COURTESY OF ELECTRIC BOAT The second Virginia-class nuclear submarine, USS Hawaii, shown here under construction in Connecticut, was delivered to the Navy in a special ceremony Friday.

Navy gets attack submarine USS Hawaii

GROTON, Conn. » Electric Boat delivered the latest nuclear-powered attack submarine, the Hawaii, to the U.S. Navy during a special ceremony Friday.

"This is a perfect ending to a challenging year for Electric Boat," EB President John P. Casey said.

Casey said the seven-year construction process took 10 million hours of work, which is 2 million less than what it took to build the USS Virginia. Improved efficiency will help the shipyard meet the Navy's goal of building two submarines a year, Casey said.

The 377-foot-long Hawaii is one of 30 Virginia-class fast-attack submarines planned by the Navy and is the third submarine of its class. It will have a 134-member crew.