It was third time lucky for the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Mary Fagan, when she named the port of Southampton's latest pilot launch Hampshire.

The traditional bottle of champagne proved too tough to smash as Mrs Fagan first of all cut a blue ribbon only for the bubbly to bounce unbroken on the bow of the craft.

Then the Lord Lieutenant tried dropping the bottle on to the launch but even that did not do the trick.

Finally, with a little more force, Mrs Fagan managed to send the champagne cascading over the 50 foot craft that has now officially taken its place in Associated British Ports' (ABP) fleet of four pilot launches.

From now on Hampshire will be the first and last name that many seafarers from around the world will see when they enter or leave the docks as the launch has been named after its home county.

The 19-ton craft, with a top speed of 23 knots, will be used to ferry pilots, who oversee the arrival and departures of vessels, to and from some of the thousands of ships that use Southampton docks every year.

Hampshire is the fourth and final launch to be delivered to ABP in Southampton by boatbuilders VT Halmatic from Portchester.

Mrs Fagan said: "Southampton is a prominent and very busy deep-water port and I am pleased to name this new pilot launch Hampshire and that the name of the county will be recognised by international seafarers from across the globe.

"I am enormously proud of the port of Southampton which is known around the world and also of the commerce and business it brings not only to the county but the nation as a whole.''

Invited guests lined the quayside at Empress Dock in the city's Eastern Docks to see the Rev Bill McCrea from the British and International Sailors' Society perform a short service of dedication before Mrs Fagan said the famous words: "I name this launch Hampshire. May God bless her and all who sail in her.''

Afterwards at a reception in the port Mrs Fagan was presented by ABP with a painting of the pilot launch together with Cunard's 151,400-ton passenger liner Queen Mary 2 while VT Halmatic gave her a silver teapot to mark the naming ceremony.

Captain James Chestnutt, Southampton's harbourmaster, said: "This latest investment is essential to ensure that ships and their cargo arrive and leave the port safely and efficiently through one of the busiest stretches of water in the UK.

"Hampshire and her three sister craft will complement our existing fleet of patrol boats and launches.''