LONDON — The future of the Northern Ireland-based Harland and Wolff shipbuilder, which famously built the Titanic, appears to have been safeguarded Thursday after the Spanish state-owned business Navantia stepped in to buy it.

The purchase of the company, which was placed into a type of bankruptcy in September for the second time in five years, is subject to regulatory approval.

If approved, the deal will secure 1,000 jobs at Harland and Wolff’s four shipyards, including at the iconic one in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Two of the others are in Scotland, while the fourth is in England.

The deal is important for the Royal Navy because Harland and Wolff is a subcontractor to a consortium that landed a contract to build new ships. — Associated Press