New documents reveal that Google shut down its plans for its barge project last year because of concerns involving fire safety.
The barge, created as floating showrooms for new tech, was dismantled in August 2013, which most people believed at the time was due to costs of construction, according to CNET. However, documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal under the Freedom Information Act state show that the search giants' contractor stopped the plan after the Coast Guard raised concerns about unresolved safety issues.
"These vessels will have over 5,000 gallons of fuel on the main deck and a substantial amount of combustible material on board," said Robert Gauvin, the Coast Guard's chief of commercial vessel compliance, wrote in an email in March 2013.
While one of the barges was sold for scrap this summer, Google has moved the other to San Francisco Bay to Stockton, TechCrunch reported.
The media has been trying to figure out the purpose of the barges since their introduction, guessing different uses such as being the location for tests for Google's hacking death initiative, which is aimed at finding cures for different diseases.
Safety concerns were also raised in September of last year when a visiting Coast Guard inspector said Google needed to take additional safety measures in case workers had to jump overboard during a fire or any other dangerous situation, CNET reported. Coast Guard officials also expressed concern about the safety of visitors with disabilities, having been required to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs).
While Google explained that there wouldn't be any more than 150 on board at any time, the company still received criticism from the Coast Guard, with Gauvin saying in his email that he didn't know about any of Google's plans for limiting how many passengers can be on the barge.
"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," he added.
The project was shut down in September 2013 after the Coast Guard told Google that fire safety features usually required for vessels weren't found in the barge's design, TechCrunch reported.
"We cannot determine if evacuation of disabled persons has been considered," the organization added.
Google has yet to reveal what it will do with what remains of the barge project.
