RIO DE JANEIRO, April 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian logistics firm Transpetro plans to launch by May a process to contract four large-size vessels for its state-run parent company Petrobras, its chief executive told Reuters on Thursday.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is pushing Petrobras to help strengthen the country's naval industry, which he sees as key to job creation, after it lost relevance over the past decade due to corruption scandals involving shipyard executives.

"We are awaiting for Petrobras to approve it within its governance (rules) so we can launch the procurement notice," Transpetro head Sergio Bacci said in an interview on the sidelines of an oil event in Rio de Janeiro.

The contracts are expected to be signed this year, with the first vessel to be delivered by the end of 2026, said Bacci. He did not provide financial details of the potential transaction.

Earlier at the event, Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates said the oil giant planned to present the government with a proposal for a new program that would make the company a pillar of the recovery of Brazil's shipbuilding sector. (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Andre Romani; Editing by Richard Chang)