MSC Preziosa was officially delivered to MSC Cruises at the STX France shipyard in St Nazaire today, the cruise line said in a statement.

During the traditional flag ceremony, the shipyard’s pennant and the French flag were lowered, accompanied by the French national anthem, before Laurent Castaing, General Manager of STX France, formally handed the ship over to MSC Cruises’ owner Gianluigi Aponte.

Mr Aponte then gave command of the ship to Captain Giuliano Bossi, and the flags of Italy and MSC Cruises were raised to the sound of the Italian national anthem.

Erminio Eschena, General Director of MSC Cruises France, Belgium and Luxembourg, was also in attendance as well as French Minister for Industrial Renewal Arnaud Montebourg, French Junior Minister for Transport and the Maritime Economy Frédéric Cuvillier, H.E. Hye Min LEE, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to France and Mayor of St Nazaire Joël Batteux.

The honour of cutting the ribbon fell to Alexa Aponte Vago, MSC Vice President. After the traditional breaking of a bottle of champagne, three blasts from the ship’s siren signalled the end of the ceremony.