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NEWS BULLETIN
TANKER SHIPPING
STEALTHGAS PAYS TO FOCUS
StealthGas has reported 2021 revenues of $150.2m, up 3.6 per cent on the previous year, largely as a result of lower bareboat activity and more exposure to the spot market. After taking an impairment loss of $44.6m, most of which relates to the spin-off of the company’s non-gas tanker activities, StealthGas reported a net loss for the year of $35.1m, compared to net income of $10.2m in 2020. “Year 2021 has been throughout its course demanding, as it required shipping companies to adapt to the pressures arising from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, along with inflationary pressures as an outcome of rising energy prices,” remarks board chairman Michael Jolliffe. “Regrettably, the Russian war outbreak in Ukraine has made our global reality uncertain with considerable effects on humanitarian, geopolitical and economic aspects; LPG trade will not remain unaffected, and we may see direct effects such as changes in trade patterns as well as indirect ones such as further increases in energy prices, and various other costs that may increase such as insurance war risk premiums. “Our year ended with a profit of $10.2m excluding impairment charges, a decent performance when taking into consideration the large increase in our voyage costs, crew costs related to the Covid-19 pandemic as well expenses for drydocking again due to Covid-19 yard restrictions,” Jolliffe adds. “Going forward we cannot predict our market’s reality especially in such erratic times; however, our sizeable fleet, our market’s strong fundamentals, LPG rates improvement in the fourth quarter of 2021 along with our healthy capital structure are the strong points upon which we will rely, despite any market disturbances we may face.” www.stealthgas.com VLGCS IN DEMAND
Some of the major operators of very large gas carriers (VLGCs) have taken advantage of
HCB MONTHLY | APRIL 2022
strong secondhand values to sell off their older ships. BW LPG, for one, has sold its 2006-built VLGC BW Trader, one of the oldest gas carriers in its fleet. The 78,600-m3 unit was delivered to its new owners in March; BW LPG says it will book a gain of some $2m on the deal. “This sale is in line with our strategy of seeking to optimise our assets through the cycles and gives further strength to our balance sheet and liquidity position,” says Anders Onarheim, CEO. After the transaction, BW LPG now has a fleet of 39 VLGCs, of which 12 have been retrofitted with dual-fuel engines capable of running on LPG. Similarly, Avance Gas has agreed the sale of the 2008-built VLGC Providence, its second divestment of an older carrier this year. The sale is part of Avance’s overall strategy to renew and update its fleet and has come at a good time as secondhand values are currently strong: this deal is expected to generate some $24.3m in net cash proceeds and a book profit of $4.8m. Dorian LPG has completed the previously announced sale of its 2008-built VLGC Captain Nicholas ML. As the ship was debt-free, the transaction has generated cash proceeds of $48.1m.
Dorian also reports that it has arranged sale and bareboat charter deals for two 2015-built VLGCs in its fleet, Cratis and Copernicus, with a Japanese financing counterparty. The transaction has generated $100m, half of which has been used to pay down debt. The nine-year deals include purchase options. www.avancegas.com www.bwlpg.com www.dorianlpg.com NAVIGATOR EDGES UP
Navigator Holdings has reported annual operating revenue for 2021 of $403.6m, up from $332.5m the year before, with adjusted EBITDA rising by 25 per cent to $155.8m. Both figures have been improved as a result of the acquisition of vessels sailing in the Unigas pool following Navigator’s acquisition of Ultragas, which added $24.1m in revenues for the year as a whole. In addition, average timecharter equivalent rates improved from $21,573 per vessel per day in 2020 to $22,145 in 2021. Navigator Holdings also notes that its ethylene export terminal at Morgan’s Point, Texas achieved fourth quarter throughput of 241,500 tonnes, compared to 125,300 tonnes in the same period 2020.
