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Belfast’s Harland and Wolff shipyard has been sold, saving it from closure.
The yard, best known for building the Titanic, has been bought for a total of £6m by InfraStrata, a London-based energy firm.
Harland and Wolff went into administration in August following the collapse of its Norwegian parent company.
That move put about 120 jobs at risk. InfraStrata says it will retain the 79 workers who are still employed.
It hopes to increase the workforce by “several hundred” over five years.
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The trade union, Unite, says it expects people to return to work as early as this week.
InfraStrata will initially focus on metal fabrication for its energy projects.
The company’s main project is a gas storage project at Islandmagee in County Antrim where it hopes to begin construction enabling works before the end of the year.
It is also planning a separate, floating gas storage facility.
BBC NI Agriculture and Environment Correspondent Conor Macauley said that although the shipyard sale was “good news”, there was an “important caveat” to be aware of.
He said the Islandmagee gas storage project which InfraStrata says will provide much of the work “does not have all the necessary planning approvals and faces considerable local opposition on environmental grounds”.
InfraStrata chief executive John Wood said: “Harland and Wolff is a landmark asset and its reputation as one of the finest multi-purpose fabrication facilities in Europe is testament to its highly skilled team in Belfast.”
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The Belfast shipyard in numbers
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35,000workers employed at its peak during World War Two
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£1bnof taxpayers’ money was pumped into it to keep it afloat
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79jobs have been retained following its sale in October 2019
Source: BBC
The news follows a nine-week occupation of the shipyard by workers, supported by their unions.
Unite regional officer Susan Fitzgerald said the workers had “defied the cynics”.
“As well as safeguarding their own futures, the workers have sent a message that will be heard across Northern Ireland, most immediately by Wrightbus workers in Ballymena,” she said.
Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith said he was “delighted” by the news and the fact that the skills and experience of the existing workforce would be retained.
“I firmly believe that the shipyard has a promising future and InfraStrata’s plans present an exciting opportunity for both Belfast and Northern Ireland’s manufacturing and energy sectors,” he said.
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The Titanic in dry dock at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in February 1912
Accountancy firm BDO, who had been formally appointed to oversee the Belfast shipyard when it entered administration, said the “agreed terms of sale will include the transfer of the remaining employees on their existing terms and conditions to the purchaser upon completion”.
“In the interim, it is intended that the remaining employees will be able to return to work in the coming days to facilitate the remaining steps required for the completion of a sale,” a BDO spokesperson said.
“This is a very positive step towards securing a sale of the shipyard and protecting and safeguarding the employment of the workforce.”