Coast Guard spills the beans on Google's mystery barges

Computerworld - The U.S. Coast Guard has given up what could be a key clue in the tale of two mysterious barges moored on either side of the country.

After repeatedly declining to comment about the barges, which appear to be carrying structures made of shipping crates and are docked in the harbors in both San Francisco and Portland, Me., a Coast Guard spokesman divulged some information today, according to a CNBC.com report.

"We can confirm that Google is involved or associated with the barge, but there is a nondisclosure agreement in effect; the Coast Guard is unable to discuss or divulge any further details at this time," said Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas McKenzie, a Coast Guard spokesman..

Google has not returned repeated requests for information about the mystery barges.

These shipping containers piled on top of a barge in Portland, Maine, could be a Google floating data center, although the Internet company won't say. A similar barge is docked in San Francisco Bay. (Photo: Sharon Gaudin/Computerworld)

A Coast Guard spokesman stationed in Portland, Me. said earlier today that the captain of the station knows what's on the barge but most others there do not. The company behind the barrages has asked the Coast Guard not to talk about it because of proprietary concerns, he added.

The spokesman told Computerworld that work is not expected to begin on the barge in Portland until work is completed on the one in San Francisco.

The two barges have led to a lot of curiosity and speculation, much of it because of the heavy veil of secrecy around them.

Both are owned by By and Large, LLC, a company formed in 2012 in Delaware but with no known address or phone number.

Everyone from harbor masters to city workers to tugboat operators have either said they were never told what's on the barges, what they are intended for or whether Google is involved - or they simply won't say.

On Tuesday, Pete Vigue, CEO of The Cianbro Co., which has the construction contract for the barge docked in Portland, said he is working under a strict non-disclosure agreement.

Much of the speculation swirled around Google being the mysterious entity behind the floating structures. Some speculated that Google is building floating data centers, Apple-like Google retail stores or even Google Glass stores. Most think Google is trying out floating data centers, which the company got a patent for in 2009.

The floating data center, according to the patent, would be fueled by motion-powered, floating machines arranged in a grid and wired together. The machines, such as those built by Pelamis Wave Power Ltd in Edinburgh, Scotland, capture the natural motion of the waves, tides and current and convert it into electricity or pumping power for the data center's cooling pumps.

"It's not that far fetched," David Cappuccio, a vice president and chief of research at Gartner Inc., said in an earlier interview. "You have to be somebody of Google's size to even consider this."

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at  @sgaudin, on Google+ or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her email address is sgaudin@computerworld.com.

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Does Google's floating data center plan hold water?

Computerworld - With speculation swirling that two mysterious barges on either side of the U.S. are evidence Google's working on floating data centers, analysts say the company would have a lot of obstacles to overcome for that idea to become a reality.

"It's not that far fetched," said David Cappuccio, a vice president and chief of research at Gartner Inc. "You have to be somebody of Google's size to even consider this."

The two barges -- one docked in San Francisco Bay and the other docked in the harbor in Portland, Me. -- produced a barrage of questions and rumors in those communities. Then people realized the two barges are owned by the same company and have very similar names, prompting even more speculation.

These shipping containers piled on top of a barge in Portland, Maine, could be a Google floating data center, although the Internet company won't say. A similar barge is docked in San Francisco Bay. (Photo: Sharon Gaudin/Computerworld)

The barges each carry a large, structure seemingly comprised of shipping containers. They're about 40 feet wide and 70 to 80 feet long.

It's widely thought that Google owns the structures, which could be carrying floating data centers, Google Glass stores or Apple-like Google retail operations.

Google has not responded to multiple requests for information on the barges.

Fueling the speculation, though, is the level of secrecy around them.

Portland officials say they don't know what's on the barge docked in the harbor and the local Coast Guard station reported that only the captain there knows what's onboard.

A worker at The Cianbro Co., the construction company contracted to work on the barge in Maine, told a reporter taking photos of the barge on Monday to leave the property. Today, Cianbro CEO Pete Vigue told Computerworld that there is little he can say about the project.

"It is docked at our wharf," said Vigue. "I'm not allowed to make any comments on our involvement or what we're doing or what is happening at our facility. There is a very strict non-disclosure agreement."

He did add that he thinks this will be positive for the state of Maine. "I think it's very positive and we'll leave it at that," he said.

Small and midsize businesses are moving to the cloud to host their communications capabilities. Learn how enterprise-quality phone benefits, online management, conferencing, auto attendant, and ease of use are built into a system that is half the cost of a PBX.

Read now.

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