Ferry company Stena Line has confirmed it is to end sailings to Stranraer on Scotland's west coast.
The company will now run its Belfast service to a new ferry port at Loch Ryan.
It will be built on a 28-acre site north of Cairnryan and 10km from Stranraer and will accommodate passenger and freight customers all-year round.
The investment also includes the addition of two new ferries when the port becomes fully operational.
Journey times will be reduced by nearly half an hour and the new port will cut by half the time it currently takes to turn vessels around.
A Harbour Empowerment Order to allow the creation of the new port has just been approved by the Scottish Parliament.
The port of Stranraer, which has provided a ferry link for many years, is to be developed into a marine leisure area.
Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson said in a statement that it was a demonstration of 'Stena Line's commitment to enhancing and developing the vital transport link between Scotland and Northern Ireland'.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the cross-channel link was vital to the health of both economies.
Eighteen months ago, a new £37m Stena Line ferry terminal was officially opened in the Port of Belfast by the then First Minister, Ian Paisley, in his last official engagement.
