It was a moment almost two years in the making. Portland shipbuilding and ship-repair company Vigor Industrial was finally able last week to try out its new $50 million baby ($40 million for construction, $10 million to get it here): A massive floating drydock called The Vigorous. On Monday, the 936-foot-long SS Algol — designed to ferry tanks and other military vehicles — floated into the 960-foot-long dock at the north end of Swan Island.



The drydock, which Vigor Industrial claims is the largest in North America, arrived in Portland in August after being carried across the Pacific Ocean by the MV Blue marlin, one of the world's largest heavy-lift ships. As the Marlin traveled up the Columbia River to Portland, shipwatchers gathered along bridges and banks to watch the passage, which carried the Vigorous in three sections to Vigor's shipyard on Swan Island.

Check out our earlier coverage:

Hundreds gather to see Vigorous unveiled on Swan Island

Vigorous is separated from the Blue Marlin and set afloat (photos & video)

The MV Blue Marlin carries Vigorous up the Columbia River and into North Portland.

--Mark Graves