Management’s 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 world’s largest fleet of handysize liquefied gas
carriers. We also own a 50% share in an ethylene export marine
terminal at Morgan’s 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 terminal’s nameplate capacity.
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