The 610-foot tanker Independence slid into the water Saturday at General Dynamics NASSCO Saturday, a sign that the shipbuilding industry in San Diego is alive and well.
The new ECO-class tanker symbolizes the new direction in the shipping industry in the U-S toward cleaner, more fuel-efficient modes of transporting products.
The ship was christened with the traditional champagne bottle break over the hull by Allison Moran, CEO of RaceTrac Petroleum. Jayne Rathburn, former CEO/owner of US Joiner, pulled the trigger to release the ship into the bay.
The Independence weighs 50,000 tons and can carry 33,000 barrels of oil from port to port within the U.S.
Construction of the ship began in November 2014.
