The Brazilian shipbuilding industry, which in 1979 employed almost 40,000 people and in some years moved as much as US$1 billion, all but sank in the following 20 years. In 1999, with not even 1,000 employees on the payrolls and new building orders for only US$30 million, the shipyards hit bottom. There are signs, however, that a return to the surface is in progress.

In its worst period of crisis, the industry did not succumb completely because it received oxygen from the petroleum sector, which experienced great expansion after the fall of the Petrobras monopoly in oil exploration. Now, orders that totaled US$100 million last year have jumped to US$800 million while shipyard employees have gone from 2,000 to 8,000, according to data disclosed by the national shipbuilding industry association (Sinaval).