StealthGas Inc. is a provider of international seaborne transportation services to LPG producers and users.
The company owns a fleet of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) carriers providing international seaborne transportation services to LPG producers and users.
The company’s LPG carriers carry various petroleum gas products in liquefied form, including propane, butane, butadiene, isopropane, propylene and vinyl chloride monomer, which are all byproducts of the production of crude oil and natural...
StealthGas Inc. is a provider of international seaborne transportation services to LPG producers and users.
The company owns a fleet of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) carriers providing international seaborne transportation services to LPG producers and users.
The company’s LPG carriers carry various petroleum gas products in liquefied form, including propane, butane, butadiene, isopropane, propylene and vinyl chloride monomer, which are all byproducts of the production of crude oil and natural gas. The company has established a reputation as a safe, cost-efficient operator of modern and well-maintained LPG carriers. The company also believe that these attributes, together with the company’s strategic focus on meeting its customers’ chartering needs, has contributed to the company’s ability to attract leading charterers as its customers and to the company’s success in obtaining charter renewals. On occasions the company charter-in vessels to supplement its own fleet and employ them both on time charters and voyage charters. The company is managed by Stealth Maritime, a privately owned company controlled by other members of the Vafias family.
As of December 31, 2023, the company had a fleet of 33 LPG carriers, including six JV vessels. The company sold two small vessels in the first quarter of 2024, and took delivery of two MGC vessels in January 2024. As of April 1, 2024, the company’s fleet was composed of 33 LPG carriers, including six JV vessels, with a total capacity of approximately 389,420 cubic meters (cbm), and the company’s JV, in which the company has a 51.0% interest, had a contract to sell one 35,232 cbm LPG carrier pursuant to a charterer’s purchase option, which was delivered to its new owner in the second quarter of 2024.
The company operates through a number of subsidiaries which either directly or indirectly own or charter in the vessels in the company’s fleet.
As of April 1, 2024, the company’s fleet consisted of 33 LPG carriers, including six JV vessels, with an average age of 9.8 years.
In 2019, the company sold a 49.9% equity interest in the subsidiaries owning four of the company’s vessels, the Gas Haralambos, the Gas Defiance, the Gas Shuriken and the Eco Lucidity, to a leading maritime-focused investor, and acquired a 2007-built, 38,000 cbm LPG carrier, the Eco Nebula with this same investor (subsequently sold in 2022), in which the company also has a 50.1% equity interest. The company and the investor each have certain rights to purchase or bid for the purchase of vessels subject to this arrangement in the event of their proposed sale. In the first quarter of 2020, the company acquired three 2010-built Medium Gas Carriers, the Eco Ethereal (ex Gaschem Bremen), the Eco Evoluzione (ex. Gaschem Stade) and the Gaschem Hamburg, pursuant to a separate joint venture arrangement with an unaffiliated third party, in which the company has a 51% equity interest and the Eco Sorcerer in 2023. The Gaschem Hamburg was subsequently sold in the second quarter of 2021, the Eco Evoluzione (ex. Gaschem Stade) was subsequently sold in the first quarter of 2023 and the charterer has exercised its option to purchase the Eco Ethereal (ex Gaschem Bremen), upon expiration of its charter in April 2024. These joint venture vessels are managed by the company’s manager, Stealth Maritime.
Commercial and Technical Management of the company’s Fleet
The company has a management agreement with Stealth Maritime, pursuant to which Stealth Maritime provides the company with technical, administrative, commercial and certain other services. Stealth Maritime is a leading ship-management company based in Greece, established in 1999 in order to provide shipping companies with a range of services. The company’s manager’s safety management system is ISM certified in compliance with IMO’s regulations by Lloyd’s Register. In relation to the technical services, Stealth Maritime is responsible for arranging for the crewing of the vessels, the day to day operations, inspections and vetting, maintenance, repairs, dry-docking and insurance. Administrative functions include, but are not limited to accounting, back-office, reporting, legal and secretarial services. In addition, Stealth Maritime provides services for the chartering of the company’s vessels and monitoring thereof, freight collection, and sale and purchase. In providing most of these services, Stealth Maritime pays third parties and receives reimbursement from the company. In addition, Stealth Maritime may subcontract technical management and crew management for some of the company’s vessels to third parties, including Hellenic Manning Overseas Inc, formerly known as Navis Maritime Services Inc., in which an affiliate of Stealth Maritime has a 25% interest. As of April 1, 2024, the technical management of two of the company’s ships was subcontracted by Stealth Maritime. These crew and technical managers are supervised by Stealth Maritime.
Chartering of the Fleet
The company, through Stealth Maritime, manages the employment of the company’s fleet. The company deploys its LPG carriers, and prior to the Tanker Spin-Off the company’s tankers, on period charters, including time and bareboat charters that can last up to several years, and spot market charters (through voyage charters and short-term time charters), which generally last from one to six months, subject to market conditions. Time and bareboat charters are for a fixed period of time. A voyage charter is generally a contract to carry a specific cargo from a loading port to a discharging port for an agreed-upon total charge. Under voyage charters the company pay for voyage expenses such as port, canal and fuel costs. Under a time charter the charterer pays for voyage expenses while under a bareboat charter the charterer pays for voyage expenses and operating expenses such as crewing, supplies, maintenance and repairs including special survey and dry-docking costs.
As of April 1, 2024 and including the company’s six JV vessels, the company had one vessel operating in the spot market, 22 vessels on time charters expiring in 2024, and 10 on time charters expiring from 2025 to 2027. In terms of charter coverage as of April 1 2024, the company had 68% of the available calendar days fixed under period charters for 2024 and 24% for 2025.
While a significant part the company’s fleet is operating in the Far East, the company deploys vessels globally. Some of the areas where the company usually operates are the Middle East, the Mediterranean, North West Europe, Africa and Latin America. The company would expect to deploy more vessels in the United States and the Caribbean.
Customers
The company’s assessment of a charterer’s financial condition and reliability is an important factor in negotiating employment for the company’s vessels. Principal charterers include producers of LPG products, such as national, major and other independent energy companies and energy traders, and industrial users of those products. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the company had two customers that accounted for more than 10% of the company’s total revenues. In addition, vessels under bareboat charter may be sub-chartered to third parties.
Environmental and other Regulations
A variety of governmental and private entities subject the company’s vessels to both scheduled and unscheduled inspections. These entities include the local port authorities (United States Coast Guard, harbor master or equivalent), classification societies, flag state administration (country of registry), charterers and particularly terminal operators. Certain of these entities require the company to obtain permits, licenses, certificates and financial assurances for the operation of the company’s vessels.
The company is required to maintain operating standards for all of its vessels that emphasize operational safety, quality maintenance, continuous training of the company’s officers and crews and compliance with United States and international regulations. The operation of the company’s vessels is in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations.
The company’s vessels are subject to standards imposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The company has obtained International Air Pollution Prevention Certificates for all of the company’s vessels and they are compliant in all material respects with current Annex VI requirements.
The company’s LPG carriers must have an IMO Certificate of Fitness demonstrating compliance with construction codes for LPG carriers. These codes, and similar regulations in individual member states, address fire and explosion risks posed by the transport of liquefied gases. Collectively, these standards and regulations impose detailed requirements relating to the design and arrangement of cargo tanks, vents, and pipes; construction materials and compatibility; cargo pressure; and temperature control. All of the company’s LPG carriers have Certificates of Fitness and the company intends to obtain such certificates for the vessels that the company has agreed to acquire.
The operation of the company’s vessels is also affected by the requirements set forth in the ISM Code of the IMO. Both the United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act impact the company’s operations.
The company has complied with the United States Coast Guard regulations by providing a financial guaranty evidencing sufficient self-insurance.
Under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations the company is required to obtain a CWA (the U.S. Clean Water Act) permit to discharge ballast water and other wastewaters incidental to the normal operation of the company’s vessels if the company operates within the three mile territorial waters or inland waters of the United States.
The company has submitted NOIs (Notices Of Intent) for Discharges Incidental to the Normal Operation of a Vessel under the 2013 VGP to the U.S. EPA for all the company’s ships trading in the U.S. waters.
The company has obtained ISSCs for all of its vessels and implemented the various security measures addressed by the MTSA, SOLAS and the ISPS Codes to ensure that the company’s vessels attain compliance with all applicable security requirements within the prescribed time periods.
All the company’s vessels are certified as being ‘in class’ by a classification society member of the International Association of Classification Societies such as Lloyds Register of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, American Bureau of Shipping and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai.
History
StealthGas Inc. was founded in 2004. The company was incorporated in 2004 in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
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