Electric Boat hosted a keel-laying ceremony today for the Hawaii (SSN776), the
third ship in the Navy's newest class of nuclear attack submarines.

  Held at EB's Quonset Point, R.I., facility, the ceremony was attended by several high-ranking congressional and Navy representatives, including Adm. Frank "Skip" Bowman, director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion.

To conclude the ceremony, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, the ship's sponsor, chalked her initials on a steel plate. Her initials were then welded onto the plate, which will be permanently affixed to the submarine.