Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

18. Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments under Contracts for Scrubber Purchases

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

	March 31, 2021
Less than one year	$	1,523,210
Total	$	1,523,210

Commitments under Contracts for Ballast Water Management Systems Purchases

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

	March 31, 2021
Less than one year	$	455,500
Total	$	455,500

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 have commitments of $24 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 million. As of March 31, 2021, we expect to settle the commitments under the agreement with installment payments totaling $16.0 million in the 12 months following March 31, 2021 and approximately $9.0 million during the year ended March 31, 2023. As of March 31, 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:

	March 31, 2021
Less than one year	$	357,432
One to three years		91,318
Total	$	448,750

Time Charter-in

We had the following time charter-in commitments relating to VLGCs either currently in our fleet or contracted to be delivered to our fleet as of:

	March 31, 2021
Less than one year	$	10,336,000
One to three years		8,030,000
Total	$	18,366,000

Fixed Time Charter Commitments

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

	March 31, 2021
Less than one year	$	20,147,500
One to three years		5,705,000
Total	$	25,852,500

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 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 have recorded a contingent liability in accrued expenses on our consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2021 and a corresponding expense of $4.0 million during the year ended March 31, 2021 is included within general and administrative expenses on our consolidated statement of operations.