The Brittany Ferries weekly service from Cork to Santander is to cease operation.
In a surprise move, the company is to transfer its Ireland to Spain sailings from Cork to the Rosslare Europort in Co Wexford.
The first sailing will take place on 28 February.
The Cork/Santander route opened in 2018 and was primarily aimed at the freight market into Europe with Brexit on the horizon.
Brittany Ferries CEO Christophe Mathieu said freight numbers were not strong enough to continue the route but the shipping company remains committed to Cork with its 40-year-old service to Roscoff in France due to re-commence in March.
The new Spanish arrival port from Rosslare will be Bilbao, in northern Spain.
The Port of Cork has described the decision as surprising and very disappointing.
The port operator said in a statement that it will continue to explore other options for links between Cork and Spain.
