Stena Line has bought two routes on the Irish Sea for a total of €47.5m.
The company has bought the Belfast to Liverpool (Birkenhead) and Belfast to Heysham routes from DFDS Seaways.
Stena Line says the acquisition will enable its to improve its service on the Irish Sea by offering several different alternatives for transportation between Ireland and Great Britain.
Stena Line Irish Sea Area Director Michael McGrath said the latest acquisition reflects Stena Line's commitment to the Irish Sea and would improve service and frequency for passengers and freight.
"These new Irish Sea routes will complement our existing services perfectly and enable us to offer our customers even more options for ferry transport across the Irish Sea," said Mr McGrath.
"At the same time, we are strengthening Belfast as a transport hub for freight and passengers to and from Northern Ireland," he added.
Included in the purchase from DFDS are four ships which include the chartered Lagan Seaways and Mersey Seaways on the Belfast-Liverpool route and the freight carriers Scotia Seaways and Hibernia Seaways, all of which are now to be taken over by Stena Line.
