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Deposits of $75 million have already been paid and the Company intends to fund the remaining capital expenditure of approximately $270 million through bank finance and available cash. The Company has concluded negotiations with banks for firm commitments to finance 13 of these vessels for an amount up to $185 million, and has received indicative offers for additional bank finance of approximately $50 million for the remaining vessels including the two vessels whose acquisitions were announced today. The Company expects to conclude the remaining financing arrangements within the current quarter. The Company has entered into negotiations with the financing banks with respect to credit facilities under which balloon payments of circa $33 million are scheduled to be repaid during 2014 and based on their indications received expects to conclude the refinancing of such credit facilities within the second quarter of 2014. The Company also announced the conclusion of the following chartering arrangements: A one year time charter for its 5,018cbm, 1997 built, LPG carrier, Gas Monarch, to an international trading house until January 2015. A three month extension of the current charter for its 5,014cbm, 1996 built, LPG carrier, Lyne, to an international gas trader, until April 2014. A three month extension of the current charter for its 5,000cbm, 2003 built, LPG carrier, Sir Ivor, to an international gas trader until April 2014. An eight year extension of the current charter for its 3,500cbm, 2009 built, LPG carrier, Gas Astrid, to an established owner-operator, until April 2022.. An eight year extension of the current charter for its 3,500cbm, 2009 built, LPG carrier, Gas Exelero, to an established owner-operator, until June.2022. A four year extension of the current charter for its 4,011cbm, 2001 built, LPG carrier, Gas Zael, to an established owner-operator, until February 2018. A four year extension of the current charter for its 4,123cbm, 2000 built, LPG carrier, Gas Sincerity, to an established owner-operator, until August 2018. An eight year bareboat charter for its first eco newbuilding a 7,200cbm LPG carrier, to be delivered March 2014, to an established owner-operator. An eight year bareboat charter for its second eco newbuilding a 7,200cbm LPG carrier, to be delivered June 2014, to an established owner-operator.. Excluding the first 3 vessels all other charters include purchase options by the charterer.. The Gas Astrid and Gas Exelero where scheduled to be drydocked in 2014, but as a result of the bareboat charter extensions, the drydocks will be undertaken by the charterers. As a result the Company was left with only one vessel scheduled to be drydocked during 2014, the Gas Emperor, which underwent drydock repairs earlier in January. The average Time Charter Equivalent rate for all these extensions excluding the two 7,200cbm vessels is approximately $285,000 per month whereas the Time Charter Equivalent rate for the two 7,200cbm vessels is $335,000 per month. With the above chartering arrangements charter coverage for the current fleet is elevated to 75% for 2014 and 41% for 2015. Three vessels are currently operating in the spot market. There are also three newbuilding vessels scheduled to enter the fleet in the second half of 2014 for which charters have not yet been arranged. The Company has also announced the hiring of two senior executives. Mr. Stavros Papantonopoulos has joined the company as Finance Manager. As a result, Mr. Harry Vafias will assume the role of interim CFO replacing Mr. Constantinos Sistovaris. Mr Papantonopoulos was previously employed by Goldman Sachs in New York followed by Eurobank Properties S.A. and before joining the Company he was a senior analyst for a well known US shipping fund. In addition, Dr. Diamantis Andriotis has joined the company as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) to oversee the technical management of the growing fleet and vessels under construction. Dr Andriotis was technical manager at Stealth Maritime and holds a Doctorate degree in mechanical engineering from City University, while he is also a member of the technical committees of some of the leading classification societies. Mr. Vafias commented “I would like to welcome both Mr. Papantonopoulos and Dr. Andriotis and believe that with their experience and vigor they will be valuable additions to our fast growing company. I would also like to thank Mr. Sistovaris for stepping in to provide his assistance at a time we needed to secure bank financing for our expanding fleet. We stay committed to growing this company further and in that respect have added two more eco newbuilds to our orderbook at a time when markets have been improving compared to the seasonal weakness experienced in previous quarters and now with 17 eco LPG carriers under construction with prompt deliveries we offer great optionality to our shareholders”. About StealthGas Inc. Headquartered in Athens, Greece, StealthGas Inc. is a ship-owning company primarily serving the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector of the international shipping industry. StealthGas Inc. currently has a fleet of 38 LPG carriers with a total capacity of 182,322 cubic meters (cbm), three M.R. product tankers and one Aframax oil tanker with a total capacity of 255,804 deadweight tons (dwt). The Company has contracted for seventeen newbuilding LPG carriers with expected delivery by the end of 2015. Once the delivery of these acquisitions is completed, StealthGas Inc’s fleet will be composed of 55 LPG carriers with a total capacity of 266,422 cubic meters (cbm). StealthGas Inc's shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and trade under the symbol “GASS”. StealthGas Inc. Press Release |
Stealthgas Inc. announces new vessel acquisitions, financing arrangements, new employment for its vessels, addition of executives and other company news