The architect of the industrial policy, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was sentenced on Wednesday to nearly 10 years in prison on corruption and money-laundering charges. The ruling, a blow to his plans to run again, provided some relief to those investors who had been fearful about his political comeback in an economy only just recovering from recession.

The shipbuilding industry is still dealing with the roller-coaster ride that was the “Lula” era.

In the late 1970s, when Brazil was still under a dictatorship, the country’s shipyards employed almost 40,000 people, according to Sinaval, an industry association. It was bolstered by subsidies and protectionist deals that meant 40 percent of Brazil’s international cargo was carried by ships built within the country.

But after economic turbulence in the 1980s, maritime trade was liberalized, opening the industry to foreign competition. The shipbuilding industry fell into decline, and by the turn of the century, it employed just 2,000 workers.

After Mr. da Silva was elected president in 2003, the left-wing leader immediately ordered Petrobras to build and source more of its materials at home. A few years later, Petrobras found vast oil reserves below a salt layer deep under the Atlantic seabed. Mr. da Silva proclaimed: “God is Brazilian.”