Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff, best known for building the Titanic, has been saved by a deal with Spain's state-owned shipbuilder.
Around 1,000 jobs will be saved as a result of the deal, which also includes two Harland & Wolff facilities in Scotland and one in England.
Around 600 of the jobs are based in Belfast.
Navantia, which is 100% owned by the Spanish government, had been in exclusive negotiations to buy the company since October, a month after it went into administration.
The deal means the shipyard will be able to fulfil a contract to help deliver three fleet solid support ships (FSS) for Britain's Royal Navy. Navantia is the main contractor for that project, with Harland & Wolff acting as UK subcontractor.
In a statement confirming the deal this morning, UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said it was "good for jobs" and "good for national security".
"This is a good deal for Harland and Wolff, its employees, and the British shipbuilding industry more broadly, as it provides the best opportunity to sustain essential sovereign shipbuilding capacity and capability for future naval work, safeguarding both current and future jobs in the UK," he said in a statement.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn has also welcomed the deal.
"Harland and Wolff is an iconic, internationally renowned company with a long and proud history," he said.
"I am delighted that, with this deal, it will now have a bright future ahead."
The shipyard, with is giant iconic yellow cranes Samson and Goliath, is in east Belfast, the constituency of DUP leader Gavin Robinson.
His party backed and continues to support Brexit, the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, but ironically the company that has stepped in to save the shipyard has received significant funding from the European Commission as part of the European Defence Fund.
There was no mention of that in a statement from the DUP leader welcoming the deal.
"I am delighted that this agreement has been reached which will secure the future of jobs in Belfast and in its other sites," Mr Robinson said.
"This has been a hugely unsettling time, particularly for all the staff at the yard, but the contract for the Ministry of Defence's Fleet Solid Support was always crucial to a solution being found.
"Harland & Wolff forms part of a wider defence sector that has huge potential for further growth in Northern Ireland. I am looking forward to joining the Secretary of State at Harland & Wolff later today and to meet and discuss with staff.
"The staff are the yard’s biggest asset, and this has been a worrying period. This announcement should provide some very welcome relief and reassurance to them as we look forward to Christmas."
Unions welcome deals
The deal has also been welcomed by trade unions, who have been involved in discussions with Navantia for a number of weeks.
Union leaders at Harland and Wolff's four sites were given confirmation that an agreement had been reached in a video conference meeting this morning.
Unite regional Secretary Susan Fitzgerald described it as "a good day for workers."
"Unions have been working for weeks and weeks and weeks to secure a deal that secures jobs, pay and conditions for workers, and that's been delivered today," she added.
"What we also hear today is very positive stories about investment in renewables, investment in apprenticeships and training, so actually we're extremely happy today.
"So going into the Christmas break people can have some confidence that when they come back in not only is their job safe and secure but it is set to improve."
The GMB union also welcomed the deal but said it remained cautious about the future of H&W's yards.
Matt Roberts, GMB national officer, said: "Today's announcement is a hugely positive step for retaining UK sovereign manufacturing.
"But despite all four yards remaining open, GMB remains cautious. Without a steady drum beat of work these yards will continue to struggle.
"GMB will continue the fight to ensure that does not happen."
Mr Reynolds said the change to the FSS deal was "relatively minor given the size of that contract, which is obviously a very important one for national security".
Officials said the variation made the "minimum changes necessary" to ensure Navantia can still deliver on the contract and build all three ships.
Mr Reynolds told reporters: "This is a huge vote of confidence in the UK. It is good for jobs, it's good for national security, and it's good for all parts of the UK."
He said the amendment to the FSS contract was "a far better solution than what was on the table when we initially came into office, which would have been a loan guarantee, which I believe would have lost the taxpayer all of its money and not delivered those ships and not secured the yards or the jobs".
Additional reporting PA
