We are an international owner and operator of drybulk and container vessels
formed by Navios Holdings (NYSE: NM), a vertically integrated seaborne shipping
company with over 60 years of operating history in the dry cargo shipping industry.
Our vessels are generally chartered-out under medium to long-term time charters
with an average remaining term of approximately three years to a strong group
of counterparties, including Cosco Bulk Carrier Co. Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
Ltd., Exelon Corporation (formerly Constellation Energy Group), Rio Tinto, Hyundai
Merchant Marine Co., Ltd and Mediterranean Shipping Co. S.A.
Navios Partners controls 12 Panamax vessels, eight Capesize vessels, three
Ultra-Handymax vessels and eight Container vessels. Our fleet of high quality
dry cargo vessels has an average age of approximately eight years for drybulk
and container vessels, which is significantly younger than the current industry
average of about nine and eleven years for drybulk and container vessels, respectively
(both industry average as of December 31, 2014). Panamax vessels are highly
flexible vessels capable of carrying a wide range of dry cargo commodities,
including iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizer and of being accommodated in
most major discharge ports, while Capesize vessels are primarily dedicated to
the carriage of iron ore and coal. Ultra-Handymax vessels are similar to Panamax
vessels although with less carrying capacity and generally have self-loading
and discharging gear on board to accommodate undeveloped ports. Container vessels
are specifically constructed to transport containerized cargo. We may from time
to time purchase additional vessels, including vessels from Navios Holdings.
We generate revenues by charging our customers for the use of our vessels to
transport their dry cargo commodities. In general, the vessels in our fleet
are chartered-out under time charters, which range in length from one to ten
years at inception. From time to time, we operate vessels in the spot market
until the vessels have been chartered under long-term charters.
• Stable and growing cash flows. We believe that the medium to long-term,
fixed-rate nature of our charters will provide a stable base of revenue. In
addition, we believe that the potential opportunity to purchase additional vessels
from Navios Holdings and through the secondary market provides visible future
growth in our revenue and distributable cash flow. We believe that our management
agreement, which has been extended until December 31, 2017, provides for a fixed
management fee until December 31, 2015, will continue to provide us with predictable
expenses. From January 2016 to December 2017, we expect that we will reimburse
the Manager for all of the actual operating costs and expenses it incurs in
connection with the management of our fleet, which may make our cash flows less
predictable.
• Strong relationship with Navios Holdings. We believe our relationship
with Navios Holdings and its affiliates provides us with numerous benefits that
are key to our long-term growth and success, including Navios Holdings’
expertise in commercial management and Navios Holdings’ reputation within
the shipping industry and its network of strong relationships with many of the
world’s dry cargo raw material producers, agricultural traders and exporters,
industrial end-users, shipyards, and shipping companies. We also benefit from
Navios Holdings’ expertise in technical management through its in-house
technical manager, which provides efficient operations and maintenance for our
vessels at costs significantly below the industry average for vessels of a similar
age. Navios Holdings’ expertise in fleet management is reflected in Navios
Holdings’ history of a low number of off-hire days and in its record of
no material incidents giving rise to loss of life or pollution or other environmental
liability.
• High-quality, flexible fleet. Our fleet consists of 12 Panamax vessels,
eight Capesize vessels, three Ultra-Handymax vessels and eight Container vessels.
The average age of the vessels in our fleet is significantly lower than the
average age of the world drybulk fleet. Our combined fleet had an average age
of 7.7 years as of March 2014 (average age of 7.8 years for drybulk fleet and
7.5 years for containers fleet), compared to a current industry average age
of about 9.1 years for the drybulk fleet and 10.9 years for the containers fleet
(both industry averages as of December 31, 2014). Panamax vessels are highly
flexible vessels capable of carrying a wide range of drybulk commodities, including
iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizer, and of being accommodated in most major
discharge ports. Ultra-Handymax vessels are similar to Panamax vessels although
with less carrying capacity and generally have self-loading and discharging
gear on board to accommodate undeveloped ports. Capesize vessels are primarily
dedicated to the carriage of iron ore and coal. Container vessels are designed
to carry manufactured, finished or semi-finished goods in steel shipping containers
or specific routes. We believe that our high-quality, flexible fleet provides
us with a competitive advantage in the drybulk and container time charter market,
where vessel age, flexibility and quality are of significant importance in competing
for business.
• Operating visibility through long-term charters with strong counterparties.
All of our vessels are chartered-out under medium to long-term time charters
with average remaining charter duration of approximately three years to a strong
group of counterparties consisting of, amongst others: Cosco Bulk Carrier Co.
Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Rio Tinto, Exelon Corporation (formerly Constellation
Energy) and Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Ltd. We believe our existing charter
coverage with strong counterparties provides us with predictable contracted
revenues and operating visibility.
Business Strategies
Our primary business objective is to increase quarterly distributions per unit
over time by executing the following strategies:
Continue to grow and diversify our fleet of owned and chartered-in vessels.
We seek to make strategic acquisitions to expand our fleet in order to capitalize
on the demand for container and drybulk vessels in a manner that is accretive
to distributable cash flow per unit. We have the right to purchase certain additional
drybulk vessels currently owned or chartered-in by Navios Holdings when those
vessels are fixed under long-term charters for a period of three or more years.
In addition, we may seek to expand and diversify our fleet through the open
market purchase of owned and chartered-in drybulk vessels with charters of three
or more years. We believe that our long-term charters and financial flexibility
will assist us to make additional accretive acquisitions.
Capitalize on our relationship with Navios Holdings and expand our charters
with recognized charterers. We believe that we can use our relationship with
Navios Holdings and its established reputation in order to obtain favorable
long-term time charters and attract new customers. We will continue to increase
the number of vessels we charter to our existing charterers, as well as enter
into charter agreements with new customers, in order to develop a portfolio
that is diverse from a customer, geographic and maturity perspective.
Provide superior customer service by maintaining high standards of performance,
reliability and safety. Our customers seek transportation partners that have
a reputation for high standards of performance, reliability and safety. We intend
to use Navios Holdings’ operational expertise and customer relationships
to further expand a sustainable competitive advantage with consistent delivery
of superior customer service.