The Google barge anchored on Treasure Island in San Francisco is heading out soon to Stockton, California.
Reports have surfaced that the vessel of the search engine giant will take the said course of action after construction was halted since October. The Google barge is intended to become an exhibition center for its Google-y products such as its driverless cars, Google Glass, and other creations of its X Labs. The structure of the showroom is meant to be four stories high and made of shipping containers.
When the barge was spotted in November, there were speculations that the barge will be used to host parties or as a floating data center of Google but the company was quick to clarify its real purpose. The construction of the barge has been questioned by authorities and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) launched its investigation in December. The governing body concluded that neither the city nor the developing authority of the area had construction permits to allow Google to continue with the project.
The BCDC gave Google several options after ordering suspension of constructions. The company has to secure construction permit, move the barge, or settle fines it will incur for not meeting the requirements. Moving to Stockton will be favorable for the firm as the area will be far from the jurisdiction of the commission.
"Mirian Saez, head of Island operations for the Treasure Island Development Authority -- which manages leases on Treasure Island -- confirmed that the Google Barge may take to the water for its new home as early as next week, weather permitting," CNet reported.
"In an e-mail to CNET, Saez said she'd been told by Bay Ship & Yacht, which leases the pier -- and is subleasing it to Google -- that the barge project is about to be on the move, heading for Stockton," the report read.
However, as of Thursday, port authorities in Stockton has claimed that they have not received information about the move of the Google barge.
"There would have to be an agreement negotiated in advance of any vessel arriving at the Port of Stockton and that hasn't happened. We have many potential users or representatives of users contacting us all the time. It's relatively easy to collect information on our facilities, but they will still have to eventually have to contact us and get an agreement in advance of arrival," said Richard Aschieris, executive director at the Stockton port.
Google allegedly plans to build three barges for the project. The company plans to dock the vessels in San Francisco,New York, and Los Angeles.
