(Friday photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
With all of yesterday’s breaking news, we are finally now getting the chance to share with you more of WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams‘ photos from a big Friday event on Harbor Island – Gov. Jay Inslee ceremonially making a weld during the keel-laying ceremony for the new state ferry Samish at Vigor Shipyards.

Workers took pictures too:

Samish, named for a Northwestern Washington tribe, is a 144-car ferry, one of four planned in the new Olympic class – it’s under construction at Vigor along with the first in the class, Tokitae:

While at Vigor, the governor took a look at both:

The Samish is expected to cost about $110 million:

What the governor did Friday is described as the equivalent of a cornerstone-laying ceremony:

His 4-year-old grandson’s initials are now part of the project – Brody Robert Inslee:

There’s still a lot more work ahead – the Samish isn’t expected to go into service for about two more years:

Among the speakers at Friday’s ceremony, Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond, who was there as part of her last day on the job – she’s retiring, with a successor already on the way:

Also speaking: Chris Morgan, vice president of Vigor Industrial’s US Fab Division, which has the ferry-building contract:

For Vigor’s workers, a day of pride:

The Olympic Class’s design is based on the Issaquah Class, whose namesake is usually the largest ferry on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run:

There’s no official decision yet where the Samish and Tokitae will go into service when they are ready.