Google barge bids SF buh-bye

Google's mystery barge sailed away from the bright lights and hubbub of San Francisco on Thursday to its new, quieter, home in the California delta city of Stockton.

The odd-looking, four-story vessel made of recycled shipping containers departed from Treasure Island to comply with a Jan. 31 regulatory order after an investigation concluded that Google Inc. didn't have the proper permits to build the barge on San Francisco's island in the bay.

The vessel's new home will be Stockton, a city hard hit by the housing collapse that’s about 80 miles east of San Francisco on the Sacramento–San Joaquin River delta. The Port of Stockton falls outside the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, which investigated the barge.

Google says the barge will serve as an interactive technology center when it's done. However, numerous theories have been floated about its purpose. Among the most popular have been that Google is building a party boat, or a roaming data center or an aquatic store.

The attention and intrigue surrounding the barge since it was first spotted last fall has been a source of amusement for Google, embattled as it is for the commuter buses it operates for employees who live in San Francisco and work at its campus south of the city. Instead of responding to barbs about gentrification and class warfare, the company on Thursday issued a playful statement about the barge and its new berth.

"It's been a busy six months for our barge and it's grown tired of all the attention, so we are moving it to Stockton where it can have a break, enjoy the city's delicious asparagus, warmer climate and get a bit of rest before its next chapter," Google said. Stockton's 29th annual Asparagus Festival will be held April 25 through 27.

Despite the eating competition and fun run at the festival, Stockton has never been a major tourist attraction. The city of roughly 300,000 people fell on such tough times that it filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and is still trying to reorganize its finances under court supervision.

"It was an exciting morning for us," said Port of Stockton Director Richard Aschieris who added that Google's representatives signed an agreement that will allow the barge to be moored in Stockton for six months. "This doesn't happen every day. In fact I would probably say this is, from a maritime point of view, the highest visibility vessel we may have ever hosted."

Al Jazeera and wire services