Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

15.  Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments under Contracts for Scrubbers Purchases

We had contractual commitments related to scrubbers to reduce sulfur emissions as of:

	September 30, 2021
Less than one year	$	400,000
Total	$	400,000

These amounts reflect remaining obligations for scrubbers already installed, as a portion of the commitment is only due subsequent to the commissioning of the scrubber.

Commitments under Contracts for Ballast Water Management Systems Purchases

We had contractual commitments to purchase ballast water management systems as of:

	September 30, 2021
Less than one year	$	626,890
One to three years		57,620
Total	$	684,510

Commitments under Bareboat Charter Header Agreement

On March 31, 2021, we entered into a thirteen-year bareboat charter agreement for a newbuilding dual-fuel VLGC that is expected to be delivered from Kawasaki Heavy Industries in March 2023. The structure of the financing of the newbuilding is analogous to that of our Japanese Financings in which a third-party will purchase the vessel and from whom we will bareboat charter the vessel. As part of the agreement, we control the building of the vessel and the use of the vessel after it is delivered. The vessel will be built to our specifications; we will supervise the building of the vessel to meet these specifications; and we will technically and commercially manage the vessel after its delivery. Under the agreement, we had commitments of $24.0 million of predelivery costs as well as the cost of additional features to meet our specifications and supervision costs for an aggregate total of approximately $25.0 million. As of September 30, 2021, we had approximately $17.0 million of commitments under the agreement outstanding that we expect to settle with installment payments totaling $8.0 million in the 12 months following September 30, 2021 and approximately $9.0 million during the year ended March 31, 2023. As of September 30, 2021, construction of the vessel has not commenced.

Operating Leases

We had the following commitments as a lessee under operating leases relating to our United States, Greece, United Kingdom, and Denmark offices:

	September 30, 2021
Less than one year	$	295,944
Total	$	295,944

Time Charter-in

During the six months ended September 30, 2021, we time chartered-in three newbuilding dual-fuel Panamax LPG vessels with purchase options that are scheduled to be delivered in the second and third calendar quarters of 2023 for a period of seven years each and also time chartered-in a VLGC for one year that was delivered to us in October 2021. We had the following time charter-in commitments relating to VLGCs:

	September 30, 2021
Less than one year	$	20,833,000
One to three years		55,692,000
Three to five years		64,080,000
Thereafter		107,720,000
Total	$	248,325,000

Fixed Time Charter Contracts

We had the following future minimum fixed time charter hire receipts based on non-cancelable long-term fixed time charter contracts:

	September 30, 2021
Less than one year	$	14,492,500
One to three years		815,000
Total	$	15,307,500

Other

From time to time, we expect to be subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business, principally personal injury and property casualty claims. Such claims, even if lacking in merit, could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources. We are not aware of any claim other than that described below, which is reasonably possible and should be disclosed or probable and for which a provision should be established in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

In January 2021, subsequent to the delivery of one of our VLGCs on time charter, a dispute arose relating to the vessel’s readiness to lift a cargo scheduled by the charterer. The facts of the claim are currently in dispute. We currently have a contingent liability of $4.0 million included in accrued liabilities on our unaudited interim condensed consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2021.