GROTON, Conn. — New England experienced a touch of the Hawaiian Islands yesterday as the submarine Hawaii was christened at General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard on the Thames River.

A Hawai'i delegation, including Sen. Daniel K. Inouye and Gov. Linda Lingle, were among the invited guests at the christening ceremonies. Lingle is the submarine's sponsor.

"Most people, when they hear the word Hawai'i, they immediately conjure up pictures of beautiful beaches, lovely dancers and moonlit nights," said Inouye, who won the Medal of Honor in combat in Italy during World War II. "Hawai'i is all that and more: Our sons and daughters have participated in every war since we became part of the United States."

The 377-foot-long Hawaii joins the USS Virginia and USS Texas in the new line of Virginia-Class submarines. The sub, built jointly by Electric Boat in Groton and Northrop Grumman Newport News in Virginia, will carry a crew of 132 officers and men. It is expected to be delivered to the Navy early next year. The Navy has not officially announced the sub's home port, but it is expected to be based at Pearl Harbor.

The submarine received a traditional Hawaiian blessing by guest Raymond Ganoti of O'ahu. Ganoti chanted and prayed in Hawaiian and English as he anointed the submarine's hull with a ti leaf.

After the blessing, Lingle broke the ceremonial champagne bottle across the sub's hull.

Before the bottle-breaking, Connecticut representatives sent a clear message to the thousands attending the christening: The nation needs to increase submarine production.

The news was welcomed by a crowd largely made up of family and friends of the military and Electric Boat workers. For the first time in 50 years, Electric Boat has no design work for a new class of submarines and has said it would lay off up to 2,400 workers this year. In April, 154 were let go in the first round of layoffs.

Standing atop a platform above the Virginia Class submarine, the Connecticut delegation, along with executives from Electric Boat and Newport News, said they would push to build 48 submarines in the next 20 years.

The Groton company, which produced nearly two submarines a month in 1943 during World War II, now makes one submarine about every two years.

In arguing for more submarine production, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., cited a need to keep up with the increased military power of foreign countries, such as China. Dodd told the crowd China's submarine program is expected to eclipse the United States' within six years.

"We need to drop two submarines a year," Dodd said. "To not would be a terrible sacrifice."

Groton, also home to the Naval Submarine Base, holds the distinction of being the premier submarine production center in the country. Last year, however, the Pentagon targeted the Groton base for closure. State and local leaders were successful in persuading the independent Base Closure and Realignment Commission to keep the base open.