Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition
and Results of Operations
Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this report to Navigator Holdings,
our, we, us and the Company refer to Navigator Holdings Ltd., a Marshall Islands corporation. All references in this report to our wholly-owned subsidiary Navigator Gas L.L.C. refer to
Navigator Gas L.L.C., a Marshall Islands limited liability company. As used in this report, unless the context indicates or otherwise requires, references to our fleet or our vessels refers to the 53 vessels we owned and
operated as of September 30, 2022.
This section should be read in conjunction with the interim financial statements and notes
thereto presented elsewhere in this report, as well as the audited historical consolidated financial statements and notes thereto of Navigator Holdings Ltd. included in our Annual Report on Form 20-F, filed
with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on April 28, 2022 (the 2021 Annual Report). Among other things, those financial statements include more detailed information regarding the basis of presentation
for the following information. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or U.S. GAAP, and are presented in U.S. Dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Overview
We are
the owner and operator of 53 liquefied gas carriers, which includes the worlds largest fleet of handysize liquefied gas carriers. We also own a 50% share in an ethylene export marine terminal at Morgans Point, Texas on the Houston Ship
Channel (the Ethylene Export Terminal) through a joint venture (the Export Terminal Joint Venture).
In August 2021, the Company
acquired the fleet and businesses of two entities, Othello Shipping Company S.A. (Othello Shipping) and Ultragas ApS (Ultragas) from Naviera Ultranav Limitada (Ultranav and such acquisition, the Ultragas
Transaction). The Company owns 100% of Othello Shipping and Ultragas which together own and operate 16 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers ranging in size from 3,770 to 22,000 cbm, all of which are semi-refrigerated vessels and
eight of them are capable of carrying ethylene.
On September 30, 2022, the Company entered into a joint venture (the Greater Bay Joint
Venture) with Greater Bay Gas Co. Ltd. (Liberia) (Greater Bay Gas). The Greater Bay Joint Venture is owned 60% by the Company and 40% by Greater Bay Gas and intends to acquire a total of five ethylene capable liquefied gas
carriers, made up of two 17,000 cbm, 2018-built and three 22,000 cbm, 2019-built vessels, over the next twelve months. The vessels are currently commercially managed by the in-house Luna Pool collaborative
arrangement.
Our liquefied gas carrier fleet currently consists of 39 semi- or fully-refrigerated handysize liquefied gas carriers, nine of which are
ethylene/ethane capable. We define handysize liquefied gas carriers as those liquefied gas carriers with capabilities between 15,000 and 24,999 cubic meters, or cbm. In addition, we have five larger 37,300 38,000 cbm midsize
liquefied gas carriers, four of which are ethylene/ethane-capable semi-refrigerated liquefied gas carriers; five 12,000 cbm ethylene carriers and four smaller 3,770 9,000 cbm semi-refrigerated liquefied gas carriers, of which three are also
ethylene capable.
Our handysize liquefied gas carriers typically transport LPG on short or medium routes that may be uneconomical for smaller vessels and
can call at ports that are unable to support larger vessels due to limited onshore capacity, absence of fully-refrigerated loading infrastructure and/or vessel size restrictions. These handysize liquefied gas carriers are amongst the largest
semi-refrigerated vessels in the world, which also makes them capable of transporting petrochemicals on long routes, typically intercontinental.
We play
a vital role in the liquefied gas supply chain for energy companies, industrial consumers and commodity traders, with our sophisticated vessels providing an efficient and reliable floating pipeline between the parties. We carry LPG for
major international energy companies, state-owned utilities and reputable commodities traders. LPG, which consists of propane and butane, is a relatively clean alternative energy source with more than 1,000 applications, including as a heating,
cooking and transportation fuel and as a petrochemical and refinery feedstock. LPG is a by-product of oil refining and natural gas extraction, and shale gas, principally from the United States.
We also carry petrochemical gases for numerous industrial users. Petrochemical gases, including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and vinyl chloride monomer, are
derived from the cracking of petroleum feedstocks such as ethane, LPG and naphtha and are primarily used as raw materials in various industrial processes, like the manufacture of plastics, vinyl and rubber, with a wide application of end uses. Our
vessels also carry ammonia for the producers of fertilizers, a main use of ammonia for the agricultural industry, and for ammonia traders.
Our Ethylene
Export Terminal, which includes an ethylene cryogenic storage tank with a capacity of 30,000 tons, has the capacity to export approximately one million tons of ethylene per year and is capable of loading ethylene capable gas carriers at rates of
1,000 tons per hour. The Ethylene Export Terminal has entered into offtake agreements, which had initial minimum terms of five years for a committed 938,000 tons of ethylene through the terminal annually, or 94% of the terminals nameplate
capacity.
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