West Seattle scene: New ferry Tokitae christened at Vigor

(Vigor photo)
That’s state Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson breaking a bottle against the new Washington State Ferries vessel M/V Tokitae, during its christening ceremony today at Vigor Industrial on Harbor Island. The $137 million ferry is 362 feet long, the first vessel in the 144-car Olympic Class; the second one, Samish, is also being built at Vigor, and a third one is being planned. Tokitae is expected to start service on the Mukilteo-Clinton route in June. The announcement of today’s christening notes that building Tokitae meant 500 jobs at Vigor and subcontractors in the state, adding that it’s “on budget and on schedule,” as is Samish.

3 Replies to "West Seattle scene: New ferry Tokitae christened at Vigor"

  • Christopher Boffoli March 20, 2014 (10:20 pm)

    I didn’t see it widely reported, but apparently Tokitae is a greeting in the language of the Coast Salish tribe.

    • WSB March 20, 2014 (10:50 pm)

      Also the original name of Lolita the orca – sorry, I should have gone into the background, just wanted to note this happened today.

  • herongrrrl March 21, 2014 (9:26 am)

    I have seen several translations for Tokitae, so I did a little research and found that it means “pretty” in Chinook Jargon. Chinook Jargon is a trade language that includes some words from local native languages as well as English and old French; “Tokitae” in particular derives from a word in the language of the Kalapuya people, who are part of the confederated tribes of Grande Rond, OR. Incidentally, one of the other state ferry names, “Klahowya,” is a Chinook greeting.

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