Santa Catarina Will Concentrate Brazil’s Military Shipbuilding Industry

With Investments in the Sector, Itajaí, Already Recognized Nationally as the Capital of Shipbuilding, Should Soon Become a Reference in Latin America

Itajaí is expected to become, in the coming years, a reference hub for military shipbuilding in Latin America. TCU Releases the Construction of the Navy Corvettes and Estimates to Generate 8 Thousand Jobs at the Oceana Shipyard in Itajaí. 

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The Federal Government has released over R$ 4 billion to be invested in military programs, but the demand for recreational vessels has also grown in recent years.

The nautical sector of Itajaí, one of the most important pillars of the municipality’s economy, is sailing smoothly.

At the shipyards, the production of sports and leisure boats is seeing growth, with location and infrastructure offered being essential factors for companies’ decisions to invest and establish themselves in Itajaí.

The year 2019 was very favorable for Sedna Group — a national company with the strongest presence in the fishing segment in Brazil and South America. The company aims to grow by 20% in 2020.

For the next year, the shipyard already has 63 boats ordered, thus the work pace remains intense at the factory.

“The second half of the year was much more favorable than the first due to the change of government and economic policies. The investor (our client) has found security in the solutions proposed by the government and 2020 promises to be much better than 2019; we project a 20% growth in the domestic market and about 15% in the export market,” says Hemerson Dinis, sales manager at Sedna.

In Itajaí, the wind blows toward the open sea. The city was the big winner of the Bom Barco Nautical Excellence Award in 2019, considered the Oscar of the nautical field.

“This shows that the city not only has qualified shipbuilding but, above all, that it delivers this with quality. So, this award greatly enhances the shipyards in the municipality and adds value to the city of Itajaí, which year after year has been more qualified, with a more skilled workforce and better-prepared companies to meet market demand and also the job opportunities that arise in the sector,” states Thiago Morastoni, Secretary of Economic Development of Itajaí.

Another good news is that Itajaí is expected to become, in the coming years, a reference hub for military shipbuilding in Latin America.

This year, the construction of two corvettes is expected to begin — vessels intended for the Brazilian Navy’s navigation. The service order has not yet been signed, but when it becomes a reality, it should generate more than 8 thousand indirect jobs.

The funds have already been released by the Federal Government. R$ 4 billion and 250 thousand will be invested in the construction programs of the Tamandaré Class corvettes and in the purchase of an Antarctic support vessel.

The consortium Águas Azuis, which includes the Oceana shipyard in Itajaí, along with Embraer and Thyssen Group from Germany, won the bid and will be responsible for the construction.

“There is a lot of technology exchange between the universities, companies, and governments involved. So, Itajaí will increasingly grow not only in the leisure market and the oil market but, above all, in a completely open market, which is the military shipbuilding market. We have few points in the world that are references in military shipbuilding, and Itajaí should become one of these new hubs, becoming a reference in military shipbuilding in Latin America,” concludes the Secretary.