already been performed without full consent of the Coast Guard."
Google gave up on its barge project in early October 2013, just weeks before CNET first caught wind of the news and the media began reporting the mysterious barges on both coasts. On Nov. 6 last year, Google released a statement confirming the barges were indeed to serve as showrooms for its latest products and that "it's still early days for the project."
The Coast Guard chalks it up to non-disclosure agreement it signed with Google, which it said it later regretted.
"In hindsight, we should have sought legal review earlier," said one captain in a letter to his officers.
