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Transactions with Related Parties
9 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Transactions with Related Parties  
Transactions with Related Parties

4.  Transactions with Related Parties

 

Dorian (Hellas), S.A.

 

Pursuant to management agreements entered into by each of our then vessel owning subsidiaries on July 26, 2013, as amended, with Dorian (Hellas) S.A. (“DHSA”), the technical, crew and commercial management as well as insurance and accounting services of our vessels was outsourced to DHSA. In addition, under those management agreements, strategic and financial services had also been outsourced to DHSA. DHSA had entered into agreements with each of Eagle Ocean Transport Inc. (“Eagle Ocean Transport”) and Highbury Shipping Services Limited (“HSSL”) to provide certain of these services on behalf of our then vessel owning companies. Mr. John Hadjipateras, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, owns 100% of Eagle Ocean Transport, and our Vice President of Chartering, Insurance and Legal, Nigel GreyTurner, owns 100% of HSSL.  As of July 1, 2014, vessel management services and the associated agreements for our fleet were transferred from DHSA and are now provided through our wholly-owned subsidiaries Dorian LPG (USA) LLC, Dorian LPG (UK) Ltd. and Dorian LPG Management Corp. Eagle Ocean Transport continues to incur related travel costs for certain transitioned employees as well as office-related costs, for which we reimbursed Eagle Ocean Transport less than $0.1 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and $0.1 million and $0.3 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Such expenses are reimbursed based on their actual cost.

 

Dorian LPG (USA) LLC and its subsidiaries entered into an agreement with DHSA, retroactive to July 2014 and superseding an agreement between Dorian LPG (UK) Ltd. and DHSA, for the provision by Dorian LPG (USA) LLC and its subsidiaries of certain chartering and marine operation services to DHSA, for which income was earned and included in “Other income-related parties” totaling $0.1 million for both the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 and $0.3 for both the nine months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

 

As of December 31, 2017,  $0.9 million was due from DHSA and included in “Due from related parties” in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated balance sheets included herein. As of March 31, 2017,  $0.8 million was due from DHSA and included in “Due from related parties” in the audited consolidated balance sheets.

 

Helios LPG Pool LLC

 

On April 1, 2015, Dorian and Phoenix began operations of the Helios Pool, which entered into pool participation agreements for the purpose of establishing and operating, as charterer, under variable rate time charters to be entered into with owners or disponent owners of VLGCs, a commercial pool of VLGCs whereby revenues and expenses are shared. We hold a 50% interest in the Helios Pool as a joint venture with Phoenix and all significant rights and obligations are equally shared by both parties. All profits of the Helios Pool are distributed to the pool participants based on pool points assigned to each vessel as variable charter hire and, as a result, there are no profits available to the equity investors as a share of equity. We have determined that the Helios Pool is a variable interest entity as it does not have sufficient equity at risk. We do not consolidate the Helios Pool because we are not the primary beneficiary and do not have a controlling financial interest. In consideration of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 810-10-50-4e, the significant factors considered and judgments made in determining that the power to direct the activities of the Helios Pool that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance are shared, in that all significant performance activities which relate to approval of pool policies and strategies related to pool customers and the marketing of the pool for the procurement of customers for pool vessels, addition of new pool vessels and the pool cost management, require unanimous board consent from a board consisting of two members from each joint venture investor. Further, in accordance with the guidance in ASC 810-10-25-38D, the Company and Phoenix are not related parties as defined in ASC 850 nor are they de facto agents pursuant to ASC 810-10, the power over the significant activities of the Helios Pool is shared, and no party is the primary beneficiary in the Helios Pool, or has a controlling financial interest. In March 2016, the Helios Pool reached an agreement with Oriental Energy Company Ltd. ("Oriental Energy") whereby Oriental Energy would contribute certain vessels to the Helios Pool, have certain of its vessels time chartered by the Helios Pool and simultaneously enter into a multi-year contract of affreightment covering Oriental Energy’s shipments from the United States Gulf. The agreement with Oriental Energy had no impact on the ownership structure or the power to direct significant activities of the Helios Pool. As of December 31, 2017, the Helios Pool operated twenty-five VLGCs, including eighteen of our vessels, three Oriental Energy vessels and four Phoenix vessels. Oriental Energy has given notice that it intends to withdraw its remaining vessels from the Helios Pool by March 31, 2018. We expect this withdrawal to have no material impact on us or the Helios Pool.

 

As of December 31, 2017, we had receivables from the Helios Pool of $50.7 million, including $19.8 million of working capital contributed for the operation of our vessels in the pool. As of March 31, 2017, we had receivables from the Helios Pool of $61.4 million, including $19.8 million of working capital contributed for the operation of our vessels in the pool. Our maximum exposure to losses from the pool as of December 31, 2017 is limited to the receivables from the pool. The Helios Pool does not have any third-party debt obligations. The Helios Pool has entered into commercial management agreements with each of Dorian LPG (UK) Ltd. and Phoenix as commercial managers and has appointed both commercial managers as the exclusive commercial managers of pool vessels. Fees for commercial management services provided by Dorian LPG (UK) Ltd. are included in “Other income-related parties” in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated statement of operations included herein and were $0.5 million and $0.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and $1.6 million and $1.5 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Additionally, we receive a fixed reimbursement of expenses such as costs for security guards and war risk insurance for vessels operating in high risk areas from the Helios Pool, for which we earned $0.1 million for both the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017, and $0.2 million and $0.7 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016, respectively, and are included in “Other revenues, net” in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated statement of operations included herein.

 

Through our vessel owning subsidiaries, we have chartered vessels to the Helios Pool during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017. The time charter revenue from the Helios Pool is variable depending upon the net results of the pool, operating days and pool points for each vessel. The Helios Pool enters into voyage and time charters with external parties and receives freight and related revenue and, where applicable, incurs voyage costs such as bunkers, port costs and commissions. At the end of each month, the Helios Pool calculates net pool revenues using gross revenues, less voyage expenses of all pool vessels, less fixed time charter hire for any chartered-in vessels, less the general and administrative expenses of the pool. Net pool revenues, less any amounts required for working capital of the Helios Pool, are distributed as variable rate time charter hire for the relevant vessel to participants based on pool points (vessel attributes such as cargo carrying capacity, fuel consumption, and speed are taken into consideration) and number of days the vessel participated in the pool in the period. We recognize net pool revenues on a monthly basis, when each relevant vessel has participated in the pool during the period and the amount of net pool revenues for the month can be estimated reliably. Revenue earned from the Helios Pool is presented in Note 9.