Google’s mysterious barges were shut down due to fire hazards

A year ago, mysterious “ Google barges” near San Francisco and Portland, Me., captured media and public attention. Then, as curiosity peaked, the barges sailed away. Now, documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that Google Inc.’s contractor halted the projects, which Google said would be technology showrooms, after the Coast Guard repeatedly raised fire-safety concerns. “These vessels will have over 5,000 gallons of fuel on the main deck and a substantial amount of combustible material on board,” warned Robert Gauvin, the Coast Guard’s acting chief of commercial vessel compliance, in a March 27, 2013 email to the contractor, Foss Maritime Co. In September 2013, a Coast Guard inspector wrote that more safety measures were needed in case “people are forced to jump overboard on the waterside (like a fire).”