StealthGas has fixed 11 of its LPG carriers, booking $90m in revenue during a profitable third quarter.
The New York-listed, Athens-based shipowner announced the fixtures — a three-year deal, seven year-long deals, two for six months and one for three months — alongside a $6.7m profit for the three months to 30 September.
“Looking more closely at the third quarter, the shipping market did experience a summer lull and activity was somewhat reduced,” chairman Michael Jolliffe said, “as a result, there were more vessels on the spot market with reduced earnings.
“As the winter months closed in, activity picked up and charterers started seeking forward coverage, taking advantage of the favourable conditions we recently entered into a substantial number of medium-term charters at healthy rates.”
The company did not disclose rates or counterparties for the 11 charters.
Third-quarter profit was an improvement over the $1.2m a year earlier, despite a slight decline in revenue from $37.5m to $34.9m as the company’s fleet shrank from 41 ships in the third quarter of 2021 to 34. Vessel operating expenses dropped from $15.4m to $14.1m.
The 3,500-cbm Eco Corsair (built 2014) was fixed for three years until 2026, the company said.
The 5,000-cbm Gas Myth (built 2011), 7,500-cbm Gas Husky and Gas Esco (both built 2012), 7,200-cbm Eco Galaxy (built 2015) and 11,000-cbm Eco Blizzard (built 2021) were fixed for a year.
The 7,200-cbm Eco Chios and 5,000-cbm Eco Invictus (both built 2014) were fixed for a year with a charterer’s option for a year-long extension.
The 7,500-cbm Eco Nical (built 2016) and Eco Alice (built 2020) are on six-month charters with a charterer’s option for a six-month extension.
The 3,300-cbm Gas Galaxy (built 1997) was fixed for three months.
