UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 20-F

[_] REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE
 
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

[X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013

OR

[_] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ____ to ____

OR

[_] SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of event requiring this shell company report:

Commission file number:   001-36185

DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Republic of the Marshall Islands
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

97 Poseidonos Avenue & 2 Foivis Street, Glyfada, 16674, Greece
(Address of principal executive offices)

Michael Gregos
97 Poseidonos Avenue & 2 Foivis Street, Glyfada, 16674, Greece
Tel: 011 30 210 8917 260 , Facsimile: 011 30 210 894 7275
(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 
Common units representing limited partnership interests
 
NASDAQ Global Select Market
 
 
Title of class
 
Name of exchange on which registered
 
 
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:  None
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None

 
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer's classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report:

14,985,000 Common Units
14,985,000 Subordinated Units
30,000 General Partner Units

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

[_] Yes
[X] No
 
 
If this report is an annual report or transition report, indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

[_] Yes
[X] No
 
 
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

[X] Yes
[_] No
 
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months

[_] Yes
[_] No

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer  [_]
Accelerated filer  [_]

Non-accelerated filer   [X]
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
Smaller reporting company  [_]

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the Registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:
 
[X]  U.S. GAAP
 
[_]  International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board
 
[_]  Other
 
If "Other" has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which
financial statement item the Registrant has elected to follow.
 
[_]  Item 17
 
[_]  Item 18

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

[_]  Yes
[X]  No
 
 


 
 

 

PRESENTATION OF INFORMATION IN THIS ANNUAL REPORT
 
This Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013, or the Annual Report, should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in this Annual Report. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this Annual Report to "Dynagas LNG Partners," the "Partnership," "we," "our" and "us" or similar terms refer to Dynagas LNG Partners LP and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Dynagas Operating LP.  Dynagas Operating LP owns, directly or indirectly, a 100% interest in the entities that own the LNG carriers, Clean Energy , the Ob River and the Clean Force , collectively, our "Initial Fleet." References in this Annual Report to "our General Partner" refer to Dynagas GP LLC, the general partner of Dynagas LNG Partners LP.  References in this Annual Report to our "Sponsor" are to Dynagas Holding Ltd. and its subsidiaries other than us or our subsidiaries and references to our "Manager" refer to Dynagas Ltd., which is wholly owned by the chairman of our board of directors, Mr. George Prokopiou. References in this Annual Report to the "Prokopiou Family" are to our Chairman, Mr. George Prokopiou, and members of his family.
 
All references in this Annual Report to us for periods prior to our initial public offering, or IPO, on November 18, 2013 refer to our predecessor companies and their subsidiaries, which are former subsidiaries of our Sponsor that have interests in the vessels in our Initial Fleet, or the "Sponsor Controlled Companies."
 
All references in this Annual Report to "BG Group" and "Gazprom" refer to BG Group Plc and Gazprom Global LNG Limited, respectively, and certain of each of their subsidiaries that are our customers. Unless otherwise indicated, all references to "U.S. dollars," "dollars" and "$" in this Annual Report are to the lawful currency of the United States. We use the term "LNG" to refer to liquefied natural gas and we use the term "cbm" to refer to cubic meters in describing the carrying capacity of our vessels.
 
 
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
 
This Annual Report contains certain forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act) concerning future events and our operations, performance and financial condition, including, in particular, the likelihood of our success in developing and expanding our business.  Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "will," "may," "potential," "should," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views only as of the date of this Annual Report and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results.  As a result, unitholders are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements.
 
Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this Annual Report and include statements with respect to, among other things:
 
 
·
LNG market trends, including charter rates, factors affecting supply and demand, and opportunities for the profitable operations of LNG carriers;
 
 
·
our anticipated growth strategies;
 
 
·
the effect of the worldwide economic slowdown;
 
 
·
turmoil in the global financial markets;
 
 
·
fluctuations in currencies and interest rates;
 
 
·
general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values;
 
 
·
changes in our operating expenses, including drydocking and insurance costs and bunker prices;
 
 
·
forecasts of our ability to make cash distributions on the units or any increases in our cash distributions;
 
 
·
our future financial condition or results of operations and our future revenues and expenses;
 
 
·
the repayment of debt and settling of interest rate swaps;
 
 
·
our ability to make additional borrowings and to access debt and equity markets;
 
 
·
planned capital expenditures and availability of capital resources to fund capital expenditures;
 
 
·
our ability to maintain long-term relationships with major LNG traders;
 
 
·
our ability to leverage our Sponsor's relationships and reputation in the shipping industry;
 
 
·
our ability to realize the expected benefits from acquisitions;
 
 
·
our ability to purchase vessels from our Sponsor in the future, including the Optional Vessels (defined later);
 
 
 
i

 
 
 
·
our continued ability to enter into long-term time charters;
 
 
·
our ability to maximize the use of our vessels, including the re-deployment or disposition of vessels no longer under long-term time charter;
 
 
·
future purchase prices of newbuildings and secondhand vessels and timely deliveries of such vessels;
 
 
·
our ability to compete successfully for future chartering and newbuilding opportunities;
 
 
·
acceptance of a vessel by its charterer;
 
 
·
termination dates and extensions of charters;
 
 
·
the expected cost of, and our ability to comply with, governmental regulations, maritime self-regulatory organization standards, as well as standard regulations imposed by our charterers applicable to our business;
 
 
·
availability of skilled labor, vessel crews and management;
 
 
·
our anticipated incremental general and administrative expenses as a publicly traded limited partnership and our fees and expenses payable under the fleet management agreements and the administrative services agreement with our Manager;
 
 
·
the anticipated taxation of our partnership and distributions to our unitholders;
 
 
·
estimated future maintenance and replacement capital expenditures;
 
 
·
our ability to retain key employees;
 
 
·
customers' increasing emphasis on environmental and safety concerns;
 
 
·
potential liability from any pending or future litigation;
 
 
·
potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, political events, piracy or acts by terrorists;
 
 
·
future sales of our common units in the public market;
 
 
·
our business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations; and
 
 
·
other factors detailed in this Annual Report and from time to time in our periodic reports.
 
Forward-looking statements in this Annual Report are estimates reflecting the judgment of senior management and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties.  These forward-looking statements are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control.  Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Accordingly, these forward-looking statements should be considered in light of various important factors, including those set forth in this Annual Report under the heading "Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors."
 
We do not intend to revise any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any change in our expectations or events or circumstances that may subsequently arise.  We make no prediction or statement about the performance of our common units.  The various disclosures included in this Annual Report and in our other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, that attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, prospects and results of operations should be carefully reviewed and considered.
 

 
ii

 
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
 
Page
PART I
 
 
 
ITEM 1.
IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS
1
ITEM 2.
OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
1
ITEM 3
KEY INFORMATION
1
ITEM 4.
INFORMATION ON THE PARTNERSHIP
26
ITEM 4A
UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
47
ITEM 5.
OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS
48
ITEM 6.
DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES
66
ITEM 7.
MAJOR UNITHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
69
ITEM 8
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
77
ITEM 9.
THE OFFER AND LISTING
79
ITEM 10.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
80
ITEM 11.
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
87
ITEM 12.
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES
88
 
 
 
PART II
 
 
 
 
 
ITEM 13.
DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES
88
ITEM 14.
MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS
89
ITEM 15
CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
89
ITEM 16.
RESERVED
90
ITEM 16A.
AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT
90
ITEM 16B.
CODE OF ETHICS
90
ITEM 16C.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
90
ITEM 16D.
EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES
90
ITEM 16E.
PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS
90
ITEM 16F.
CHANGE IN REGISTRANT'S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT
90
ITEM 16G.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
91
ITEM 16H.
MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
91
 
 
 
PART III
 
 
 
ITEM 17.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
91
ITEM 18.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
91
ITEM 19.
EXHIBITS
92


 
iii

 

PART I.
 
ITEM 1.
IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS
 
Not applicable.
 
 
 
ITEM 2.
OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
 
Not applicable.
 
 
 
ITEM 3.
KEY INFORMATION
 
A.
SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
 
The following table presents our selected consolidated financial and operating data. Our historical consolidated financial statements have been prepared according to a transaction that constitutes a reorganization of companies under common control and has been accounted for in a manner similar to a pooling of interests, as the Sponsor Controlled Companies were indirectly wholly-owned by the Prokopiou family prior to the transfer of ownership of these companies to us. Accordingly, our financial statements have been presented, giving retroactive effect to the transaction described above, using consolidated financial historical carrying costs of the assets and liabilities of Dynagas LNG Partners and the Sponsor Controlled Companies as if Dynagas LNG Partners and the Sponsor Controlled Companies were consolidated for all periods presented.
 
The selected historical consolidated financial data in the table as of December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 and for the years then ended are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP). The following financial data should be read in conjunction with "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects" and our historical consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
 
Our financial position, results of operations and cash flows could differ from those that would have resulted if we operated autonomously or as an entity independent of our Sponsor in the periods prior to our IPO for which historical financial data are presented below, and such data may not be indicative of our future operating results or financial performance.
 
 
 
1

 
 
   
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
2013
   
2012
   
2011
 
Income Statement Data
 
(In thousands of Dollars, except for unit and per unit data )
 
Voyage revenues
  $ 85,679     $ 77,498     $ 52,547  
Voyage expenses (1)
    (1,686 )     (3,468 )     (1,353 )
Vessel operating expenses
    (11,909 )     (15,722 )     (11,350 )
General and administrative expenses
    (387 )     (278 )     (54 )
Management fees
    (2,737 )     (2,638 )     (2,529 )
Depreciation
    (13,579 )     (13,616 )     (13,579 )
Dry-docking and special survey costs
    -       (2,109 )     -  
Operating income
  $ 55,381     $ 39,667     $ 23,682  
Interest income
    -       1       4  
Interest and finance costs
    (9,732 )     (9,576 )     (3,977 )
Loss on derivative financial instruments
    -       (196 )     (824 )
Other, net
    (29 )     (60 )     (65 )
Net Income
  $ 45,620     $ 29,836     $ 18,820  
Earnings per Unit (basic and diluted):
                       
Common Units (basic and diluted)
  $ 2.95     $ 1.37     $ 0.87  
Subordinated Units (basic and diluted)
  $ 1.52     $ 1.37     $ 0.87  
General Partner Units (basic and diluted):
  $ 1.52     $ 1.37     $ 0.87  
Weighted average number of units outstanding (basic and diluted):
                       
Common units
    7,729,521       6,735,000       6,735,000  
Subordinated units
    14,985,000       14,985,000       14,985,000  
General Partner units
    30,000       30,000       30,000  
Cash dividends per unit (2)
  $ 0.1746     $ -     $ -  
Balance Sheet Data:
                       
Total current assets
  $ 7,606     $ 8,981     $ 3,453  
Vessels, net
    453,175       466,754       480,370  
Total assets
    488,735       476,275       484,363  
Total current liabilities
    14,903       398,434       439,024  
Total long term debt, including current portion
    219,585       380,715       402,189  
Total partners' equity
    257,699       75,175       45,339  
Cash Flow Data:
                       
Net cash provided by operating activities
  $ 44,204     $ 27,902     $ 28,974  
Net cash provided by investing activities
    -       -       -  
Net cash used in financing activities
    (38,527 )     (27,902 )     (28,974 )
Fleet Data:
                       
Number of vessels at the end of the year
    3       3       3  
Average number of vessels in operation (3)
    3       3       3  
Average age of vessels in operation at end of period (years)
    6.4       5.4       4.4  
Available days (4)
    1,095       1,056       1,095  
Time Charter Equivalent (in US dollars) (5)
   $ 76,706     70 , 104     46,753  
Fleet utilization (6)
    100 %     99.5 %     99.5 %
Other Financial Data:
                       
Adjusted EBITDA (7)
  68,931     $ 53,223     37,196  
_________________________
 
(1) 
Voyage expenses include commissions of 1.25% paid to our Manager and third party ship brokers.

(2)
Corresponds to a prorated fourth quarter distribution for the period beginning on November 18, 2013 and ending on December 31, 2013. The prorated cash distribution was declared on January 31, 2013 and paid on February 14, 2014.

(3)
Represents the number of vessels that constituted our fleet for the relevant period, as measured by the sum of the number of days each vessel was a part of our fleet during the period divided by the number of calendar days in the period.

(4)
Available days are the total number of calendar days our vessels were in our possession during a period, less the total number of scheduled off-hire days during the period associated with major repairs, or drydockings.
 
 
 
2

 
 
(5)
Time charter equivalent rates, or TCE rates, is a measure of the average daily revenue performance of a vessel. For time charters, this is calculated by dividing total voyage revenues, less any voyage expenses, by the number of Available days during that period. Under a time charter, the charterer pays substantially all of the vessel voyage related expenses. However, we may incur voyage related expenses when positioning or repositioning vessels before or after the period of a time charter, during periods of commercial waiting time or while off-hire during dry-docking or due to other unforeseen circumstances. The TCE rate is not a measure of financial performance under U.S. GAAP (non-GAAP measure), and should not be considered as an alternative to voyage revenues, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. However, TCE rate is standard shipping industry performance measure used primarily to compare period-to-period changes in a company's performance and assists our management in making decisions regarding the deployment and use of our vessels and in evaluating their financial performance. Our calculation of TCE rates may not be comparable to that reported by other companies. The following table reflects the calculation of our TCE rates for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 (amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars, except for TCE rates, which are expressed in U.S. dollars and Available days):
 
   
Year Ended December 31,
   
2013
   
2012
   
2011
 
   
(In thousands of Dollars)
Voyage revenues
  $ 85,679     $ 77,498     $ 52,547  
Voyage expenses
    (1,686  )     (3,468  )     (1,353 )
Time charter equivalent revenues
    83,993       74,030       51,194  
Total Available days
    1,095       1,056       1,095  
Time charter equivalent (TCE) rate
  $ 76,706       70,104     $ 46,753  
_________________________
 
(6)
We calculate fleet utilization by dividing the number of our revenue earning days, which are the total number of Available days of our vessels net of unscheduled off-hire days, during a period, by the number of our Available days during that period. The shipping industry uses fleet utilization to measure a company's efficiency in finding employment for its vessels and minimizing the amount of days that its vessels are offhire for reasons other than scheduled off-hires for vessel upgrades, drydockings or special or intermediate surveys.
 
(7)
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest and finance costs, net of interest income, gains/losses on derivative financial instruments, taxes (when incurred), depreciation and amortization (when incurred). Adjusted EBITDA is used as a supplemental financial measure by management and external users of financial statements, such as our investors, to assess our operating performance. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA assists our management and investors by providing useful information that increases the comparability of our performance operating from period to period and against the operating performance of other companies in our industry that provide Adjusted EBITDA information. This increased comparability is achieved by excluding the potentially disparate effects between periods or companies of interest, other financial items, depreciation and amortization and taxes, which items are affected by various and possibly changing financing methods, capital structure and historical cost basis and which items may significantly affect net income between periods. We believe that including Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operating performance benefits investors in (a) selecting between investing in us and other investment alternatives and (b) monitoring our ongoing financial and operational strength in assessing whether to continue to hold common units.
 
  
Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under U.S. GAAP, does not represent and should not be considered as an alternative to net income, operating income, cash flow from operating activities or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA excludes some, but not all, items that affect net income and these measures may vary among other companies. Therefore, Adjusted EBITDA as presented below may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. The following table reconciles Adjusted EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, for the periods presented:
 
 
 
   
Year Ended December 31,
 
   
2013
   
2012
   
2011
 
Reconciliation to Net Income
   
Net Income
  $ 45,620     $ 29,836     $ 18,820  
Net interest expense (including loss from derivative instruments)
    8,682       9,181       4,697  
Depreciation
    13,579       13,616       13,579  
Amortization and write-off of deferred finance fees
    1,050       590       100  
Adjusted EBITDA
  $ 68,931     $ 53,223     $ 37,196  
 
 
 
3

 
 
B.
CAPITALIZATION AND INDEBTEDNESS
 
Not applicable.
 
C.
REASONS FOR THE OFFER AND USE OF PROCEEDS
 
Not applicable.
 
D.
RISK FACTORS
 
Some of the following risks relate principally to the industry in which we operate and to our business in general.  Other risks relate principally to the securities market and to ownership of our common units.  The occurrence of any of the events described in this section could significantly and negatively affect our business, financial condition, operating results or cash available for distributions or the trading price of our common units.
 
Risks Relating to Our Partnership
 
Our fleet consists of only three LNG carriers. Any limitation in the availability or operation of these vessels could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and could significantly reduce or eliminate our ability to pay the minimum quarterly distribution on our common units and subordinated units.
 
Our fleet consists of only three LNG carriers. If any of our vessels are unable to generate revenues as a result of off-hire time, early termination of the applicable time charter or otherwise, our business, results of operations financial condition and ability to make minimum quarterly distributions to unitholders could be materially adversely affected.
 
We currently derive all our revenue and cash flow from two charterers and the loss of either of these charterers could cause us to suffer losses or otherwise adversely affect our business.
 
We currently derive all of our revenue and cash flow from two charterers, BG Group and Gazprom. For the year ended December 31, 2013, BG Group accounted for 61% and Gazprom accounted for 39% of our total revenue.  All of the charters for our fleet have fixed terms, but may be terminated early due to certain events, such as a charterer's failure to make charter payments to us because of financial inability, disagreements with us or otherwise. The ability of each of our counterparties to perform its obligations under a charter with us will depend on a number of factors that are beyond our control and may include, among other things, general economic conditions, the condition of the LNG shipping industry, prevailing prices for natural gas and the overall financial condition of the counterparty. Should a counterparty fail to honor its obligations under an agreement with us, we may be unable to realize revenue under that charter and could sustain losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay minimum quarterly distribution to our unitholders.
 
In addition, a charterer may exercise its right to terminate the charter if, among other things:
 
 
·
the vessel suffers a total loss or is damaged beyond repair;
 
 
·
we default on our obligations under the charter, including prolonged periods of vessel off-hire;
 
 
·
war or hostilities significantly disrupt the free trade of the vessel;
 
 
·
the vessel is requisitioned by any governmental authority; or
 
 
·
a prolonged force majeure event occurs, such as war or political unrest, which prevents the chartering of the vessel.
 
In addition, the charter payments we receive may be reduced if the vessel does not perform according to certain contractual specifications. For example, charter hire may be reduced if the average vessel speed falls below the speed we have guaranteed or if the amount of fuel consumed to power the vessel exceeds the guaranteed amount.
 
If any of our charters are terminated, we may be unable to re-deploy the related vessel on terms as favorable to us as our current charters, or at all. If we are unable to re-deploy a vessel for which the charter has been terminated, we will not receive any revenues from that vessel, and we may be required to pay ongoing expenses necessary to maintain the vessel in proper operating condition.  Any of these factors may decrease our revenue and cash flows.  Further, the loss of any of our charterers, charters or vessels, or a decline in charter hire under any of our charters, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and ability to make minimum quarterly distributions to our unitholders.
 
 
4

 
 
We are subject to certain risks with respect to our contractual counterparties, and failure of such counterparties to perform their obligations under such contracts could cause us to sustain significant losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
 
We have entered into, and may enter in the future, contracts, charters, conversion contracts with shipyards, credit facilities with banks, interest rate swaps, foreign currency swaps and equity swaps. Such agreements subject us to counterparty risks.  The ability of each of our counterparties to perform its obligations under a contract with us will depend on a number of factors that are beyond our control and may include, among other things, general economic conditions and the overall financial condition of the counterparty.  Should a counterparty fail to honor its obligations under agreements with us, we could sustain significant losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
 
We may not have sufficient cash from operations following the establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses to enable us to pay the minimum quarterly distribution on our common units, subordinated units and General Partner units.
 
We may not have sufficient cash from operations to pay the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.365 per unit on our common units, subordinated units and General Partner units.  The amount of cash we can distribute on our units principally depends upon the amount of cash we generate from our operations, which may fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on the risks described in this section, including, among other things:
 
 
·
the rates we obtain from our charters;
 
 
·
the level of our operating costs, such as the cost of crews and insurance;
 
 
·
the continued availability of natural gas production;
 
 
·
demand for LNG;
 
 
·
supply of LNG carriers;
 
 
·
prevailing global and regional economic and political conditions;
 
 
·
currency exchange rate fluctuations; and
 
 
·
the effect of governmental regulations and maritime self-regulatory organization standards on the conduct of our business.
 
In addition, the actual amount of cash available for distribution to our unitholders will depend on other factors, including:
 
 
·
the level of capital expenditures we make, including for maintaining or replacing vessels, building new vessels, acquiring secondhand vessels and complying with regulations;
 
 
·
the number of unscheduled off-hire days for our fleet and the timing of, and number of days required for, scheduled drydocking of our vessels;
 
 
·
our debt service requirements and restrictions on distributions contained in our debt instruments;
 
 
·
the level of debt we will incur to fund future acquisitions, including if we exercise our option to purchase any or all of the seven identified LNG Carriers of our Sponsor, which we refer to as the Optional Vessels that we have the right to purchase pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions of the Omnibus Agreement. See "Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions";
 
 
·
fluctuations in interest rates;
 
 
·
fluctuations in our working capital needs;
 
 
·
variable tax rates;
 
 
·
our ability to make, and the level of, working capital borrowings; and
 
 
·
the amount of any cash reserves established by our Board of Directors.
 
The amount of cash we generate from our operations may differ materially from our profit or loss for the period, which will be affected by non-cash items.  As a result of this and the other factors mentioned above, we may make cash distributions during periods when we record losses and may not make cash distributions during periods when we record net income.
 
 
5

 
 
Our future growth depends on our ability to expand relationships with existing customers, establish relationships with new customers and obtain new time charter contracts, for which we will face substantial competition from established companies with significant resources and potential new entrants.
 
We will seek to enter into additional multi-year time charter contracts upon the expiration or early termination of our existing charter arrangements, and we may also seek to enter into additional multi-year time charter contracts in connection with an expansion of our fleet. The process of obtaining multi-year charters for LNG carriers is highly competitive and generally involves an intensive screening procedure and competitive bids, which often extends for several months. We believe LNG carrier time charters are awarded based upon a variety of factors relating to the ship and the ship operator, including:
 
 
·
size, age, technical specifications and condition of the ship;
 
 
·
efficiency of ship operation;
 
 
·
LNG shipping experience and quality of ship operations;
 
 
·
shipping industry relationships and reputation for customer service;
 
 
·
technical ability and reputation for operation of highly specialized ships;
 
 
·
quality and experience of officers and crew;
 
 
·
safety record;
 
 
·
the ability to finance ships at competitive rates and financial stability generally;
 
 
·
relationships with shipyards and the ability to get suitable berths;
 
 
·
construction management experience, including the ability to obtain on-time delivery of new ships according to customer specifications; and
 
 
·
competitiveness of the bid in terms of overall price.
 
We expect substantial competition for providing marine transportation services for potential LNG projects from a number of experienced companies, including other independent ship owners as well as state-sponsored entities and major energy companies that own and operate LNG carriers and may compete with independent owners by using their fleets to carry LNG for third parties. Some of these competitors have significantly greater financial resources and larger fleets than we have. A number of marine transportation companies—including companies with strong reputations and extensive resources and experience—have entered the LNG transportation market in recent years, and there are other ship owners and managers who may also attempt to participate in the LNG market in the future. This increased competition may cause greater price competition for time charters. As a result of these factors, we may be unable to expand our relationships with existing customers or to obtain new customers on a profitable basis, if at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our unitholders.
 
We will be required to make substantial capital expenditures to expand the size of our fleet.  Depending on whether we finance our expenditures through cash from operations or by issuing debt or equity securities, our ability to make cash distributions may be diminished, our financial leverage could increase or our unitholders could be diluted.

We will be required to make substantial capital expenditures to expand the size of our fleet.  We may be required to make significant installment payments for retrofitting of LNG carriers and acquisitions of LNG carriers.  If we choose to purchase any other LNG carriers, we plan to finance the cost either through cash from operations, borrowings or debt or equity financings.
 
Use of cash from operations to expand our fleet will reduce cash available for distribution to unitholders.  Our ability to obtain bank financing or to access the capital markets may be limited by our financial condition at the time of any such financing or offering as well as by adverse market conditions resulting from, among other things, general economic conditions, changes in the LNG industry and contingencies and uncertainties that are beyond our control.  Our failure to obtain the funds for future capital expenditures could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and on our ability to make cash distributions.  Even if we are successful in obtaining necessary funds, the terms of any debt financings could limit our ability to pay cash distributions to unitholders.  In addition, incurring additional debt may significantly increase our interest expense and financial leverage, and issuing additional equity securities may result in significant unitholder dilution and would increase the aggregate amount of cash required to pay the minimum quarterly distribution to unitholders, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to make cash distributions.
 
 
6

 
 
We may be unable to make or realize expected benefits from acquisitions, which could have an adverse effect on our expected plans for growth.
 
Any acquisition of a vessel or business may not be profitable to us at or after the time we acquire it and may not generate cash flow sufficient to justify our investment.  In addition, our acquisition growth strategy exposes us to risks that may harm our business, financial condition and operating results, including risks that we may:
 
 
·
fail to realize anticipated benefits, such as new customer relationships, cost-savings or cash flow enhancements;
 
 
·
be unable to hire, train or retain qualified shore and seafaring personnel to manage and operate our growing business and fleet;
 
 
·
decrease our liquidity by using a significant portion of our available cash or borrowing capacity to finance acquisitions;
 
 
·
significantly increase our interest expense or financial leverage if we incur additional debt to finance acquisitions;
 
 
·
incur or assume unanticipated liabilities, losses or costs associated with the business or vessels acquired; or
 
 
·
incur other significant charges, such as impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets, asset devaluation or restructuring charges.
 
If we acquire secondhand vessels, as opposed to newbuildings, we may be exposed to additional risks.  Unlike newbuildings, secondhand vessels typically do not carry warranties as to their condition.  While we generally inspect secondhand vessels prior to purchase, such an inspection would normally not provide us with as much knowledge of a vessel's condition as we would possess if it had been built for us and operated by us during its life.  Repairs and maintenance costs for secondhand vessels are difficult to predict and may be substantially higher than for vessels we have operated since they were built.  These costs could decrease our cash flow and reduce our liquidity and could have an adverse effect on our expected plans for growth.
 
The amount of our debt could limit our liquidity and flexibility in obtaining additional financing and in pursuing other business opportunities.
 
As of December 31, 2013, we had total outstanding long-term debt of $214.1 million (excluding $5.5 million that was outstanding under our revolving credit facility with our Sponsor which was repaid in January 2014). We expect that a large portion of our cash flow from operations will be used to repay the principal and interest on our bank debt.
 
Our current indebtedness and future indebtedness that we may incur could affect our future operations, as a portion of our cash flow from operations will be dedicated to the payment of interest and principal on such debt and will not be available for other purposes.  Covenants contained in our debt agreements may affect our flexibility in planning for, and reacting to, changes in our business or economic conditions, limit our ability to dispose of assets or place restrictions on the use of proceeds from such dispositions, withstand current or future economic or industry downturns and compete with others in our industry for strategic opportunities, and limit our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, general corporate and other purposes and our ability to make minimum quarterly distributions to our unitholders.
 
Our ability to service our debt will depend upon, among other things, our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. If our operating results are not sufficient to service our current or future indebtedness, we will be forced to take actions such as reducing or eliminating distributions to our unitholders, reducing or delaying our business activities, acquisitions, investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, restructuring or refinancing our debt, or seeking additional equity capital or bankruptcy protection.  We may not be able to effect any of these remedies on satisfactory terms, or at all.
 
We may be unable to comply with covenants in our credit facilities or any future financial obligations that impose operating and financial restrictions on us.
 
Certain of our existing and future credit facilities, which are secured by mortgages on our vessels, impose and will impose certain operating and financial restrictions on us, mainly to ensure that the market value of the mortgaged vessel under the applicable credit facility does not fall below a certain percentage of the outstanding amount of the loan, which we refer to as the asset coverage ratio. In addition, certain of our credit facilities require us to satisfy certain other financial covenants, including maintenance of minimum cash liquidity levels.
 
 
7

 
 
The operating and financial restrictions contained in our credit facilities prohibit or otherwise limit our ability to, among other things:
 
 
·
obtain additional financing, if necessary, for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other purposes on favorable terms, or at all;
 
 
·
make distributions to unitholders or pay dividends to unitholders when an event of default exists, as applicable;
 
 
·
incur additional indebtedness, create liens or issue guarantees;
 
 
·
charter our vessels or change the terms of our existing charter agreements;
 
 
·
sell, transfer or lease our assets or vessels or the shares of our vessel-owning subsidiaries;
 
 
·
make investments and capital expenditures;
 
 
·
reduce our share capital; and
 
 
·
undergo a change in ownership or Manager.
 
As at December 31, 2012 and for the period ending on November 1, 2013, we were not in compliance with certain restrictive and financial covenants contained in our credit facilities.  On October 29, 2013 and November 1, 2013, our lenders provided us with consents and waivers, the result of which was that our credit facilities were no longer callable by our lenders effective November 15, 2013.  On November 18, 2013, in connection with the closing of our IPO, all of these credit facilities were repaid in full with a portion of the net proceeds from our IPO and a portion of the proceeds from our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility (defined below).
 
A violation of any of the financial covenants contained in our existing or future credit facilities may constitute an event of default under such credit facility, which, unless cured or waived or modified by our lenders, provides our lenders with the right to, among other things, require us to post additional collateral, enhance our equity and liquidity, increase our interest payments, pay down our indebtedness to a level where we are in compliance with our loan covenants, sell vessels in our fleet, reclassify our indebtedness as current liabilities and accelerate our indebtedness and foreclose their liens on our vessels and the other assets securing the credit facilities, which would impair our ability to continue to conduct our business.
 
Our Sponsor may be unable to service its debt requirements and comply with the provisions contained in the credit agreements secured by the Optional Vessels. If our Sponsor fails to perform its obligations under its loan agreements, our business and expected plans for growth may be materially affected.
 
Our Sponsor may be unable to service its debt requirements and comply with the provisions contained in the credit agreements secured by the Optional Vessels. Failure on behalf of our Sponsor to perform its obligations under its credit agreements, including paying scheduled installments and complying with certain covenants, may constitute an event of default under these secured loan agreements. If an event of default occurs under these loan agreements, our Sponsor's lenders could accelerate the outstanding loans and declare all amounts borrowed due and payable. In this case, if our Sponsor is unable to obtain a waiver or amendment or does not otherwise have enough cash on hand to repay the outstanding borrowings, its lenders may, among other things, foreclose their liens on the Optional Vessels. In this case, we may not be able to exercise our rights under the Omnibus Agreement to acquire the Optional Vessels, which would likely have a material adverse effect on our business and our expected plans for growth.
 
In addition, since our Sponsor is a private company and there is little or no publicly available information about it, we or an investor could have little advance warning of potential financial or other problems that might affect our Sponsor that could have a material adverse effect on us.
 
We are dependent on our affiliated Manager for the management of our fleet.
 
We have entered into management agreements, or the Management Agreements, with our affiliated Manager for the commercial and technical management of our fleet, including crewing, maintenance and repair. The loss of our Manager's services or its failure to perform its obligations to us could materially and adversely affect the results of our operations. In addition, our Manager provides us with significant management, administrative, financial and other support services. Our operational success and ability to execute our growth strategy will depend significantly upon the satisfactory performance of these services. Our business will be harmed if our Manager fails to perform these services satisfactorily, if they cancel their agreements with us or if they stop providing these services to us.
 
 
8

 
 
Our Sponsor, our General Partner and their respective affiliates own a controlling interest in us and have conflicts of interest and limited duties to us and our common unitholders, which may permit them to favor their own interests to your detriment.
 
Members of the Prokopiou Family control our Sponsor, our Manager and our General Partner. Our Sponsor owns 610,000 of our common units and all of our subordinated units, representing approximately 52% of the outstanding common and subordinated units in aggregate, and our General Partner owns a 0.1% General Partner interest in us and 100% of our incentive distribution rights and therefore may have considerable influence over our actions. The interests of our Sponsor and the members of the Prokopiou family may be different from your interests and the relationships described above could create conflicts of interest. We cannot assure you that any conflicts of interest will be resolved in your favor.
 
Conflicts of interest may arise between our Sponsor and its affiliates on the one hand, and us and our unitholders, on the other hand. As a result of these conflicts, our Sponsor and its affiliates may favor their own interests over the interests of our unitholders. Although a majority of our directors will over time be elected by our common unitholders, our General Partner will have influence on decisions made by our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors has a conflicts committee comprised of independent directors. Our Board of Directors may, but is not obligated to, seek approval of the conflicts committee for resolutions of conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of the relationships between our Sponsor and its affiliates, on the one hand, and us and our unaffiliated limited partners, on the other. There can be no assurance that a conflict of interest will be resolved in favor of us.
 
These conflicts include, among others, the following situations:
 
 
·
neither our Partnership Agreement nor any other agreement requires our Sponsor or our General Partner or their respective affiliates to pursue a business strategy that favors us or utilizes our assets, and their officers and directors have a fiduciary duty to make decisions in the best interests of their respective unitholders, which may be contrary to our interests;
 
 
·
our Partnership Agreement provides that our General Partner may make determinations or take or decline to take actions without regard to our or our unitholders' interests. Specifically, our General Partner may exercise its call right, pre-emptive rights, registration rights or right to make a determination to receive common units in exchange for resetting the target distribution levels related to the incentive distribution rights, consent or withhold consent to any merger or consolidation of the Partnership, appoint any directors or vote for the election of any director, vote or refrain from voting on amendments to our Partnership Agreement that require a vote of the outstanding units, voluntarily withdraw from the Partnership, transfer (to the extent permitted under our Partnership Agreement) or refrain from transferring its units, the General Partner interest or incentive distribution rights or vote upon the dissolution of the Partnership;
 
 
·
our General Partner and our directors and officers have limited their liabilities and any fiduciary duties they may have under the laws of the Marshall Islands, while also restricting the remedies available to our unitholders, and, as a result of purchasing common units, unitholders are treated as having agreed to the modified standard of fiduciary duties and to certain actions that may be taken by the General Partner and our directors and officers, all as set forth in the Partnership Agreement;
 
 
·
our General Partner and our Manager are entitled to reimbursement of all reasonable costs incurred by them and their respective affiliates for our benefit; our Partnership Agreement does not restrict us from paying our General Partner and our Manager or their respective affiliates for any services rendered to us on terms that are fair and reasonable or entering into additional contractual arrangements with any of these entities on our behalf;
 
 
·
our General Partner may exercise its right to call and purchase our common units if it and its affiliates own more than 80% of our common units; and is not obligated to obtain a fairness opinion regarding the value of the common units to be repurchased by it upon the exercise of its limited call right.
 
 
·
Although a majority of our directors will over time be elected by common unitholders, our General Partner will likely have substantial influence on decisions made by our Board of Directors.
 
The control of our General Partner may be transferred to a third party without unitholder consent.
 
Our General Partner may transfer its General Partner interest to a third party in a merger or in a sale of all or substantially all of its assets without the consent of the unitholders.  In addition, our Partnership Agreement does not restrict the ability of the members of our General Partner from transferring their respective membership interests in our General Partner to a third party.
 
Our Sponsor and its affiliates may compete with us.
 
Pursuant to the Omnibus Agreement with our Sponsor and our General Partner, our Sponsor and its affiliates (other than us, and our subsidiaries) generally have agreed not to acquire, own, operate or contract for any LNG carriers acquired or placed under contracts for certain time periods. The Omnibus Agreement, however, contains significant exceptions that may allow our Sponsor or any of its affiliates to compete with us, which could harm our business. Our Sponsor and its affiliates may compete with us, subject to the restrictions will be contained in the Omnibus Agreement, and could own and operate LNG carriers under charters of four years or more that may compete with our vessels if we do not acquire such vessels when they are offered to us pursuant to the terms of the Omnibus Agreement. See "Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions."
 
 
9

 
 
Mr. Tony Lauritzen, our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michael Gregos, our Chief Financial Officer, and certain other officers will not devote all of their time to our business, which may hinder our ability to operate successfully.
 
Mr. Tony Lauritzen, our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michael Gregos, our Chief Financial Officer and certain other officers, will be involved in other business activities with our Sponsor and its affiliates, which may result in their spending less time than is appropriate or necessary to manage our business successfully. Based solely on the anticipated relative sizes of our fleet and the fleet owned by our Sponsor and its affiliates over the next twelve months, we estimate that Mr. Lauritzen, Mr. Gregos, and certain other officers may spend a substantial portion of their monthly business time on our business activities and their remaining time on the business of our Sponsor and its affiliates. However, the actual allocation of time could vary significantly from time to time depending on various circumstances and needs of the businesses, such as the relative levels of strategic activities of the businesses. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
 
Unitholders have limited voting rights, and our Partnership Agreement restricts the voting rights of our unitholders that own more than 4.9% of our common units.
 
Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, holders of common units have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business. We will hold a meeting of the limited partners every year to elect one or more members of our Board of Directors that are eligible for reelection and to vote on any other matters that are properly brought before the meeting. Common unitholders will be entitled to elect only three of the five members of our Board of Directors. The elected directors will be elected on a staggered basis and will serve for three year terms. Our General Partner has the right to appoint the remaining two directors and set the terms for which those directors will serve. The Partnership Agreement also contains provisions limiting the ability of unitholders to call meetings or to acquire information about our operations, as well as other provisions limiting the unitholders' ability to influence the manner or direction of management. Unitholders have no right to elect our General Partner, and our General Partner may not be removed except by a vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding common units and subordinated units, including any units owned by our General Partner, our Sponsor and their respective affiliates, voting together as a single class.
 
Our Partnership Agreement further restricts unitholders' voting rights by providing that if any person or group owns beneficially more than 4.9% of any class of units then outstanding, any such units owned by that person or group in excess of 4.9% may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes (except for purposes of nominating a person for election to our board), determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes under our Partnership Agreement, unless required by law. The voting rights of any such unitholders in excess of 4.9% will effectively be redistributed pro rata among the other common unitholders holding less than 4.9% of the voting power of all classes of units entitled to vote. Our General Partner, its affiliates and persons who acquired common units with the prior approval of our Board of Directors will not be subject to this 4.9% limitation except with respect to voting their common units in the election of the elected directors.
 
Our Partnership Agreement limits the duties our General Partner and our directors and officers may have to our unitholders and restricts the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by our General Partner or our directors and officers.
 
Our Partnership Agreement provides that our Board of Directors has the authority to oversee and direct our operations, management and policies on an exclusive basis. The Marshall Islands Revised Limited Partnership Act, or the Partnership Act, states that a member or manager's "duties and liabilities may be expanded or restricted by provisions in the Partnership Agreement." As permitted by the Partnership Act, our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that reduce the standards to which our General Partner and our directors and our officers may otherwise be held by Marshall Islands law. For example, our Partnership Agreement:
 
 
·
provides that our General Partner may make determinations or take or decline to take actions without regard to our or our unitholders' interests. Our General Partner may consider only the interests and factors that it desires, and it has no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting us, our affiliates or our unitholders. Decisions made by our General Partner will be made by its sole owner. Specifically, our General Partner may decide to exercise its right to make a determination to receive common units in exchange for resetting the target distribution levels related to the incentive distribution rights, call right, pre-emptive rights or registration rights, consent or withhold consent to any merger or consolidation of the Partnership, appoint any directors or vote for the election of any director, vote or refrain from voting on amendments to our Partnership Agreement that require a vote of the outstanding units, voluntarily withdraw from the Partnership, transfer (to the extent permitted under our Partnership Agreement) or refrain from transferring its units, the general partner interest or incentive distribution rights or vote upon the dissolution of the Partnership;
 
 
·
provides that our directors and officers are entitled to make other decisions in "good faith," meaning they reasonably believe that the decision is in our best interests;
 
 
·
generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not approved by our conflicts committee of our Board of Directors and not involving a vote of unitholders must be on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties or be "fair and reasonable" to us and that, in determining whether a transaction or resolution is "fair and reasonable," our Board of Directors may consider the totality of the relationships between the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly advantageous or beneficial to us; and
 
 
·
provides that neither our General Partner nor our officers or our directors will be liable for monetary damages to us, our members or assignees for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our General Partner, our directors or officers or those other persons engaged in actual fraud or willful misconduct.
 
 
10

 
 
In order to become a member of our partnership, a common unitholder is required to agree to be bound by the provisions in the Partnership Agreement, including the provisions discussed above.
 
Fees and cost reimbursements, which our Manager will determine for services provided to us, will be substantial, will be payable regardless of our profitability and will reduce our cash available for distribution to our unitholders.
 
Our Manager which is wholly-owned by Mr. George Prokopiou, is responsible for the commercial and technical management of the vessels in our fleet pursuant to the Management Agreements. We currently pay our Manager a fee of $2,575 per day for each vessel for providing our ship owning subsidiaries with technical, commercial, insurance, accounting, financing, provisions, crewing, bunkering services and general administrative services. In addition we pay our Manager a commercial management fee equal to 1.25% of the gross charter hire collected from the employment of our vessels. We paid an aggregate of approximately $3.7 million to our Manager in connection with the management of our fleet for the year ended December 31, 2013. Pursuant to the Management Agreement, our Manager also provides us with certain administrative and support services.
 
The management fee increases by 3% annually unless otherwise agreed, between us, with approval of our conflicts committee, and our Manager. In addition we will pay Dynagas Ltd. a commercial management fee equal to 1.25% of the gross freight, demurrage and charter hire collected from the employment of our vessels. The management fees payable for the vessels may be further increased if our Manager has incurred material unforeseen costs of providing the management services, by an amount to be agreed between us and our Manager, which amount will be reviewed and approved by our conflicts committee.
 
For a description of our Management Agreements, see "Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions." The fees and expenses payable pursuant to the management agreement will be payable without regard to our financial condition or results of operations. The payment of fees to could adversely affect our ability to pay cash distributions to our unitholders.
 
Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that may have the effect of discouraging a person or group from attempting to remove our current management or our General Partner and even if public unitholders are dissatisfied, they will be unable to remove our General Partner without our Sponsor's consent, unless our Sponsor's ownership interest in us is decreased; all of which could diminish the trading price of our common units.
 
Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that may have the effect of discouraging a person or group from attempting to remove our current management or our General Partner.
 
 
·
The unitholders are unable to remove our General Partner without its consent because our General Partner and its affiliates, including our Sponsor, own sufficient units to be able to prevent its removal. The vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of all outstanding common and subordinated units voting together as a single class is required to remove our General Partner. Our Sponsor owns 610,000 of our common units and all of our subordinated units, representing approximately 52% of the outstanding common and subordinated units.
 
 
·
If our General Partner is removed without "cause" during the subordination period and units held by our General Partner and our Sponsor are not voted in favor of that removal, all remaining subordinated units will automatically convert into common units, any existing arrearages on the common units will be extinguished, and our General Partner will have the right to convert its incentive distribution rights into common units or to receive cash in exchange for those interests based on the fair market value of those interests at the time. A removal of our General Partner under these circumstances would adversely affect the common units by prematurely eliminating their distribution and liquidation preference over the subordinated units, which would otherwise have continued until we had met certain distribution and performance tests. Any conversion of our General Partner's interest or incentive distribution rights would be dilutive to existing unitholders. Furthermore, any cash payment in lieu of such conversion could be prohibitively expensive. "Cause" is narrowly defined to mean that a court of competent jurisdiction has entered a final, non-appealable judgment finding our General Partner liable for actual fraud or willful or wanton misconduct. Cause does not include most cases of charges of poor business decisions, such as charges of poor management of our business by the directors appointed by our General Partner, so the removal of our General Partner because of the unitholders' dissatisfaction with our General Partner's decisions in this regard would most likely result in the termination of the subordination period.
 
 
·
Common unitholders will be entitled to elect only three of the five members of our Board of Directors. Our General Partner in its sole discretion will appoint the remaining two directors.
 
 
·
Election of the three directors elected by unitholders is staggered, meaning that the members of only one of three classes of our elected directors will be selected each year. In addition, the directors appointed by our General Partner will serve for terms determined by our General Partner.
 
 
·
Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions limiting the ability of unitholders to call meetings of unitholders, to nominate directors and to acquire information about our operations as well as other provisions limiting the unitholders' ability to influence the manner or direction of management.
 
 
11

 
 
 
·
Unitholders' voting rights are further restricted by the Partnership Agreement provision providing that if any person or group owns beneficially more than 4.9% of any class of units then outstanding, any such units owned by that person or group in excess of 4.9% may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes (except for purposes of nominating a person for election to our board), determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes under our Partnership Agreement, unless required by law. The voting rights of any such unitholders in excess of 4.9% will effectively be redistributed pro rata among the other common unitholders holding less than 4.9% of the voting power of all classes of units entitled to vote. Our General Partner, its affiliates and persons who acquired common units with the prior approval of our Board of Directors will not be subject to this 4.9% limitation except with respect to voting their common units in the election of the elected directors.
 
 
·
There are no restrictions in our Partnership Agreement on our ability to issue additional equity securities.
 
The effect of these provisions may be to diminish the price at which the common units will trade.
 
You may not have limited liability if a court finds that unitholder action constitutes control of our business.
 
As a limited partner in a partnership organized under the laws of the Marshall Islands, you could be held liable for our obligations to the same extent as a General Partner if you participate in the "control" of our business. Our General Partner generally has unlimited liability for the obligations of the partnership, such as its debts and environmental liabilities, except for those contractual obligations of the partnership that are expressly made without recourse to our General Partner. In addition, the limitations on the liability of holders of limited partner interests for the obligations of a limited partnership have not been clearly established in some jurisdictions in which we do business.
 
We can borrow money to pay distributions, which would reduce the amount of credit available to operate our business.
 
Our Partnership Agreement allows us to make working capital borrowings to pay distributions. Accordingly, if we have available borrowing capacity, we can make distributions on all our units even though cash generated by our operations may not be sufficient to pay such distributions. Any working capital borrowings by us to make distributions will reduce the amount of working capital borrowings we can make for operating our business. For more information, see "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects."
 
We depend on our Manager to assist us in operating and expanding our business.
 
We subcontract the commercial and technical management of our fleet, including crewing, maintenance and repair, to our Manager; the loss of our Manager's services or its failure to perform its obligations to us could materially and adversely affect the results of our operations.
 
Our operational success and ability to execute our growth strategy will depend significantly upon the satisfactory performance of these services. Our business will be harmed if our service providers fail to perform these services satisfactorily, if they cancel their agreements with us or if they stop providing these services to us.
 
Our ability to enter into new charters and expand our customer relationships will depend largely on our ability to leverage our relationship with our Manager and its reputation and relationships in the shipping industry. If our Manager suffers material damage to its reputation or relationships, it may harm our ability to:
 
 
·
renew existing charters upon their expiration;
 
 
·
obtain new charters;
 
 
·
successfully interact with shipyards;
 
 
·
obtain financing on commercially acceptable terms;
 
 
·
maintain access to capital under the Sponsor credit facility; or
 
 
·
maintain satisfactory relationships with suppliers and other third parties.
 
Our current time charters and our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility prevent us from changing our Manager.
 
Our ability to change our Manager with another affiliated or third-party Manager, is prohibited by provisions in our current time charters with BG Group and Gazprom and our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility, without their prior consent.  In addition, we cannot assure you that future debt agreements or time charter contracts with our existing or new lenders or charterers, respectively, will not contain similar provisions.
 
 
12

 
 
Since our Manager is a privately held company and there is little or no publicly available information about it, an investor could have little advance warning of potential financial and other problems that might affect our Manager that could have a material adverse effect on us.
 
The ability of our Manager to continue providing services for our benefit will depend in part on its own financial strength. Circumstances beyond our control could impair our Manager's financial strength, and because it is privately held, it is unlikely that information about its financial strength would become public unless our Manager began to default on its obligations. As a result, an investor in our common units might have little advance warning of problems affecting our Manager, even though these problems could have a material adverse effect on us.
 
We may be unable to attract and retain key management personnel in the LNG industry, which may negatively impact the effectiveness of our management and our results of operation.
 
Our success depends to a significant extent upon the abilities and the efforts of our senior executives. While we believe that we have an experienced management team, the loss or unavailability of one or more of our senior executives for any extended period of time could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
 
A shortage of qualified officers and crew could have an adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
 
LNG carriers require a technically skilled officer staff with specialized training. As the world LNG carrier fleet continues to grow, the demand for technically skilled officers and crew has been increasing, which has led to a shortfall of such personnel. Increases in our historical vessel operating expenses have been attributable primarily to the rising costs of recruiting and retaining officers for our fleet. If we or our third-party ship Managers are unable to employ technically skilled staff and crew, we will not be able to adequately staff our vessels. A material decrease in the supply of technically skilled officers or an inability of our Manager to attract and retain such qualified officers could impair our ability to operate, or increase the cost of crewing our vessels, which would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and significantly reduce our ability to pay minimum quarterly distributions to our unitholders.
 
The derivative contracts we may enter into, in the future, to hedge our exposure to fluctuations in interest rates could result in higher than market interest rates and charges against our income.
 
As of December 31, 2013, we had total outstanding long-term debt of $214.1 million (excluding $5.5 million that was drawn under our revolving credit facility with our Sponsor which was repaid in January 2014), which in its entirety is exposed to a floating interest rate. In order to manage our current or future exposure to interest rate fluctuations, we may use interest rate swaps to effectively fix a part of our floating rate debt obligations. As of December 31, 2013, we had not entered into interest rate swap agreements to fix the interest rate on our floating rate bank debt. Any future hedging strategies, however, may not be effective and we may incur substantial losses if interest rates move materially differently from our expectations.
 
We are a holding company, and our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders will be limited by the value of investments we currently hold and by the distribution of funds from our subsidiaries.
 
We are a holding company whose assets mainly consist of equity interests in our subsidiaries. As a result, our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders will depend on the performance of our operating subsidiaries. If we are not able to receive sufficient funds from our subsidiaries, we will not be able to pay distributions unless we obtain funds from other sources. We may not be able to obtain the necessary funds from other sources on terms acceptable to us.
 
We are an "emerging growth company" and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common units less attractive to investors.
 
We are an "emerging growth company" as defined in the JOBS Act. We have elected to take advantage of the reduced reporting obligations, including the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards under Section 102 of the JOBS Act, and as a result of this election, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates.  In addition, as an "emerging growth company" we are exempt from having our independent auditor assess our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  We cannot predict if investors will find our common units less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common units less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common units and our share price may be more volatile.
 
Our ability to grow and to meet our financial needs may be adversely affected by our cash distribution policy.
 
Our cash distribution policy, which is consistent with our Partnership Agreement, requires us to distribute all of our available cash (as defined in our Partnership Agreement) each quarter. Accordingly, our growth may not be as fast as businesses that reinvest their available cash to expand ongoing operations.
 
In determining the amount of cash available for distribution, our Board of Directors approves the amount of cash reserves to set aside, including reserves for future maintenance and replacement capital expenditures, working capital and other matters. We also rely upon external financing sources, including commercial borrowings, to fund our capital expenditures. Accordingly, to the extent we do not have sufficient cash reserves or are unable to obtain financing, our cash distribution policy may significantly impair our ability to meet our financial needs or to grow.
 
 
13

 
 
If capital expenditures are financed through cash from operations or by issuing debt or equity securities, our ability to make cash distributions may be diminished, our financial leverage could increase or our unitholders may be diluted.
 
Use of cash from operations to expand or maintain our fleet will reduce cash available for distribution to unitholders. Our ability to obtain bank financing or to access the capital markets for future offerings may be limited by our financial condition at the time of any such financing or offering as well as by adverse market conditions resulting from, among other things, general economic conditions and contingencies and uncertainties that are beyond our control. Our failure to obtain the funds for future capital expenditures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. Even if we are successful in obtaining necessary funds, the terms of such financings could limit our ability to pay cash distributions to unitholders. In addition, incurring additional debt may significantly increase our interest expense and financial leverage, and issuing additional equity securities may result in significant unitholder dilution and would increase the aggregate amount of cash required to maintain our current level of quarterly distributions to unitholders, both of which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to make cash distributions.
 
Due to our lack of diversification, adverse developments in our LNG shipping business could reduce our ability to make distributions to our unitholders.
 
We rely exclusively on the cash flow generated from our LNG carriers. Due to our lack of diversification, an adverse development in the LNG shipping industry could have a significantly greater impact on our financial condition and results of operations than if we maintained more diverse assets or lines of businesses.
 
We may experience operational problems with vessels that reduce revenue and increase costs.
 
LNG carriers are complex and their operation technically challenging. Marine transportation operations are subject to mechanical risks and problems. Operational problems may lead to loss of revenue or higher than anticipated operating expenses or require additional capital expenditures. Any of these results could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.
 
Upon the expiration of the subordination period, the subordinated units will convert into common units and will then participate pro rata with other common units in distributions of available cash.
 
During the subordination period, which we define elsewhere in this annual report, the common units will have the right to receive distributions of available cash from operating surplus in an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.365 per unit, plus any arrearages in the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units from prior quarters, before any distributions of available cash from operating surplus may be made on the subordinated units. Distribution arrearages do not accrue on the subordinated units. The purpose of the subordinated units is to increase the likelihood that during the subordination period there will be available cash from operating surplus to be distributed on the common units. Upon the expiration of the subordination period, the subordinated units will convert into common units and will then participate pro rata with other common units in distributions of available cash. See "Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Our Cash Distribution Policy."
 
Because the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is not currently permitted to inspect our independent accounting firm, you may not benefit from such inspections.
 
Auditors of U.S. public companies are required by law to undergo periodic Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, inspections that assess their compliance with U.S. law and professional standards in connection with performance of audits of financial statements filed with the SEC.  Certain European Union countries, including Greece, do not currently permit the PCAOB to conduct inspections of accounting firms established and operating in such European Union countries, even if they are part of major international firms.  Accordingly, unlike for most U.S. public companies, the PCAOB is prevented from evaluating our auditor's performance of audits and its quality control procedures, and, unlike shareholders of most U.S. public companies, we and our unitholders are deprived of the possible benefits of such inspections.
 
We may be adversely affected by the introduction of new accounting rules for leasing.
 
International and U.S. accounting standard-setting boards (the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") and the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB")) have issued new exposure drafts in their joint project that would require lessees to record most leases on their balance sheets as lease assets and liabilities. Entities would still classify leases, but classification would be based on different criteria and would serve a different purpose than it does today. Lease classification would determine how entities recognize lease-related revenue and expense, as well as what lessors record on the balance sheet. Classification would be based on the portion of the economic benefits of the underlying asset expected to be consumed by the lessee over the lease term proposed changes to the accounting for operating and finance leases. If the proposals are adopted, they would be expected generally to have the effect of bringing most off-balance sheet leases onto a lessee's balance sheet as liabilities which would also change the income and expense recognition patterns of those items.  Financial statement metrics such as leverage and capital ratios, as well as EBITDA, may also be affected, even when cash flow and business activity have not changed. This may in turn affect covenant calculations under various contracts (e.g., loan agreements) unless the affected contracts are modified. The IASB's and FASB's deliberations on certain topics is expected to extend through much of 2014 and an effective date has not yet been determined to reconsider their original proposals to address concerns raised by constituents and expect to issue revised proposals in the first quarter of 2013. Accordingly, the timing and ultimate effect of those proposals on the Partnership is uncertain.
 
 
14

 
 
Risks Relating to Our Industry

Our future growth and performance depends on continued growth in LNG production and demand for LNG and LNG shipping.
 
A complete LNG project includes production, liquefaction, storage, regasification and distribution facilities, in addition to the marine transportation of LNG. Increased infrastructure investment has led to an expansion of LNG production capacity in recent years, but material delays in the construction of new liquefaction facilities could constrain the amount of LNG available for shipping, reducing ship utilization. While global LNG demand has continued to rise, it has risen at a slower pace than previously predicted and the rate of its growth has fluctuated due to several factors, including the global economic crisis and continued economic uncertainty, fluctuations in the price of natural gas and other sources of energy, the continued acceleration in natural gas production from unconventional sources in regions such as North America and the highly complex and capital intensive nature of new or expanded LNG projects, including liquefaction projects. Continued growth in LNG production and demand for LNG and LNG shipping could be negatively affected by a number of factors, including:
 
 
·
increases in interest rates or other events that may affect the availability of sufficient financing for LNG projects on commercially reasonable terms;
 
 
·
increases in the cost of natural gas derived from LNG relative to the cost of natural gas generally;
 
 
·
increases in the production levels of low-cost natural gas in domestic natural gas consuming markets, which could further depress prices for natural gas in those markets and make LNG uneconomical;
 
 
·
increases in the production of natural gas in areas linked by pipelines to consuming areas, the extension of existing, or the development of new pipeline systems in markets we may serve, or the conversion of existing non-natural gas pipelines to natural gas pipelines in those markets;
 
 
·
decreases in the consumption of natural gas due to increases in its price, decreases in the price of alternative energy sources or other factors making consumption of natural gas less attractive;
 
 
·
any significant explosion, spill or other incident involving an LNG facility or carrier;
 
 
·
infrastructure constraints such as delays in the construction of liquefaction facilities, the inability of project owners or operators to obtain governmental approvals to construct or operate LNG facilities, as well as community or political action group resistance to new LNG infrastructure due to concerns about the environment, safety and terrorism;
 
 
·
labor or political unrest or military conflicts affecting existing or proposed areas of LNG production or regasification;
 
 
·
decreases in the price of LNG, which might decrease the expected returns relating to investments in LNG projects;
 
 
·
new taxes or regulations affecting LNG production or liquefaction that make LNG production less attractive; or
 
 
·
negative global or regional economic or political conditions, particularly in LNG consuming regions, which could reduce energy consumption or its growth.
 
Reduced demand for LNG and LNG shipping or any reduction or limitation in LNG production capacity, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to secure future multi-year time charters upon expiration or early termination of our current charter arrangements, or for any new ships we acquire, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, including cash available for distribution to our unitholders.
 
Fluctuations in overall LNG demand growth could adversely affect our ability to secure future time charters.
 
Over the past three years, global LNG demand has continued to rise, but at a slower pace than previously predicted. Preliminary estimates by Drewry suggest that global LNG trade in 2013 was at a level similar to 2012, in part because of supply disruptions in Nigeria and the shutdown of one LNG production train in Qatar.  Continued economic uncertainty and the continued acceleration of unconventional natural gas production could have an adverse effect on our ability to secure future term charters.
 
 
15

 
 
Demand for LNG shipping could be significantly affected by volatile natural gas prices and the overall demand for natural gas.
 
Gas prices are volatile and are affected by numerous factors beyond our control, including but not limited to the following:
 
 
·
worldwide demand for natural gas;
 
 
·
the cost of exploration, development, production, transportation and distribution of natural gas;
 
 
·
expectations regarding future energy prices for both natural gas and other sources of energy;
 
 
·
the level of worldwide LNG production and exports;
 
 
·
government laws and regulations, including but not limited to environmental protection laws and regulations;
 
 
·
local and international political, economic and weather conditions;
 
 
·
political and military conflicts; and
 
 
·
the availability and cost of alternative energy sources, including alternate sources of natural gas in gas importing and consuming countries.
 
Seasonality in demand, peak-load demand, and other short-term factors such as pipeline gas disruptions and maintenance schedules of utilities affect charters of less than two years and rates. In general, reduced demand for LNG, LNG carriers or LNG shipping would have a material adverse effect on our future growth and could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
 
Hire rates for LNG carriers are not generally publicly available and may fluctuate substantially. If rates are lower when we are seeking a new charter, our revenues and cash flows may decline.
 
Our ability from time to time to charter or re-charter any ship at attractive rates will depend on, among other things, the prevailing economic conditions in the LNG industry. Hire rates for LNG carriers are not generally publicly available and may fluctuate over time as a result of changes in the supply-demand balance relating to current and future ship capacity. This supply-demand relationship largely depends on a number of factors outside our control. The LNG charter market is connected to world natural gas prices and energy markets, which we cannot predict. A substantial or extended decline in demand for natural gas or LNG could adversely affect our ability to re-charter our vessels at acceptable rates or to acquire and profitably operate new ships. Hire rates for newbuildings are correlated with the price of newbuildings. Hire rates at a time when we may be seeking new charters may be lower than the hire rates at which our vessels are currently chartered. If hire rates are lower when we are seeking a new charter, our revenues and cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our unitholders, may decline, as we may only be able to enter into new charters at reduced or unprofitable rates or we may have to secure a charter in the spot market, where hire rates are more volatile. Prolonged periods of low charter hire rates or low ship utilization could also have a material adverse effect on the value of our assets.
 
Vessel values may fluctuate substantially and, if these values are lower at a time when we are attempting to dispose of vessels, we may incur a loss.
 
Factors that influence vessel values include:
 
 
·
prevailing economic conditions in the natural gas and energy markets;
 
 
·
a substantial or extended decline in demand for LNG;
 
 
·
increases in the supply of vessel capacity;
 
 
·
the size and age of a vessel; and
 
 
·
the cost of retrofitting or modifying secondhand vessels, as a result of technological advances in vessel design or equipment, changes in applicable environmental or other regulations or standards, customer requirements or otherwise.
 
As our vessels age, the expenses associated with maintaining and operating them are expected to increase, which could have an adverse effect on our business and operations if we do not maintain sufficient cash reserves for maintenance and replacement capital expenditures. Moreover, the cost of a replacement vessel would be significant. If a charter terminates, we may be unable to re-deploy the affected vessels at attractive rates and, rather than continue to incur costs to maintain and finance them, we may seek to dispose of them. Our inability to dispose of vessels at a reasonable value could result in a loss on their sale and adversely affect our ability to purchase a replacement vessel, results of operations and financial condition and ability to pay minimum quarterly distributions to our unitholders.
 
 
16

 
 
An oversupply of ships or delays or abandonment of planned projects may lead to a reduction in the charter hire rates we are able to obtain when seeking charters in the future.
 
Due to an increase in LNG production capacity, the market supply of LNG carriers has been increasing as a result of the construction of new ships. According to Drewry, during the period from 2007 to 2014, the global fleet of LNG carriers grew from 250 vessels to 368 vessels due to the construction and delivery of new LNG carriers and low levels of vessel demolition. Although the global newbuilding orderbook dropped steeply in 2009 and 2010, according to Drewry, orders for 64 newbuilding LNG carriers were placed during 2012 and 2013. According to Drewry, as of February 28, 2014, the newbuilding orderbook consisted of 127 ships, or 37.7% of the current global LNG carrier fleet capacity, with the majority of the newbuildings scheduled for delivery in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
 
If charter hire rates are lower when we are seeking new time charters upon expiration or early termination of our current charter arrangements, or for any new vessels we acquire beyond our contracted newbuildings, our revenues and cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our unitholders, may decline.
 
We may have more difficulty entering into multi-year time charters in the future if an active spot LNG shipping market continues to develop.
 
One of our principal strategies is to enter into additional LNG carrier time charters of four years or more. Most shipping requirements for new LNG projects continue to be provided on a multi-year basis, though the level of spot voyages and time charters of less than 24 months in duration has grown in the past few years. If an active spot market continues to develop, we may have increased difficulty entering into multi-year time charters upon expiration or early termination of our current charters or for any vessels that we acquire in the future, and, as a result, our cash flow may be less stable. In addition, an active spot LNG market may require us to enter into charters based on changing market prices, as opposed to contracts based on a fixed rate, which could result in a decrease in our cash flow in periods when the market price for shipping LNG is depressed or insufficient funds are available to cover our financing costs for related vessels.
 
Further technological advancements and other innovations affecting LNG carriers could reduce the charter hire rates we are able to obtain when seeking new employment and this could adversely impact the value of our assets.
 
The charter rates, asset value and operational life of an LNG carrier are determined by a number of factors, including the ship's efficiency, operational flexibility and physical life. Efficiency includes speed and fuel economy. Flexibility includes the ability to enter harbors, utilize related docking facilities and pass through canals and straits. Physical life is related to the original design and construction, the ongoing maintenance and the impact of operational stresses on the asset. If more advanced ship designs are developed in the future and new ships are built that are more efficient or more flexible or have longer physical lives than ours, competition from these more technologically advanced LNG carriers could adversely affect the charter hire rates we will be able to secure when we seek to re-charter our vessels upon expiration or early termination of our current charter arrangements and could also reduce the resale value of our vessels. This could adversely affect our revenues and cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our unitholders.
 
Operating costs and capital expenses will increase as our vessels age.
 
In general, capital expenditures and other costs necessary for maintaining a ship in good operating condition increase as the age of the ship increases. Accordingly, it is likely that the operating costs of our vessels will increase in the future.
 
Reliability of suppliers may limit our ability to obtain supplies and services when needed.
 
We rely, and will in the future rely, on a significant supply of consumables, spare parts and equipment to operate, maintain, repair and upgrade our fleet of ships. Delays in delivery or unavailability of supplies could result in off-hire days due to consequent delays in the repair and maintenance of our fleet. This would negatively impact our revenues and cash flows. Cost increases could also negatively impact our future operations.
 
Exposure to currency exchange rate fluctuations will result in fluctuations in our cash flows and operating results.
 
Historically our revenue has been generated in U.S. Dollars, but we incur capital, operating and administrative expenses in multiple currencies, including, among others, the Euro. If the U.S. Dollar weakens significantly, we would be required to convert more U.S. Dollars to other currencies to satisfy our obligations, which would cause us to have less cash available for distribution. Because we report our operating results in U.S. Dollars, changes in the value of the U.S. Dollar also result in fluctuations in our reported revenues and earnings. In addition, under U.S. GAAP, all foreign currency-denominated monetary assets and liabilities such as cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, restricted cash and accounts payable are revalued and reported based on the prevailing exchange rate at the end of the reporting period. This revaluation may cause us to report significant non-monetary foreign currency exchange gains and losses in certain periods.
 
 
17

 
 
An increase in operating expenses, dry-docking costs or bunker costs could materially and adversely affect our financial performance.
 
Our operating expenses and dry-dock capital expenditures depend on a variety of factors including crew costs, provisions, deck and engine stores and spares, lubricating oil, insurance, maintenance and repairs and shipyard costs, many of which are beyond our control and affect the entire shipping industry. Also, while we do not bear the cost of fuel (bunkers) under our time charters, fuel is a significant expense in our operations when our vessels are, for example, moving to or from dry-dock or when off-hire. The price and supply of fuel is unpredictable and fluctuates based on events outside our control, including geopolitical developments, supply and demand for oil and gas, actions by OPEC and other oil and gas producers, war and unrest in oil-producing countries and regions, regional production patterns and environmental concerns. These may increase vessel operating and dry-docking costs further. If costs continue to rise, they could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
 
The operation of LNG carriers is inherently risky, and an incident involving significant loss of or environmental consequences involving any of our vessels could harm our reputation and business.
 
Our vessels and their cargoes are at risk of being damaged or lost because of events such as:
 
 
·
marine disasters;
 
 
·
piracy;
 
 
·
environmental accidents
 
 
·
bad weather;
 
 
·
mechanical failures;
 
 
·
grounding, fire, explosions and collisions;
 
 
·
human error; and
 
 
·
war and terrorism.
 
An accident involving any of our vessels could result in any of the following:
 
 
·
death or injury to persons, loss of property or environmental damage;
 
 
·
delays or failure in the delivery of cargo;
 
 
·
loss of revenues from or termination of charter contracts;
 
 
·
governmental fines, penalties or restrictions on conducting business;
 
 
·
spills, pollution and the liability associated with the same;
 
 
·
higher insurance rates; and
 
 
·
damage to our reputation and customer relationships generally.
 
Any of these events could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. If our vessels suffer damage, they may need to be repaired. The costs of vessel repairs are unpredictable and can be substantial. We may have to pay repair costs that our insurance policies do not cover. The loss of earnings while these vessels are being repaired, as well as the actual cost of these repairs, would decrease our results of operations. If any of our vessels is involved in an accident with the potential risk of environmental consequences, the resulting media coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows, which in turn could weaken our financial condition and negatively affect our ability to pay minimum quarterly distributions to our unitholders.
 
Our insurance may be insufficient to cover losses that may occur to our property or result from our operations.
 
The operation of LNG carriers is inherently risky. Although we carry protection and indemnity insurance consistent with industry standards, all risks may not be adequately insured against, and any particular claim may not be paid. Any claims covered by insurance would be subject to deductibles, and since it is possible that a large number of claims may be brought, the aggregate amount of these deductibles could be material. Certain of our insurance coverage is maintained through mutual protection and indemnity associations, and as a member of such associations we may be required to make additional payments over and above budgeted premiums if member claims exceed association reserves. We may be unable to procure adequate insurance coverage at commercially reasonable rates in the future. For example, more stringent environmental regulations have led in the past to increased costs for, and in the future may result in the lack of availability of, insurance against risks of environmental damage or pollution. A marine disaster could exceed our insurance coverage, which could harm our business, financial condition and operating results. Any uninsured or underinsured loss could harm our business and financial condition. In addition, our insurance may be voidable by the insurers as a result of certain of our actions, such as our vessels failing to maintain certification with applicable maritime self-regulatory organizations.
 
 
18

 
 
Changes in the insurance markets attributable to terrorist attacks may also make certain types of insurance more difficult for us to obtain. In addition, upon renewal or expiration of our current policies, the insurance that may be available to us may be significantly more expensive than our existing coverage.
 
Our vessels may suffer damage and we may face unexpected costs and off-hire days.
 
In the event of damage to our owned vessels, the damaged ship would be off-hire while it is being repaired, which would decrease our revenues and cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our unitholders. In addition, the costs of ship repairs are unpredictable and can be substantial. In the event of repair costs that are not covered by our insurance policies, we may have to pay such repair costs, which would decrease our earnings and cash flows.
 
The current weakened state of global financial markets and current weakened economic conditions may adversely impact our ability to obtain financing or refinance our future credit facilities on acceptable terms, which may hinder or prevent us from operating or expanding our business.
 
Global financial markets and economic conditions have been, and continue to be, volatile. These issues, along with significant write-offs in the financial services sector, the re-pricing of credit risk and the current weak economic conditions, have made, and will likely continue to make, it difficult to obtain additional financing. The current state of global financial markets and current economic conditions might adversely impact our ability to issue additional equity at prices which will not be dilutive to our existing unitholders or preclude us from issuing equity at all.
 
Also, as a result of concerns about the stability of financial markets generally and the solvency of counterparties specifically, the cost of obtaining money from the credit markets has increased as many lenders have increased interest rates, enacted tighter lending standards, refused to refinance existing debt at all or on terms similar to current debt and reduced, and in some cases ceased, to provide funding to borrowers. Due to these factors, we cannot be certain that financing will be available to the extent required, or that we will be able to refinance our future credit facilities, on acceptable terms or at all. If financing or refinancing is not available when needed, or is available only on unfavorable terms, we may be unable to meet our obligations as they come due or we may be unable to enhance our existing business, complete the acquisition of our newbuildings and additional vessel acquisitions or otherwise take advantage of business opportunities as they arise.
 
As of the date of this annual report, we have not secured any financing in connection with the potential acquisition of the Optional Vessels, since it is uncertain if and when such purchase options will be exercised. Our Sponsor has entered into loan agreements in connection with the seven Optional Vessels. In the event we acquire the Optional Vessels in the future, we may enter into agreements with our Sponsor to novate these loan agreements to us. Any such novation would be subject to each respective lender's consent.
 
In addition, volatility and uncertainty concerning current global economic conditions may cause our customers to defer projects in response to tighter credit, decreased capital availability and declining customer confidence, which may negatively impact the demand for our vessels and services and could also result in defaults under our current charters. A tightening of the credit markets may further negatively impact our operations by affecting the solvency of our suppliers or customers which could lead to disruptions in delivery of supplies such as equipment for conversions, cost increases for supplies, accelerated payments to suppliers, customer bad debts or reduced revenues.
 
Compliance with safety and other requirements imposed by classification societies may be very costly and may adversely affect our business.
 
The hull and machinery of every commercial LNG carrier must be classed by a classification society. The classification society certifies that the ship has been built and maintained in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of that classification society. Moreover, every ship must comply with all applicable international conventions and the regulations of the ship's flag state as verified by a classification society. Finally, each ship must successfully undergo periodic surveys, including annual, intermediate and special surveys performed under the classification society's rules.
 
If any ship does not maintain its class, it will lose its insurance coverage and be unable to trade, and the ship's owner will be in breach of relevant covenants under its financing arrangements. Failure to maintain the class of one or more of our vessels could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our unitholders.
 
The LNG shipping industry is subject to substantial environmental and other regulations, which may significantly limit our operations or increase our expenses.
 
Our operations are materially affected by extensive and changing international, national, state and local environmental laws, regulations, treaties, conventions and standards which are in force in international waters or in the jurisdictional waters of the countries in which our vessels operate and in the countries in which our vessels are registered. These requirements relate to equipping and operating ships, providing security and to minimizing or addressing impacts on the environment from ship operations. We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, substantial expenses in complying with these requirements, including expenses for ship modifications and changes in operating procedures. We also could incur substantial costs, including cleanup costs, civil and criminal penalties and sanctions, the suspension or termination of operations and third-party claims as a result of violations of, or liabilities under, such laws and regulations.
 
 
19

 
 
In addition, these requirements can affect the resale value or useful lives of our vessels, require a reduction in cargo capacity, necessitate ship modifications or operational changes or restrictions or lead to decreased availability of insurance coverage for environmental matters. They could further result in the denial of access to certain jurisdictional waters or ports or detention in certain ports. We are required to obtain governmental approvals and permits to operate our vessels. Delays in obtaining such governmental approvals may increase our expenses, and the terms and conditions of such approvals could materially and adversely affect our operations.
 
Additional laws and regulations may be adopted that could limit our ability to do business or increase our operating costs, which could materially and adversely affect our business. For example, new or amended legislation relating to ship recycling, sewage systems, emission control (including emissions of greenhouse gases) as well as ballast water treatment and ballast water handling may be adopted. The United States has enacted legislation and regulations that require more stringent controls of air and water emissions from ocean-going ships. Such legislation or regulations may require additional capital expenditures or operating expenses (such as increased costs for low-sulfur fuel) in order for us to maintain our vessels' compliance with international and/or national regulations. We also may become subject to additional laws and regulations if we enter new markets or trades.
 
We also believe that the heightened environmental, quality and security concerns of insurance underwriters, regulators and charterers will generally lead to additional regulatory requirements, including enhanced risk assessment and security requirements as well as greater inspection and safety requirements on all LNG carriers in the marine transportation market. These requirements are likely to add incremental costs to our operations, and the failure to comply with these requirements may affect the ability of our vessels to obtain and, possibly, collect on, insurance or to obtain the required certificates for entry into the different ports where we operate.
 
Some environmental laws and regulations, such as the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990, or "OPA", provide for potentially unlimited joint, several, and/or strict liability for owners, operators and demise or bareboat charterers for oil pollution and related damages. OPA applies to discharges of any oil from a ship in U.S. waters, including discharges of fuel and lubricants from an LNG carrier, even if the ships do not carry oil as cargo. In addition, many states in the United States bordering on a navigable waterway have enacted legislation providing for potentially unlimited strict liability without regard to fault for the discharge of pollutants within their waters. We also are subject to other laws and conventions outside the United States that provide for an owner or operator of LNG carriers to bear strict liability for pollution, such as the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims of 1976, or the "London Convention."
 
Some of these laws and conventions, including OPA and the London Convention, may include limitations on liability. However, the limitations may not be applicable in certain circumstances, such as where a spill is caused by a ship owner's or operators' intentional or reckless conduct. In addition, in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the U.S. Congress is currently considering a number of bills that could potentially modify or eliminate the limits of liability under OPA.
 
Compliance with OPA and other environmental laws and regulations also may result in ship owners and operators incurring increased costs for additional maintenance and inspection requirements, the development of contingency arrangements for potential spills, obtaining mandated insurance coverage and meeting financial responsibility requirements.
 
Please see "Item 4. Information on the Partnership—B. Business Overview—Environmental and Other Regulations."
 
Climate change and greenhouse gas restrictions may adversely impact our operations and markets.
 
Due to concern over the risks of climate change, a number of countries and the International Maritime Organization, or "IMO", have adopted, or are considering the adoption of, regulatory frameworks to reduce greenhouse gas emission from ships. These regulatory measures may include adoption of cap and trade regimes, carbon taxes, increased efficiency standards and incentives or mandates for renewable energy. Although emissions of greenhouse gases from international shipping currently are not subject to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or the "Kyoto Protocol", a new treaty may be adopted in the future that includes additional restrictions on shipping emissions to those already adopted under the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), and some countries have made voluntary pledges to control the emissions of greenhouse gasses. The IMO has already approved two sets of mandatory requirements to address greenhouse gases from ships: the Energy Efficiency Design Index and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management plan. Compliance with future changes in laws and regulations relating to climate change could increase the costs of operating and maintaining our vessels and could require us to install new emission controls, as well as acquire allowances, pay taxes related to our greenhouse gas emissions or administer and manage a greenhouse gas emissions program. Revenue generation and strategic growth opportunities may also be adversely affected.
 
Adverse effects upon the oil and gas production industry relating to climate change, including growing public concern about the environmental impact of climate change, may also have an effect on demand for our services. For example, increased regulation of greenhouse gases or other concerns relating to climate change may reduce the demand for oil and gas in the future or create greater incentives for use of alternative energy sources. Any long-term material adverse effect on the oil and gas production industry could have significant financial and operational adverse impacts on our business that we cannot predict with certainty at this time.
 
Please see "Item 4. Information on the Partnership—B. Business Overview—Environmental and Other Regulations."
 
 
20

 
 
We operate our vessels worldwide, which could expose us to political, governmental and economic instability that could harm our business.
 
Because we operate our vessels worldwide in the geographic areas where our customers do business, our operations may be affected by economic, political and governmental conditions in the countries where our vessels operate, where they are registered, or where our customers are located. Any disruption caused by these factors could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In particular, our vessels frequent LNG terminals in countries including Egypt, Equatorial Guinea and Trinidad as well as transit through the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Malacca. In addition, we, either directly, or indirectly through our customer Gazprom, an international energy company based in Russia, may be affected by increased political tension in Europe due to Russia’s recent annex of Crimea. Economic, political and governmental conditions in these and other regions have from time to time resulted in military conflicts, terrorism, attacks on ships, mining of waterways, piracy and other efforts to disrupt shipping. Future hostilities or other political instability in the geographic regions where we operate or may operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our unitholders. In addition, our business could also be harmed by tariffs, trade embargoes and other economic sanctions by the United States or other countries against countries in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Russia or elsewhere as a result of terrorist attacks, hostilities or diplomatic or political pressures that limit trading activities with those countries.
 
Failure to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-bribery legislation in other jurisdictions could result in fines, criminal penalties, contract terminations and an adverse effect on our business.
 
We may operate in a number of countries throughout the world, including countries known to have a reputation for corruption. We are committed to doing business in accordance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics which is consistent and in full compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. We are subject, however, to the risk that we, our affiliated entities or our or their respective officers, directors, employees and agents may take actions determined to be in violation of such anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Any such violation could result in substantial fines, sanctions, civil and/or criminal penalties, curtailment of operations in certain jurisdictions, and might adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. In addition, actual or alleged violations could damage our reputation and ability to do business. Furthermore, detecting, investigating, and resolving actual or alleged violations is expensive and can consume significant time and attention of our senior management.
 
Terrorist attacks, international hostilities and piracy could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
 
Terrorist attacks, such as the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and more recent attacks in other parts of the world, as well as the continuing response of the United States and other countries to these attacks and the threat of future terrorist attacks, continue to cause uncertainty in the world financial markets and may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, including cash available for distributions to our unitholders. The current turmoil in Iran and the uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, as well as tension in Afghanistan, North Korea and Russia and Ukraine, and the continuing hostilities in the Middle East, may lead to additional acts of terrorism, further regional conflicts and other armed actions around the world, which may contribute to further instability in the global financial markets. These uncertainties could also adversely affect our ability to obtain additional financing on terms acceptable to us, or at all or impact the shipyards constructing our Sponsor's seven LNG carrier newbuildings.
 
In the past, political conflicts have also resulted in attacks on ships, mining of waterways and other efforts to disrupt international shipping, particularly in the Arabian Gulf region. Acts of terrorism and piracy have also affected ships trading in regions such as the South China Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Since 2008, the frequency of piracy incidents against commercial shipping vessels has increased significantly, particularly in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia. In 2012 "M/T Smyrni", a vessel managed by an affiliated company, was hijacked by pirates and was released after almost one year in captivity. Any terrorist attacks targeted at our ships may in the future negatively materially affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and could directly impact our vessels or our customers. We may not be adequately insured to cover losses from these incidents. In addition, crew costs, including those due to employing onboard security guards, could increase in such circumstances.
 
In addition, LNG facilities, shipyards, ships, pipelines and gas fields could be targets of future terrorist attacks or piracy. Any such attacks could lead to, among other things, bodily injury or loss of life, as well as damage to the ships or other property, increased ship operating costs, including insurance costs, reductions in the supply of LNG and the inability to transport LNG to or from certain locations. Terrorist attacks, war or other events beyond our control that adversely affect the production, storage or transportation of LNG to be shipped by us could entitle our customers to terminate our charter contracts in certain circumstances, which would harm our cash flows and our business.
 
Terrorist attacks, or the perception that LNG facilities and LNG carriers are potential terrorist targets, could materially and adversely affect expansion of LNG infrastructure and the continued supply of LNG. Concern that LNG facilities may be targeted for attack by terrorists has contributed significantly to local community and environmental group resistance to the construction of a number of LNG facilities, primarily in North America. If a terrorist incident involving an LNG facility or LNG carrier did occur, in addition to the possible effects identified in the previous paragraph, the incident may adversely affect the construction of additional LNG facilities and could lead to the temporary or permanent closing of various LNG facilities currently in operation.
 
 
21

 
 
The vessels we own or manage could be required by our charterers' instructions to call on ports located in countries that are subject to restrictions imposed by the United States and other governments.
 
Although no vessels operated by us have called on ports located in countries subject to sanctions and embargoes imposed by the U.S. government and countries identified by the U.S. government as state sponsors of terrorism, such as Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, in the future our vessels may call on ports in these countries from time to time on our charterers' instructions. The U.S. sanctions and embargo laws and regulations vary in their application, as they do not all apply to the same covered persons or proscribe the same activities, and such sanctions and embargo laws and regulations may be amended or strengthened over time. In 2010, the U.S. enacted the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act, or CISADA, which expanded the scope of the Iran Sanctions Act. Among other things, CISADA expands the application of the prohibitions to companies such as ours and introduces limits on the ability of companies and persons to do business or trade with Iran when such activities relate to the investment, supply or export of refined petroleum or petroleum products. In addition, in 2012, President Obama signed Executive Order 13608 which prohibits foreign persons from violating or attempting to violate, or causing a violation of any sanctions in effect against Iran or facilitating any deceptive transactions for or on behalf of any person subject to U.S. sanctions. Any persons found to be in violation of Executive Order 13608 will be deemed a foreign sanctions evader and will be banned from all contacts with the United States, including conducting business in U.S. dollars. Also in 2012, President Obama signed into law the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, or the Iran Threat Reduction Act, which created new sanctions and strengthened existing sanctions. Among other things, the Iran Threat Reduction Act intensifies existing sanctions regarding the provision of goods, services, infrastructure or technology to Iran's petroleum or petrochemical sector. The Iran Threat Reduction Act also includes a provision requiring the President of the United States to impose five or more sanctions from Section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act, as amended, on a person the President determines is a controlling beneficial owner of, or otherwise owns, operates, or controls or insures a vessel that was used to transport crude oil from Iran to another country and (1) if the person is a controlling beneficial owner of the vessel, the person had actual knowledge the vessel was so used or (2) if the person otherwise owns, operates, or controls, or insures the vessel, the person knew or should have known the vessel was so used. Such a person could be subject to a variety of sanctions, including exclusion from U.S. capital markets, exclusion from financial transactions subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and exclusion of that person's vessels from U.S. ports for up to two years.
 
Although we believe that we have been in compliance with all applicable sanctions and embargo laws and regulations, and intend to maintain such compliance, there can be no assurance that we will be in compliance in the future, particularly as the scope of certain laws may be unclear and may be subject to changing interpretations. Any such violation could result in fines, penalties or other sanctions that could severely impact our ability to access U.S. capital markets and conduct our business, and could result in some investors deciding, or being required, to divest their interest, or not to invest, in us. In addition, certain institutional investors may have investment policies or restrictions that prevent them from holding securities of companies that have contracts with countries identified by the U.S. government as state sponsors of terrorism. The determination by these investors not to invest in, or to divest from, our common units may adversely affect the price at which our common units trade. Moreover, our charterers may violate applicable sanctions and embargo laws and regulations as a result of actions that do not involve us or our vessels, and those violations could in turn negatively affect our reputation. In addition, our reputation and the market for our securities may be adversely affected if we engage in certain other activities, such as entering into charters with individuals or entities in countries subject to U.S. sanctions and embargo laws that are not controlled by the governments of those countries, or engaging in operations associated with those countries pursuant to contracts with third parties that are unrelated to those countries or entities controlled by their governments. Investor perception of the value of our common units may be adversely affected by the consequences of war, the effects of terrorism, civil unrest and governmental actions in these and surrounding countries. In addition, charterers and other parties that we have previously entered into contracts with regarding our vessels may be affiliated with persons or entities that are now or may soon be the subject of sanctions imposed by the Obama administration and/or the European Union or other international bodies in 2014 in response to recent events relating to Russia, Crimea and the Ukraine.  If we determine that such sanctions require us to terminate existing contracts or if we are found to be in violation of such sanctions, we may suffer reputational harm and our results of operations may be adversely affected.
 
Governments could requisition our vessels during a period of war or emergency, resulting in loss of earnings.
 
The government of a jurisdiction where one or more of our vessels are registered could requisition for title or seize our vessels. Requisition for title occurs when a government takes control of a ship and becomes its owner. Also, a government could requisition our vessels for hire. Requisition for hire occurs when a government takes control of a ship and effectively becomes the charterer at dictated charter rates. Generally, requisitions occur during a period of war or emergency, although governments may elect to requisition ships in other circumstances. Although we would expect to be entitled to government compensation in the event of a requisition of one or more of our vessels, the amount and timing of payments, if any, would be uncertain. A government requisition of one or more of our vessels would result in off-hire days under our time charters and may cause us to breach covenants in our credit facilities, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, including cash available for distribution to our unitholders.
 
Maritime claimants could arrest our vessels, which could interrupt our cash flows.
 
Crew members, suppliers of goods and services to a vessel, shippers of cargo and other parties may be entitled to a maritime lien against a vessel for unsatisfied debts, claims or damages. In many jurisdictions, a claimant may seek to obtain security for its claim by arresting a vessel through foreclosure proceedings. The arrest or attachment of one or more of our vessels could interrupt our cash flow and require us to pay large sums of money to have the arrest or attachment lifted. In addition, in some jurisdictions, such as South Africa, under the "sister ship" theory of liability, a claimant may arrest both the vessel which is subject to the claimant's maritime lien and any "associated" vessel, which is any vessel owned or controlled by the same owner. Claimants could attempt to assert "sister ship" liability against a vessel in our fleet for claims relating to another of our vessels.
 
 
22

 
 
We may be subject to litigation that could have an adverse effect on us.
 
We may in the future be involved from time to time in litigation matters. These matters may include, among other things, contract disputes, personal injury claims, environmental claims or proceedings, toxic tort claims, employment matters and governmental claims for taxes or duties as well as other litigation that arises in the ordinary course of our business. We cannot predict with certainty the outcome of any claim or other litigation matter. The ultimate outcome of any litigation matter and the potential costs associated with prosecuting or defending such lawsuits, including the diversion of management's attention to these matters, could have an adverse effect on us and, in the event of litigation that could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on us, could lead to an event of default under our credit facilities.
 
 
Risks Relating to our Common Units
 
The price of our common units may be volatile.
 
The price of our common units may be volatile and may fluctuate due to factors including:
 
 
·
our payment of cash distributions to our unitholders;
 
 
·
actual or anticipated fluctuations in quarterly and annual results;
 
 
·
fluctuations in the seaborne transportation industry, including fluctuations in the LNG carrier market;
 
 
·
mergers and strategic alliances in the shipping industry;
 
 
·
changes in governmental regulations or maritime self-regulatory organization standards;
 
 
·
shortfalls in our operating results from levels forecasted by securities analysts; announcements concerning us or our competitors;
 
 
·
the failure of securities analysts to publish research about us, or analysts making changes in their financial estimates;
 
 
·
general economic conditions;
 
 
·
terrorist acts;
 
 
·
future sales of our units or other securities;
 
 
·
investors' perception of us and the LNG shipping industry;
 
 
·
the general state of the securities market; and
 
 
·
other developments affecting us, our industry or our competitors.
 
Securities markets worldwide are experiencing significant price and volume fluctuations. The market price for our common units may also be volatile. This market volatility, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, could reduce the market price of our common units in spite of our operating performance.
 
Increases in interest rates may cause the market price of our common units to decline.
 
An increase in interest rates may cause a corresponding decline in demand for equity investments in general. Any such increase in interest rates or reduction in demand for our common units resulting from other relatively more attractive investment opportunities may cause the trading price of our common units to decline.
 
Unitholders may have liability to repay distributions.
 
Under some circumstances, unitholders may have to repay amounts wrongfully returned or distributed to them. Under the Marshall Islands Limited Partnership Act, or the Marshall Islands Act, we may not make a distribution to our unitholders if the distribution would cause our liabilities to exceed the fair value of our assets. Marshall Islands law provides that for a period of three years from the date of the impermissible distribution, limited partners who received the distribution and who knew at the time of the distribution that it violated Marshall Islands law will be liable to the limited partnership for the distribution amount. Assignees who become substituted limited partners are liable for the obligations of the assignor to make contributions to the partnership that are known to the assignee at the time it became a limited partner and for unknown obligations if the liabilities could be determined from the Partnership Agreement. Liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interest and liabilities that are non-recourse to the partnership are not counted for purposes of determining whether a distribution is permitted.
 
 
23

 
 
We have been organized as a limited partnership under the laws of the Marshall Islands, which does not have a well-developed body of partnership law.
 
We are organized in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which does not have a well-developed body of case law or bankruptcy law and, as a result, unitholders may have fewer rights and protections under Marshall Islands law than under a typical jurisdiction in the United States. Our partnership affairs are governed by our Partnership Agreement and by the Marshall Islands Act. The provisions of the Marshall Islands Act resemble the limited partnership laws of a number of states in the United States, most notably Delaware. The Marshall Islands Act also provides that it is to be applied and construed to make it uniform with the Delaware Revised Uniform Partnership Act and, so long as it does not conflict with the Marshall Islands Act or decisions of the Marshall Islands courts, interpreted according to the non-statutory law (or case law) of the State of Delaware. There have been, however, few, if any, court cases in the Marshall Islands interpreting the Marshall Islands Act, in contrast to Delaware, which has a fairly well-developed body of case law interpreting its limited partnership statute. Accordingly, we cannot predict whether Marshall Islands courts would reach the same conclusions as the courts in Delaware. For example, the rights of our unitholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our General Partner under Marshall Islands law are not as clearly established as under judicial precedent in existence in Delaware. As a result, unitholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions by our General Partner and its officers and directors than would unitholders of a similarly organized limited partnership in the United States. Further, the Republic of the Marshall Islands does not have a well-developed body of bankruptcy law. As such, in the case of a bankruptcy of our Partnership, there may be a delay of bankruptcy proceedings and the ability of unitholders and creditors to receive recovery after a bankruptcy proceeding.
 
We are a "foreign private issuer" under NASDAQ Global Select Market rules, and as such we are entitled to exemption from certain corporate governance standards of the NASDAQ Global Select Market applicable to domestic companies, and holders of our common units may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of NASDAQ Global Select Market corporate governance requirements.
 
We are a "foreign private issuer" under the securities laws of the United States and the rules of NASDAQ Global Select Market, or NASDAQ. Under the securities laws of the United States, "foreign private issuers" are subject to different disclosure requirements than U.S. domiciled registrants, as well as different financial reporting requirements. Under NASDAQ rules, a "foreign private issuer" is subject to less stringent corporate governance requirements. Subject to certain exceptions, the rules of NASDAQ permit a "foreign private issuer" to follow its home country practice in lieu of the listing requirements of NASDAQ.
 
A majority of our directors qualify as independent under the independence requirement of NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(C)(2)(A)(ii). However, we cannot assure you that we will continue to maintain an independent board in the future. In addition, we may have one or more non-independent directors serving as committee members on our compensation committee. As a result, non-independent directors may among other things, participate in fixing the compensation of our management, making share and option awards and resolving governance issues regarding our Partnership.
 
Accordingly, in the future holders of our common units may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of NASDAQ corporate governance requirements.
 
For a description of our corporate governance practices, please see "Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees."
 
Because we are organized under the laws of the Marshall Islands, it may be difficult to serve us with legal process or enforce judgments against us, our directors or our management.
 
We are organized under the laws of the Marshall Islands, and substantially all of our assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, our directors and officers generally are or will be non-residents of the United States, and all or a substantial portion of the assets of these non-residents are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for holders of our common units to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States if they believe that their rights have been infringed under securities laws or otherwise. Even if holders of our common units are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Marshall Islands and of other jurisdictions may prevent or restrict them from enforcing a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors or officers.
 
Our Partnership Agreement designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum, unless otherwise provided for by Marshall Islands law, for certain litigation that may be initiated by our unitholders, which could limit our unitholders' ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with the Partnership.
 
Our Partnership Agreement provides that, unless otherwise provided for by Marshall Islands law, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for any claims that:
 
 
·
arise out of or relate in any way to the Partnership Agreement (including any claims, suits or actions to interpret, apply or enforce the provisions of the Partnership Agreement or the duties, obligations or liabilities among limited partners or of limited partners to us, or the rights or powers of, or restrictions on, the limited partners or us);
 
 
·
are brought in a derivative manner on our behalf;
 
 
24

 
 
 
·
assert a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of us or our General Partner, or owed by our General Partner, to us or the limited partners;
 
 
·
assert a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Partnership Act; or
 
 
·
assert a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine
 
regardless of whether such claims, suits, actions or proceedings sound in contract, tort, fraud or otherwise, are based on common law, statutory, equitable, legal or other grounds, or are derivative or direct claims. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our common units shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions described above. This forum selection provision may limit our unitholders' ability to obtain a judicial forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees or unitholders.
 
Substantial future sales of our common units could cause the market price of our common units to decline.
 
Sales of a substantial number of our common units in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, may depress the market price for our common units. These sales could also impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of our equity securities in the future.
 
The issuance by us of additional common units or other equity securities would have the following effects:
 
 
·
our existing unitholders' proportionate ownership interest in us will decrease;
 
 
·
the dividend amount payable per unit on our common units may be lower;
 
 
·
the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding common share may be diminished; and
 
 
·
the market price of our common units may decline.
 
Provisions in our organizational documents may have anti-takeover effects.
 
Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us without the consent of our Board of Directors. These provisions require approval of our Board of Directors and prior consent of our General Partner.
 
These provisions could also make it difficult for our unitholders to replace or remove our current Board of Directors or could have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing an offer by a third party to acquire us, even if the third party's offer may be considered beneficial by many unitholders. As a result, unitholders may be limited in their ability to obtain a premium for their common units.
 
Tax Risks
 
In addition to the following risk factors, please see "Item 10. Additional Information-Taxation" for a more complete discussion of the material Marshall Islands and United States federal income tax consequences of owning and disposing of our common units.
 
We will be subject to taxes, which will reduce our cash available for distribution to our unitholders.
 
We and our subsidiaries may be subject to tax in the jurisdictions in which we are organized or operate, reducing the amount of cash available for distribution. In computing our tax obligation in these jurisdictions, we are required to take various tax accounting and reporting positions on matters that are not entirely free from doubt and for which we have not received rulings from the governing authorities. We cannot assure you that upon review of these positions the applicable authorities will agree with our positions. A successful challenge by a tax authority could result in additional tax imposed on us or our subsidiaries, further reducing the cash available for distribution. In addition, changes in our operations or ownership could result in additional tax being imposed on us or our subsidiaries in jurisdictions in which operations are conducted. Please see "Item 10. Additional Information-Taxation"
 
We may have to pay tax on United States-source income, which would reduce our earnings and cash flow.
 
Under the Code, the United States source gross transportation income of a ship-owning or chartering corporation, such as ourselves, generally is subject to a 4% United States federal income tax without allowance for deduction, unless that corporation qualifies for exemption from tax under a tax treaty or Section 883 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder. U.S. source gross transportation income consists of 50% of the gross shipping income that is attributable to transportation that begins or ends, but that does not both begin and end, in the United States.
 
 
25

 
 
Based on advice we received from Seward & Kissel LLP, our United States counsel, we believe we qualified for this statutory tax exemption for our taxable year ended December 31, 2013, and we intend to take this position for United States federal income tax reporting purposes. However, there are factual circumstances beyond our control that could cause us to lose the benefit of this tax exemption in future taxable years and thereby become subject to the 4% United States federal income tax described above. For example, if holders of 5% or more of the vote and voting power of our common units, or 5% Unitholders, were to come to own 50% or more of our common units, then we may not qualify for exemption under Section 883.  It is noted that holders of our common units are limited to owning 4.9% of the voting power of such common units.  Assuming that such limitation is treated as effective for purposes of determining voting power under Section 883, then our 5% Unitholders could not own 50% of more of our common units.  If contrary to these expectations, our 5% Unitholders were to own 50% or more of the common units, we would not qualify for exemption under Section 883 unless we could establish that among the closely-held group of 5% Unitholders, there are sufficient 5% Unitholders that are qualified stockholders for purposes of Section 883 to preclude non-qualified 5% Unitholders in the closely-held group from owning 50% or more of our common units for more than half the number of days during the taxable year. In order to establish this, sufficient 5% Unitholders that are qualified stockholders would have to comply with certain documentation and certification requirements designed to substantiate their identity as qualified stockholders. These requirements are onerous and there can be no assurance that we would be able to satisfy them. The imposition of this taxation could have a negative effect on our business and would result in decreased earnings available for distribution payments to our unitholders. For a more detailed discussion, see "Item 10. Additional Information—Taxation."
 
United States tax authorities could treat us as a "passive foreign investment company," which would have adverse United States federal income tax consequences to United States unitholders.
 
A non-U.S. entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes will be treated as a "passive foreign investment company" (or PFIC) for U.S. federal income tax purposes if at least 75% of its gross income for any taxable year consists of "passive income" or at least 50% of the average value of its assets produce, or are held for the production of, "passive income." For purposes of these tests, "passive income" includes dividends, interest, gains from the sale or exchange of investment property, and rents and royalties other than rents and royalties that are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business. For purposes of these tests, income derived from the performance of services does not constitute "passive income." U.S. shareholders of a PFIC are subject to a disadvantageous United States federal income tax regime with respect to the income derived by the PFIC, the distributions they receive from the PFIC, and the gain, if any, they derive from the sale or other disposition of their interests in the PFIC. Based on our current and projected method of operation, and on an opinion of our United States counsel, Seward & Kissel LLP, we believe that we were not a PFIC in the year ended December 31, 2013 and will not be a PFIC for any future taxable year. We have received an opinion of our United States counsel in support of this position that concludes that the income our subsidiaries earned from certain of our time-chartering activities should not constitute passive income for purposes of determining whether we are a PFIC. In addition, we have represented to our United States counsel that we expect that more than 25% of our gross income for the year ended December 31, 2013 and each future year will arise from such time-chartering activities or other income which does not constitute passive income, and more than 50% of the average value of our assets for each such year will be held for the production of such nonpassive income. Assuming the composition of our income and assets is consistent with these expectations, and assuming the accuracy of other representations we have made to our United States counsel for purposes of their opinion, our United States counsel is of the opinion that we should not be a PFIC for the year ended December 31, 2013 year or any future year. This opinion is based and its accuracy is conditioned on representations, valuations and projections provided by us regarding our assets, income and charters to our United States counsel. While we believe these representations, valuations and projections to be accurate, the shipping market is volatile and no assurance can be given that they will continue to be accurate at any time in the future.
 
While Seward & Kissel LLP, our United States counsel, has provided us with an opinion in support of our position, the conclusions reached are not free from doubt, and it is possible that the United States Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, or a court could disagree with this position. In addition, although we intend to conduct our affairs in a manner to avoid being classified as a PFIC with respect to each taxable year, we cannot assure you that the nature of our operations will not change in the future and that we will not become a PFIC in any taxable year. If the IRS were to find that we are or have been a PFIC for any taxable year (and regardless of whether we remain a PFIC for subsequent taxable years), our U.S. unitholders would face adverse United States federal income tax consequences.  See "Item 10. Additional Information-Taxation" for a more detailed discussion of the United States federal income tax consequences to United States unitholders if we are treated as a PFIC.
 
ITEM 4.
INFORMATION ON THE PARTNERSHIP
 
A.
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARTNERSHIP
 
Dynagas LNG Partners LP was organized as a limited partnership in the Republic of the Marshall Islands on May 30, 2013 to own, operate, and acquire LNG carriers.   On October 29, 2013, we acquired from Dynagas Holding Ltd., our Sponsor, three LNG carriers, the Clean Energy , the Ob River , and the Clean Force , in exchange for 6,735,000 of our common units and 14,985,000 of our subordinated units, and on the same date, we issued to Dynagas GP LLC, our General Partner, a company owned and controlled by our Sponsor, 30,000 general partner units, representing a 0.1% general partner interest in us and all of our incentive distribution rights.   In November 2013, we completed our IPO (including the full exercise of the underwriters option to purchase an additional 1,875,000 common units from our Sponsor) of 14,375,000 common units, including 6,125,000 common units sold by our Sponsor, at $18.00 per common unit. Our common units trade on the NASDAQ under the symbol "DLNG."
 
 
26

 
 
Our principal executive offices are located at 97 Poseidonos Avenue & 2 Foivis Street, Glyfada, 16674 Greece and our telephone number at that address is 011 30 210 89 17 260.
 
B.
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
 
We are a growth-oriented limited partnership focused on owning and operating LNG carriers. Our vessels are employed on multi-year time charters, which we define as charters of two years or more, with international energy companies such as BG Group and Gazprom, providing us with the benefits of stable cash flows and high utilization rates. The LNG carriers that comprise our fleet currently have an average age of 6.7 years and are under time charters with an average remaining term of 3.1 years, as of the date of this annual report. We intend to leverage the reputation, expertise, and relationships of our Sponsor and Dynagas Ltd., our Manager, in maintaining cost-efficient operations and providing reliable seaborne transportation services to our customers. In addition, we intend to make further vessel acquisitions from our Sponsor and from third parties.
 
We believe that we will have the opportunity to grow our business by making acquisitions of LNG carriers from our Sponsor or from third parties. Our Sponsor took delivery of two newbuilding LNG carriers in July 2013 and one in October 2013 from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd, or HHI, and has contracts for the construction of an additional four LNG carriers with HHI, scheduled to be delivered to our Sponsor in 2014 and 2015. We have the right to purchase these seven vessels within 24 months of their delivery to our Sponsor, at a purchase price to be determined pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Omnibus Agreement, which we have entered into with our Sponsor and our General Partner at the closing of our IPO.
 
Our Fleet

Our fleet consists of three LNG carriers which are currently operating under multi-year charters with BG Group and Gazprom. The Clean Force and the Ob River have been assigned with Lloyds Register Ice Class notation 1A FS, or Ice Class, designation for hull and machinery and are fully winterized, which means that they are designed to call at ice-bound and harsh environment terminals and to withstand temperatures up to minus 30 degrees Celsius. We believe that these specifications enhance our trading capabilities and future employment opportunities because they provide greater flexibility in the trading routes available to our charterers.
 
According to Drewry, the Clean Force and the Ob River are two of only  five LNG carriers in the  global LNG fleet that are currently in operation which have been assigned an Ice Class 1A FS designation, or its equivalent  rating. This means that only 1.4% of the LNG vessels in the global LNG fleet have this designation and we are the only company in the world that is currently transiting the Northern Sea Route with LNG carriers. We believe that these specifications enhance our trading capabilities and future employment opportunities because they provide greater flexibility in the trading routes available to our charterers. We believe that the key characteristics of each of our vessels in our fleet include the following:
 
 
·
optimal sizing with a carrying capacity of approximately 150,000 cbm (which is a medium- to large-size class of LNG carrier) that maximizes its operational flexibility as such vessel is compatible with most existing LNG terminals around the world;
 
 
·
each vessel is a sister vessel, which are vessels built by the same yard that shares (i) a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, (ii) similar displacement, and (iii) roughly comparable features and equipment;
 
 
·
utilization of a "membrane containment system" that uses insulation built directly into the hull of the vessel with a membrane covering inside the tanks designed to maintain integrity and that uses the vessel's hull to directly support the pressure of the LNG cargo (see "The International Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Shipping Industry—The LNG Fleet" for a description of the types of LNG containment systems); and
 
 
·
double hull construction, based on the current LNG shipping industry standard.
 
According to Drewry, there are only 39 LNG carriers currently in operation,including  the  vessels  in  our fleet, with a carrying capacity of between149,000  and  155,000  cbm  and a membrane containment system, representing 8.8% of  the  global LNG fleet and a total of 127 LNG carriers on order of which 5 are being constructed with these specifications.
 
 
27

 
 
The following table sets forth summary information about our fleet as of the date of this annual report:

Vessel Name
Shipyard
Year
Built
Capacity
(cbm)
Ice
Class
Flag
State
Charterer
Charter
Commencement
Date
Earliest
Charter
Expiration
Latest Charter
Expiration
Including
Non-Exercised
Options
                   
Clean Energy
HHI
2007
149,700
No
Marshall Islands
BG Group
February 2012
April 2017
August 2020 (1)
Ob River
HHI
2007
149,700
Yes
Marshall Islands
Gazprom
September 2012
September 2017
May 2018 (2)
Clean Force
HHI
2008
149,700
Yes
Marshall Islands
BG Group
October 2010
September 2016
January 2020 (3)
_________________________
 
(1)
BG Group has the option to extend the duration of the charter for an additional three-year term until August 2020 at an escalated daily rate, upon notice to us before January 2016.
 
(2)
Gazprom has the option to extend the duration of the charter until May 2018 on identical terms, upon notice to us before March 2017.
 
(3)
On January 2, 2013, BG Group exercised its option to extend the duration of the charter by an additional three-year term at an escalated daily rate, commencing on October 5, 2013. BG Group has the option to extend the duration of the charter by an additional three-year term at a further escalated daily rate, which would commence on October 5, 2016, upon notice to us before January 5, 2016. The latest expiration date upon the exercise of all options is January 2020.
 

Our Chartering Strategy and Customers

We seek to employ our vessels on multi-year time charters with international energy companies that provide us with the benefits of stable cash flows and high utilization rates. We charter our vessels for a fixed period of time at daily rates that are generally fixed, but which could contain a variable component to adjust for, among other things, inflation and/or to offset the effects of increases in operating expenses.
 
The Clean Energy and the Clean Force are currently chartered to BG Group under time charter contracts with an average remaining term of approximately 2.9 years and a contractual backlog of $152.8 million, in aggregate, based on the earliest redelivery permitted under our charters as of March 21, 2014. BG Group engages in exploration and production of gas and oil reserves, export, shipping and import of LNG, pipeline transmission and distribution of gas, and various gas-powered electricity generation projects. BG Group operates in 23 countries on five continents. BG Group operates in the Atlantic Basin, with liquefaction and/or regasification activities on stream or in development in Chile, Egypt, Italy, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States.
 
The Ob River is currently chartered to Gazprom under a time charter contract with a remaining term of approximately 3.5 years and a contractual backlog of $110.0 million based on the earliest redelivery permitted under our charters as of March 21, 2014. Gazprom is a global energy company focused on geological exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and marketing of gas and other hydrocarbons as well as electric power and heat energy production and distribution. Gazprom possesses the world's largest natural gas reserves estimated by Gazprom at 35 trillion cubic meters.
 
In the year ended December 31, 2013, we received all of our revenues from two charterers, which individually accounted for 61% and 39% of our revenues, respectively, as compared to three in the same period in 2012 which individually accounted for 58%, 16% and 26%, respectively, of our revenues in 2012.
 
Vessel Management
 
Our Manager provides us with commercial and technical management services for our fleet and certain corporate governance and administrative and support services, pursuant to three identical agreements with our three wholly-owned vessel owning subsidiaries, or the Management Agreements. Our Manager is wholly-owned by Mr. George Prokopiou and has been providing these services for the vessels in our fleet for over eight years. In addition, our Manager performs the commercial and technical management of each of the Optional Vessels, which also includes the supervision of the construction of these vessels. Through our Manager, we have had a presence in LNG shipping for over eight years, and during that time we believe our Manager has established a track record for efficient, safe and reliable operation of LNG carriers.
 
We currently pay our Manager a technical management fee of $2,575 per day for each vessel, pro-rated for the calendar days we own each vessel, for providing the relevant vessel owning subsidiaries with services, including engaging and providing qualified crews, maintaining the vessel, arranging supply of stores and equipment, arranging and supervising periodic dry-docking, cleaning and painting and ensuring compliance with applicable regulations, including licensing and certification requirements.
 
 
28

 
 
In addition, we pay our Manager a commercial management fee equal to 1.25% of the gross charter hire, ballast bonus which is the amount paid to the ship owner as compensation for all or a part of the cost of positioning the vessel to the port where the vessel will be delivered to the charterer, or other income earned during the course of the employment of our vessels, during the term of the management agreements, for providing the relevant vessel-owning subsidiary with services, including chartering, managing freight payment, monitoring voyage performance, and carrying out other necessary communications with the shippers, charterers and others.  In addition to such fees, we pay for any capital expenditures, financial costs, operating expenses and any general and administrative expenses, including payments to third parties, in accordance with the Management Agreements.
 
We paid an aggregate of approximately $3.7 million to our Manager in connection with the management of our fleet under the Management Agreements for the year ended December 31, 2013.
 
The term of the Management Agreements with our Manager will expire on December 31, 2020, and will renew automatically for successive eight-year terms thereafter unless earlier terminated. The technical management fee of $2,500 per day for each vessel was fixed until December 31, 2013 and thereafter increases annually by 3%, subject to further annual increases to reflect material unforeseen costs of providing the management services, by an amount to be agreed between us and our Manager, which amount will be reviewed and approved by our conflicts committee.
 
Under the terms of the Management Agreements, we may terminate the Management Agreements upon written notice if our Manager fails to fulfill its obligations to us under the Management Agreements. The Management Agreements terminate automatically following a change of control in us. If the Management Agreements are terminated as a result of a change of control in us, then we will have to pay our Manager a termination penalty. For this purpose a change of control means (i) the acquisition of fifty percent or more by any individual, entity or group of the beneficial ownership or voting power of the outstanding shares of us or our vessel owning subsidiaries, (ii) the consummation of a reorganization, merger or consolidation of us and/or our vessel owning subsidiaries or the sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of our assets or those of our vessel owning subsidiaries and (iii) the approval of a complete liquidation or dissolution of us and/or our vessel owning subsidiaries. Additionally, the Management Agreements may be terminated by our Manager with immediate effect if, among other things, (i) we fail to meet our obligations and/or make due payments within ten business days from receipt of invoices, (ii) upon a sale or total loss of a vessel (with respect to that vessel), or (iii) if we file for bankruptcy.
 
Pursuant to the terms of the Management Agreements, liability of our Manager to us is limited to instances of negligence, gross negligence or willful default on the part of our Manager. Further, we are required to indemnify our Manager for liabilities incurred by our Manager in performance of the Management Agreements, except in instances of negligence, gross negligence or willful default on the part of our Manager.
 
Additional LNG carriers that we acquire in the future may be managed by our Manager or other unaffiliated management companies.
 
The International Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Shipping Industry
 
Overview of Natural Gas Market
 
Natural gas is one of the key sources of global energy, the others including oil, coal and nuclear power. In the last three decades, demand for natural gas has grown faster than the demand for any other fossil fuel, and it is the only fossil fuel for which the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects demand to grow in the future. Since the early 1970s, natural gas' share of total global primary energy consumption has risen from 18% in 1970 to a provisional 25% in 2013.

Natural Gas Share of Primary Energy Consumption: 1970-2013
(% – Based On Million Tonnes Oil Equivalent)
 
 
 
(1)
Provisional assessment
 
Source: Industry sources, Drewry
 
 
29

 
 
Natural gas has a number of advantages that will make it a competitive source of energy in the future. Apart from plentiful supplies, which will help to keep gas prices competitive, it is the fossil fuel least affected by policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions because it is the lowest carbon-intensive fossil fuel. In recent years, consumption of natural gas has risen steadily due to global economic growth and increasing energy demand, consumers' desires to diversify energy sources, market deregulation, competitive pricing and recognition that natural gas is a cleaner energy source as compared to coal and oil. Carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants from gas are half the level produced from coal when used in power generation.
 
Natural gas is used principally in power generation (electricity) and for heating. It is an abundant energy source, with worldwide reserves estimated at 208 trillion cubic metres, which is enough for 250 years of supply at current rates of consumption. Over the past decade, global LNG demand has risen over 2.5% per annum, with growth of over 6% per annum in the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
 
In the last decade a large part of the growth in natural gas consumption has been accounted for by countries, in Asia and the Middle East, where gas consumption more than doubled between 2000 and 2012.
 
The IEA has reported that global reserves of natural gas are large enough to accommodate rapid expansion of gas demand for several decades. Gas reserves and production are widely geographically spread and the geographical disparity between areas of production and areas of consumption has been the principal stimulus of international trade in gas.

World Natural Gas Production: 1970-2012
(Million Tons Oil Equivalent)

Gas production in North America has increased due to the emergence of shale gas reserves and new techniques to access and extract these reserves. U.S. domestic gas production now exceeds domestic gas consumption for a large part of the year which may reduce future gas import rates. Additionally, rising U.S. domestic production may drive down domestic gas prices and raise the likelihood of U.S. gas exports.
 
As a result of these developments the North American gas market is moving in a different cycle from the rest of the world and has larger price differentials than other markets (see the chart below). Regional price differentials create the opportunity for arbitrage and also act as a catalyst for the construction of new productive capacity. Given these conditions, interest in exporting LNG gas from the U.S. has grown and a number of new liquefaction plants are now planned.
 
 
30

 
 
Natural Gas Prices: 2005-2014
(U.S.$ per Mbtu)
 
Source: Drewry
 
 
The LNG Market
 
To turn natural gas into a liquefied form, natural gas must be super cooled to a temperature of approximately minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit. This process reduces the gas to approximately 1/600th of its original volume in a gaseous state. Reducing the volume enables economical storage and transportation by ship over long distances. LNG is transported by sea in specially built tanks on double-hulled ships to a receiving terminal, where it is unloaded and stored in heavily insulated tanks. Next, in regasification facilities at the receiving terminal, the LNG is returned to its gaseous state, or regasified, to be shipped by pipeline for distribution to natural gas customers.
 
LNG Supply
 
In February 2014 world LNG production capacity was approximately 300 million tons per annum, and a further 121 million tons of capacity was under construction. In addition, there are a number of planned developments, which, if they all came to fruition, would more than double global world LNG productive capacity.
 
 
 
During 2011 and 2012 considerable investments were made in LNG productive capacity, and further expansion plans were announced in 2013. Approximately 121 million tons of new LNG productive capacity was under construction in February 2014. In addition, firm plans have been announced for another 192 million tons of new LNG production capacity. There are also another 260 million tons of potential LNG productive capacity for which no confirmed plans exist.
 
 
31

 
 

World LNG Production Capacity – February 2014
(Million Tons Per Annum)
Source: Drewry
 
 
We expect that LNG production capacity will grow due to the number of new production facilities which are now under construction and due on stream in the next few years. As spare shipping capacity among the existing LNG fleet is limited, we expect that there will be additional demand for LNG carriers. Generally, every additional one million tons of LNG productive capacity creates demand for up to two LNG carriers in the 150,000 cbm size range.
 
In the last decade, more countries have entered the LNG exportation market. In 2013, there were 20 producers and exporters of LNG compared with just 12 in 2002. As a result, world trade in LNG has risen from 109 million tons in 2002 to 237 million tons in 2013.
 
LNG Exports: 2002-2013
(Million Tons)
Source: Drewry
 
 
32

 
 
Historically, LNG exporters were located in just three regions: Algeria and Libya in North Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Australia in Southeast Asia/Australasia, and Abu Dhabi and Qatar in the Middle East (excluding smaller scale LNG exports from Alaska). However, the entry of Trinidad & Tobago, Nigeria and Norway has added a significant regional diversification to LNG exports in the Atlantic basin. Equally, the addition of Oman as an exporter and the rapid expansion of Qatari production have also positioned the Middle East as an increasingly significant player in the global LNG business. Qatar is now the world's largest producer and exporter of LNG, accounting for close to one-third of all trade in LNG.
 
Currently, U.S. LNG exports are confined to an established plant in Alaska. In time, it is expected that the U.S. will also export LNG from the Sabine Pass project in the U.S. Gulf, which has received U.S. regulatory approval. Initial shipments from the first phase of this 12.2 cbm plant are planned to commence in 2015/2016, which we believe will create demand for 10-12 LNG carriers of 150,000 cbm plus. A second phase is also planned which will add a similar level of productive capacity. If and when the second phase of the Sabine Pass project goes ahead, we believe that it could create demand for additional 10-12 LNG carriers.
 
Currently, the main obstacle preventing regulatory permission of these plans is the absence of free trade agreements with potential importers. Elsewhere there are a number of other LNG projects under discussion, including further development of new facilities in Australia and Russia, both of which have the potential to add large export volumes. For Russia several of such volumes are located in Arctic ice bound areas where ice classed vessels would be required.
 
 
LNG Demand
 
In tandem with the growth in the number of LNG suppliers there has been a corresponding increase in the number of importers. In 2000 there were just 10 countries importing LNG, but by early 2013 this number had increased to 27.
 
LNG imports by country between 2002 and 2013 are shown in the table below. Despite diversification in the number of importers, Japan, and to a lesser extent South Korea, provide the backbone of LNG trades, collectively accounting for 54% of total LNG imports. Elsewhere, there has been strong growth in European imports, as LNG has provided a source of gas supplies during periods of high winter demand.
 
LNG Imports by Country 2002-2013
Source: Drewry
 
Chinese imports of LNG commenced in 2006 and have risen rapidly. The Chinese government has a stated target to double the share of gas in total Chinese energy demand by 2015. To support this objective imports of LNG have risen from less than 1 million tons in 2006 to 18.0 million tons in 2013.
 
 
33

 
 
Further expansion of regasification and terminal import infrastructure which is now underway will support the continued growth in Chinese LNG imports. China is not dissimilar from the U.S. in that it has large deposits of shale gas, but geological structures in China are far more complicated. Additionally, China lacks the infrastructure to support the rapid development of domestic gas supplies. As such, this will create an opportunity for imported LNG. Monthly trends in LNG imports among Asian importers between January 2000 and January 2014 are shown in the chart below.
 
Asian LNG Imports: 2000-2014
(Million Tons)
Source: Drewry
 
 
In Europe the market is dominated by three large importers – Spain, the United Kingdom and France.
 
International Trade in Natural Gas
 
Generally, a pipeline is the most economical way of transporting natural gas from a producer to a consumer, provided that the pipeline is not too distant from the natural gas reserves. However, for some areas, such as the Far East, the lack of an adequate pipeline infrastructure means that natural gas must be turned into a liquefied form (LNG), as this is the only economical and feasible way it can be transported over long distances. Additionally, sea transportation of LNG is a more flexible solution than pipeline as it can accommodate required changes in trade patterns that are economically or politically driven.
 
International trade in natural gas more than doubled between 2000 and 2013.  During this period, LNG trade increased by 133%. As a result, LNG captured a growing share of international gas trade, with key drivers of this growth being the diversification of consumers, flexibility among producers, cost efficient transport and access to competitively priced gas.

 
 
34

 
 
LNG Shipping Routes
 
Although the number of LNG shipping routes has increased in recent years due to growth in the number of LNG suppliers and consumers, demand for shipping services remains heavily focused on a number of key trade routes. In 2014, the principal trade routes for LNG shipping include: the South Pacific (Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and Brunei) and the Middle East (Qatar, Oman and the UAE) to the North Pacific (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and increasingly China), North Africa and Nigeria to Europe and the U.S., and Trinidad to the U.S., South America and Europe.
 
One important result of the geographical shifts in LNG production and consumption is that demand for shipping services, expressed in terms of ton miles, has grown much faster that the underlying increase in LNG trade. Ton miles are derived by multiplying the volume of cargo by the distance between the load and discharge port on each voyage.
 
LNG Seaborne Trade 2003-2013
 
Source: Drewry
 
Between 2003 and 2013, total demand for LNG shipping services, expressed in terms of ton miles, increased by 238%. As result of geographical shifts in the pattern of trade and growth in longer haul movements, average voyage distances also increased from just over 3,000 miles in 2000 to 5,500 miles in 2013.
 
LNG Trades Requiring Ice Class Tonnage
 
Ice Class Vessel Classifications
 
Ice class is assigned where a ship is strengthened to navigate in specific ice conditions. Ice class vessels are governed by different ice class rules and regulations depending on their area of operations.
 
Baltic Sea
 
 
·
Bay and Gulf of Bothnia, Gulf of Finland—Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules (FSICR)
 
 
·
Gulf of Finland (Russia territorial waters)—Russian Maritime Register (RMR) Ice Class Rules
 
Arctic Ocean
 
 
·
Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi Seas—Russian Maritime Register (RMR) Ice Class Rules
 
 
·
Beaufort Sea, Baffin Bay, etc—Canadian Arctic Shipping Pollution Prevention Rules (CASPPR)
 
 
·
RMR Ice Class Rules
 
There are also ice class rules and regulations for commercial ship operations on inland lakes, mainly the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway.
 
In the context of current commercial newbuilding orders, the FSICR have become the de facto standard for new tonnage. Four ice classes are defined in the FSICR. The FSICR fairway due ice classes along with the design notional level thicknesses, in order of strength from high to low, are:

Class
Standard
1A Super (1AS)
Design notional level ice thickness of 1.0m. For extreme harsh ice conditions.
1A
Design notional level ice thickness of 0.8m. For harsh ice conditions.
1B
Design notional level ice thickness of 0.6m. For medium ice conditions.
1C
Design notional level ice thickness of 0.4m. For mild ice conditions.
 
 
35

 
 
The FSICR and the system of ice navigation operated during the winter months in the Northern Baltic are the most well developed criteria and standards for ice navigation. The system of ice navigation comprises three fundamental elements:
 
 
·
Ice class merchant vessels (compliant with the FSICR for navigation in the northern Baltic);
 
 
·
Fairway navigation channels; and
 
 
·
Ice breaker assistance.
 
Year-round navigation and continuity of trade using the above three fundamental elements was first introduced in the northern Baltic sea areas during the 1960s, and the current FSICR Rule set, as well as the system of ice navigation, has evolved over the years to its current state.
 
Requirement for Ice Class Tonnage
 
The FSICR include technical requirements for hull and machinery scantlings as well as for the minimum propulsion power of ships. The hull of ice class vessels and the main propulsion machinery must be safe. The vessel must have sufficient power for safe operation in ice-covered waters. During the vessels' normal operations, they encounter various ice interaction loadings, which calls for strengthened hull structures.
 
In addition to class rules, ships have to fulfill requirements set by maritime authorities in various jurisdictions. For example, the Russian marine operations headquarters accept ships with ice-strengthening according to or at least the equivalent of FSICR 1B to operate in the Northern Sea Route, or the NSR, if they fulfill additional requirements on crewing and icebreaker assistance.
 
Ice Class LNG Fleet
 
The number of ships in the international LNG fleet with an ice class standard is very low. As of February 2014, there were only 6 LNG carriers with Ice Class 1A standard in operation and a further 4 vessels with Ice Class 1A on order.  The only company to date that has experience with and performed NSR transits with LNG carriers is Dynagas Ltd.
 
Northern Sea Route
 
Currently there are two major cargo flows that dominate the NSR: oil and gas exports and the export of minerals. in particular coal and ore. The demand for shipping these commodities in the region has been increasing in recent years, driven by several key factors:
 
 
·
decreased level of sea ice has lengthened the summer shipping season in the Arctic and is making some areas more navigable;
 
 
·
increase in mineral resource development in the Arctic;
 
 
·
commodity demand growth in Asia and high commodity prices;
 
 
·
technological developments which have made NSR a more feasible shipping route than in the past; and
 
 
·
chronic political problems in the Middle East, piracy in North Africa and non-transparent commercial disputes over the Suez in Egypt.
 
These factors have made NSR a promising alternative.
 
Northern Sea Route
Source: Drewry
 
 
36

 
 
As a result, the NSR has experienced exponential growth in trade volumes in the last three years. The table below illustrates this development. The year 2012 set a record both in the number of vessels and in the amount of cargoes registered on this route.
 
Northern Sea Route—Seaborne Traffic
 
   
2010
   
2011
   
2012
 
Number of Vessels
    4       34       46  
Total Cargo Volume (tons)
    111,000       820,789       1,261,545  
Dry Bulk Volume (tons)
    N/A       108,344       322,956  
Dry Bulk Share %
    N/A       13.2       25.6  
 
Source: Drewry, Centre for High North Logistics
 
 
As of today the most suitable LNG terminal for loading LNG for transport to the Far East is located in Northern Norway. The NSR to Japan is shorter than traditional shipping routes generally sailing through the Suez Canal. The Arctic route allows ships to save on time, fuel, and environmental emissions. In Northern Russia located within the NSR there are large gas reserves that are being planned for LNG exports.
 
In general, ships below 1A ice class will not be allowed to trade on NSR. This affords an advantage to those owners with ice class tonnage. Furthermore, owners/operators with experience of operating in ice conditions will have an edge over the traditional tramp operators who make occasional forays into the region during the winter months.
 
The LNG Fleet
 
LNG carriers are specialist vessels designed to transport LNG between liquefaction facilities and import terminals. They are double-hulled vessels with a sophisticated containment system that holds and insulates LNG to maintain it in liquid form. Any LNG that evaporates during the voyage and converts to natural gas (normally referred to as boil-off) can be used as fuel to help propel the ship.
 
Among the existing fleet there are several different types of containment systems used on LNG carriers, but the two most popular systems are:
 
 
·
The Moss Rosenberg spherical system, which was designed in the 1970s and is used by a large portion of the existing LNG fleet. In this system, multiple self-supporting, spherical tanks are built independent of the carrier and arranged inside its hull.
 
 
·
The Gaz Transport membrane system, which is built inside the carrier and consists of insulation between thin primary and secondary barriers. The membrane is designed to accommodate thermal expansion and contraction without overstressing the membrane.
 
However, it is the case that most new vessels are being built with membrane systems such as the Gaz Transport system. This trend is primarily a result of lower Suez Canal fees and related costs associated with passage through the canal (which is required for many long-haul trade routes) for carriers with membrane systems. In addition, membrane system ships tend to operate more efficiently since the spheres on the Moss Rosenberg systems create more wind resistance. Generally, membrane ships achieve better speed consumption due to improved hull utilization, reduced cool down time and better terminal capacity.
 
The cargo capacity of an LNG carrier is measured in cubic meters (cbm). As of February 2014, the worldwide fleet totaled 368 ships with a combined capacity of 55.0 million cbm. The breakdown of the fleet by vessel size is shown below.
 
The LNG Fleet by Vessel Size: February 2014
Source: Drewry
 

Within the current fleet there are only 5 vessels with ice class certification, making these ships a niche part of the market.
 
 
37

 
 
The age profile of the existing fleet as of February 2014 is shown below. The average age of all LNG carriers in service is 11.6 years, with fleet age generally increasing as ship size decreases.
 
LNG Fleet Age Profile: February 2014
 
Source: Drewry
 
 
Due to high quality construction and in most cases high quality maintenance, LNG carriers tend to have longer trading lives than oil tankers; it is not unusual to see ships older than 35 years still in service. However, there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that older ships may find it harder to find employment in the future. Ships built before 1990 will likely become candidates for replacement in the not too distant future.
 
LNG Shipping Arrangements
 
LNG carriers are usually chartered for a fixed period of time with the charter rate payable to the owner on a monthly basis. Shipping arrangements are normally based on charters of five years or more because:
 
 
·
LNG projects are expensive and typically involve an integrated chain of dedicated facilities. Accordingly, the overall success of an LNG project depends heavily on long-term planning and coordination of project activities, including marine transportation.
 
 
·
LNG carriers are expensive to build, and the cash-flow from long-term fixed-rate charters supports vessel financing.
 
Most end users of LNG are utility companies, power stations or petrochemical producers that depend on reliable and uninterrupted delivery of LNG. Although most shipping requirements for new LNG projects continue to be provided on a long-term basis, spot voyages (typically consisting of a single voyage) and time charters of four years or less have become a feature of the market in recent years. However, it should be noted that the LNG spot market is different from the tanker spot market. In the tanker market, the term "spot trade" refers to a single voyage, which is arranged at a short notice. In the LNG market, it relates to the transport of one or more cargoes, sometimes within a specified time period between one and six months, with a set-up time of possibly several months.
 
Newbuilding Prices
 
Similar to other types of vessels, newbuilding prices for LNG carriers rose steeply in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and then began to drift downwards in the mid-1990s and fall sharply in the late 1990s. At the beginning of 1992, the price of a 125,000 cbm ship from a Far East yard was reported to be approximately $270 million to $290 million, compared with a low of $120 million at the end of 1986. However, by early 2000 new orders were being struck at a new low of around $150 million.
 
After the lows of early 2000, prices crept above $165 million in the first half of 2001, but fell back to the $160 million to $165 million range in the second half of the year. Further pressure on newbuilding prices in general pushed typical prices closer to $160 million in 2002, and by 2003 prices fell to just above $150 million. However, a host of factors, including constrained shipbuilding capacity, currency movements and high steel prices led to an increase in prices in 2004 to around $180 million. Prices rose above $200 million in 2005 and renewed pressure on shipbuilding prices pushed prices close to $220 million in 2006.
 
 
38

 
 
LNG Carrier Newbuilding Prices: 2000-2014 (1)
(End Period - U.S.$ Million)
 
 
 (1)
Price for 160-173,000 cbm ship from 2009 to 2013, prior prices based on 125-155,000 cbm ship
 
 
 (2)
End February 2014
 
Source: Drewry
 
 
Prices for larger sized LNG carriers of 210-220,000 cbm were around $215 million when first ordered in late 2004 and increased to $235 million in the summer of 2005.
 
Newbuilding prices reached an all-time high mark of $250 million around mid-2008, influenced by a number of factors, including the declining dollar exchange rate, easy availability of finance, high steel prices and tight shipbuilding capacity. However, newbuilding prices then fell in the wake of little new ordering, but leveled out in 2012. In 2013 prices firmed slightly, but they still remain below the last market peak.
 
LNG Safety
 
LNG shipping is generally safe relative to other forms of commercial marine transportation. In the past forty years, there have been no significant accidents or cargo spillages involving an LNG carrier, even though over 40,000 plus LNG voyages have been made during that time.
 
LNG is non-toxic and non-explosive in its liquid state. It only becomes explosive or inflammable when heated and vaporized, and then only when in a confined space within a narrow range of concentrations in the air (5% to 15%). The risks and hazards from an LNG spill vary depending on the size of the spill, environmental conditions and the site at which the spill occurs.
 
Competition
 
We operate in markets that are highly competitive and based primarily on supply and demand. The process of obtaining new time charters generally involves intensive screening and competitive bidding, and often extends for several months. LNG carrier time charters are generally awarded based upon a variety of factors relating to the vessel operator, including but not limited to price, customer relationships, operating expertise, professional reputation and size, age and condition of the vessel. We believe that the LNG shipping industry is characterized by the significant time required to develop the operating expertise and professional reputation necessary to obtain and retain charterers.
 
We expect substantial competition for providing marine transportation services for potential LNG projects from a number of experienced companies, including state-sponsored entities and major energy companies. Many of these competitors have significantly greater financial resources and larger and more versatile fleets than we do. We anticipate that an increasing number of marine transportation companies, including many with strong reputations and extensive resources and experience, will enter the LNG transportation market. This increased competition may cause greater price competition for time charters.
 
 
39

 
 
Seasonality
 
Historically, LNG trade, and therefore charter rates, increased in the winter months and eased in the summer months as demand for LNG in the Northern Hemisphere rose in colder weather and fell in warmer weather.  The tanker industry in general has become less dependent on the seasonal transport of LNG than a decade ago as new uses for LNG have developed, spreading consumption more evenly over the year.  There is a higher seasonal demand during the summer months due to energy requirements for air conditioning in some markets and a pronounced higher seasonal demand during the winter months for heating in other markets. However, our vessels primarily operate under multi-year charters and are not subject to the effect of seasonal variations in demand.
 
Environmental and Other Regulations
 
General

Governmental and international agencies extensively regulate the carriage, handling, storage and regasification of LNG. These regulations include international conventions and national, state and local laws and regulations in the countries where our vessels now or, in the future, will operate or where our vessels are registered. We cannot predict the ultimate cost of complying with these regulations, or the impact that these regulations will have on the resale value or useful lives of our vessels. Various governmental and quasi-governmental agencies require us to obtain permits, licenses and certificates for the operation of our vessels.
 
Although we believe that we are substantially in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations and have all permits, licenses and certificates required for our vessels, future non-compliance or failure to maintain necessary permits or approvals could require us to incur substantial costs or temporarily suspend operation of one or more of our vessels. A variety of governmental and private entities inspect our vessels on both a scheduled and unscheduled basis. These entities, each of which may have unique requirements and each of which conducts frequent inspections, include local port authorities, such as the U.S. Coast Guard, harbor master or equivalent, classification societies, flag state, or the administration of the country of registry, charterers, terminal operators and LNG producers.
 
International Maritime Regulations of LNG Vessels
 
The IMO is the United Nations' agency that provides international regulations governing shipping and international maritime trade, including the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, or the "MARPOL Convention." The flag state, as defined by the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, has overall responsibility for the implementation and enforcement of international maritime regulations for all ships granted the right to fly its flag. The "Shipping Industry Guidelines on Flag State Performance" evaluates flag states based on factors such as sufficiency of infrastructure, ratification of international maritime treaties, implementation and enforcement of international maritime regulations, supervision of surveys, casualty investigations, and participation at IMO meetings. The requirements contained in the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (the ISM Code) promulgated by the IMO, govern our operations. Among other requirements, the ISM Code requires the party with operational control of a vessel to develop an extensive safety management system that includes, among other things, the adoption of a policy for safety and environmental protection policy setting forth instructions and procedures for operating its vessels safely and also describing procedures for responding to emergencies. We are compliant with the requirement to hold a Document of Compliance under the ISM Code.
 
Vessels that transport gas, including LNG carriers are also subject to regulation under the International Gas Carrier Code (or the IGC Code) published by the IMO. The IGC Code provides a standard for the safe carriage of LNG and certain other liquid gases by prescribing the design and construction standards of vessels involved in such carriage. Compliance with the IGC Code must be evidenced by a Certificate of Fitness for the Carriage of Liquefied Gases of Bulk. Each of our vessels is in compliance with the IGC Code and each of our newbuilding/conversion contracts requires that the vessel receive certification that it is in compliance with applicable regulations before it is delivered. Non-compliance with the IGC Code or other applicable IMO regulations may subject a shipowner or a bareboat charterer to increased liability, may lead to decreases in available insurance coverage for affected vessels and may result in the denial of access to, or detention in, some ports.
 
The IMO also promulgates ongoing amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 and its protocol of 1988, otherwise known as SOLAS. SOLAS provides rules for the construction of and equipment required for commercial vessels and includes regulations for safe operation. It requires the provision of lifeboats and other life-saving appliances, requires the use of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System which is an international radio equipment and watchkeeping standard, afloat and at shore stations, and relates to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (or STCW) also promulgated by the IMO. Flag states that have ratified SOLAS and STCW generally employ the classification societies, which have incorporated SOLAS and STCW requirements into their class rules, to undertake surveys to confirm compliance. May 2012 SOLAS amendments entered into force as of January 1, 2014.
 
In the wake of increased worldwide security concerns, the IMO amended SOLAS and added the International Ship and Port Facilities Security Code (ISPS) as a new chapter to that convention. The objective of the ISPS, which came into effect on July 1, 2004, is to detect security threats and take preventive measures against security incidents affecting ships or port facilities. Our Manager has developed Security Plans, appointed and trained Ship and Office Security Officers and all of our vessels have been certified to meet the ISPS Code. See "—Vessel Security Regulations" for a more detailed discussion about these requirements.
 
 
40

 
 
SOLAS and other IMO regulations concerning safety, including those relating to treaties on training of shipboard personnel, lifesaving appliances, radio equipment and the global maritime distress and safety system, are applicable to our operations. Non-compliance with these types of IMO regulations may subject us to increased liability or penalties, may lead to decreases in available insurance coverage for affected vessels and may result in the denial of access to or detention in some ports. For example, the U.S. Coast Guard and European Union authorities have indicated that vessels not in compliance with the ISM Code will be prohibited from trading in U.S. and European Union ports.
 
The MARPOL Convention establishes environmental standards relating to oil leakage or spilling, garbage management, sewage, air emissions, handling and disposal of noxious liquids and the handling of harmful substances in packaged form.
 
The IMO amended Annex I to MARPOL, including a new regulation relating to oil fuel tank protection, and the new regulation applies to various ships delivered on or after August 1, 2010. It includes requirements for the protected location of the fuel tanks, performance standards for accidental oil fuel outflow, a tank capacity limit and certain other maintenance, inspection and engineering standards. IMO regulations also require owners and operators of vessels to adopt Ship Oil Pollution Emergency Plans. Periodic training and drills for response personnel and for vessels and their crews are required.

The IMO continues to review and introduce new regulations. It is impossible to predict what additional regulations, if any, may be passed by the IMO and what effect, if any, such regulation may have on our operations.
 
Air Emissions

In September 1997, the IMO adopted MARPOL 73/78 Annex VI "Regulations for the prevention of Air Pollution" (or Annex VI) to MARPOL to address air pollution from ships. Annex VI came into force on May 19, 2005. It applies to all ships, fixed and floating drilling rigs and other floating platforms and sets limits on sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from ship exhausts, and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances, such as chlorofluoro carbons. Annex VI also includes a global cap on sulfur content of fuel oil and allows for special areas to be established with more stringent controls on sulfur emissions. The certification requirements for Annex VI depend on size of the vessel and time of periodical classification survey. Ships weighing more than 400 gross tons and engaged in international voyages involving countries that have ratified the conventions, or ships flying the flag of those countries, are required to have an International Air Pollution Prevention Certificate (or an IAPP Certificate). Annex VI has been ratified by some but not all IMO member states. Annex VI came into force in the United States on January 8, 2009. All the vessels in our fleet have been issued with IAPP Certificates.
 
On July 1, 2010 amendments to Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention that require progressively stricter limitations on sulfur emissions from ships proposed by the United States, Norway and other IMO member states took effect. Beginning on January 1, 2012, fuel used to power ships may contain no more than 3.5% sulfur. This cap will then decrease progressively until it reaches 0.5% by January 1, 2020. However, in Emission Control Areas (or ECAs), limitations on sulfur emissions require that fuels contain no more than 1% sulfur and will be further reduced to 0.1% on January 1, 2015. For example, in August 2012, the North American ECA became enforceable. The Baltic Sea and the North Sea have also been designated ECAs. The North American ECA includes areas subject to the exclusive sovereignty of the United States and Canada. Consequently, in August 2012, when the North American ECA became effective, the sulfur limit in marine fuel will be capped at 1%, which is the capped amount for all other ECA areas since July 1, 2010. The amendments also establish new tiers of stringent nitrogen oxide emissions standards for new marine engines, depending on their date of installation. Further, the European directive 2005/33/EU, which became effective from January 1, 2010, bans the use of fuel oils containing more than 0.1% sulfur by mass by any merchant vessel while at berth in any EU country. Our vessels have achieved compliance , where necessary, by being arranged to burn gas only in their boilers when alongside. Marine Gas Oil and Low Sulfur Marine Gas Oil, or MGO and LSMGO, respectively, have been purchased as the only fuel for the Diesel Generators.
 
Additionally, as discussed above, more stringent emission standards could apply in coastal areas designated as ECAs, such as the United States and Canadian coastal areas designated by the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), as discussed in "—U.S. Clean Air Act" below. U.S. air emissions standards are now equivalent to these amended Annex VI requirements, and once these amendments become effective, we may incur costs to comply with these revised standards. Additional or new conventions, laws and regulations may be adopted that could require the installation of expensive emission control systems.
 
Ballast Water Management Convention
 
The IMO has negotiated international conventions that impose liability for oil pollution in international waters and the territorial waters of the signatory to such conventions. For example, the IMO adopted an International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (or the BWM Convention) in February 2004. The BWM Convention's implementing regulations call for a phased introduction of mandatory ballast water exchange requirements (beginning in 2009), to be replaced in time with a requirement for mandatory ballast water treatment. The BWM Convention will not become effective until 12 months after it has been adopted by 30 states, the combined merchant fleets of which represent not less than 35% of the gross tonnage of the world's merchant shipping. The Convention has not yet entered into force because a sufficient number of states have failed to adopt it, but it is close.
 
 
41

 
 
The IMO has passed a resolution encouraging the ratification of the Convention and calling upon those countries that have already ratified to encourage the installation of ballast water management systems on new ships.  Many of the implementation dates originally written in the BWM Convention have already passed, so that once the BWM Convention enters into force, the period for installation of mandatory ballast water exchange requirements would be extremely short, with several thousand ships a year needing to install ballast water management systems (BWMS).  For this reason, on December 4, 2013, the IMO Assembly passed a resolution revising the application dates of BWM Convention so that they are triggered by the entry into force date and not the dates originally in the BWM Convention.  This in effect makes all vessels constructed before the entry into force date 'existing' vessels, and allows for the installation of a BWMS on such vessels at the first renewal survey following entry into force.
 
As referenced below, the U.S. Coast Guard issued new ballast water management rules on March 23, 2012. Under the requirements of the convention for units with ballast water capacity more than 5000 cubic meters that were constructed in 2011 or before, ballast water management exchange or treatment will be accepted until 2016. From 2016 (or not later than the first intermediate or renewal survey after 2016), only ballast water treatment will be accepted by the Convention.
 
Bunkers Convention/CLC State Certificate
 
The International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution 2001 (or the Bunker Convention) entered into force in State Parties to the Convention on November 21, 2008. The Convention provides a liability, compensation and compulsory insurance system for the victims of oil pollution damage caused by spills of bunker oil. The Convention requires the ship owner liable to pay compensation for pollution damage (including the cost of preventive measures) caused in the territory, including the territorial sea of a State Party, as well as its economic zone or equivalent area. Registered owners of any sea going vessel and seaborne craft over 1,000 gross tonnage, of any type whatsoever, and registered in a State Party, or entering or leaving a port in the territory of a State Party, will be required to maintain insurance which meets the requirements of the Convention and to obtain a certificate issued by a State Party attesting that such insurance is in force. The State issued certificate must be carried on board at all times.
 
Although the United States is not a party to these conventions, many countries have ratified and follow the liability plan adopted by the IMO and set out in the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage of 1969, as amended in 2000, or the "CLC." Under this convention and depending on whether the country in which the damage results is a party to the 1992 Protocol to the CLC, a vessel's registered owner is strictly liable for pollution damage caused in the territorial waters of a contracting state by discharge of persistent oil, subject to certain complete defenses. The limited liability protections are forfeited under the CLC where the spill is caused by the owner's actual fault and under the 1992 Protocol where the spill is caused by the owner's intentional or reckless conduct. Vessels trading to states that are parties to these conventions must provide evidence of insurance covering the liability of the owner. In jurisdictions where the CLC has not been adopted, various legislative schemes or common law govern, and liability is imposed either on the basis of fault or on a strict –liability basis.
 
P&I Clubs in the International Group issue the required Bunkers Convention "Blue Cards" to enable signatory states to issue certificates. All of our vessels have received "Blue Cards" from their P&I Club and are in possession of a CLC State-issued certificate attesting that the required insurance cover is in force.
 
Anti-Fouling Requirements
 
In 2001, the IMO adopted the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships, or the "Anti-fouling Convention." The Anti-fouling Convention, which entered into force on September 17, 2008, prohibits the use of organotin compound coatings to prevent the attachment of mollusks and other sea life to the hulls of vessels after September 1, 2003. Vessels of over 400 gross tons engaged in international voyages must obtain an International Anti-fouling System Certificate and undergo a survey before the vessel is put into service or when the antifouling systems are altered or replaced. We have obtained Anti-fouling System Certificates for all of our vessels that are subject to the Anti-Fouling Convention and do not believe that maintaining such certificates will have an adverse financial impact on the operation of our vessels.
 
United States Environmental Regulation of LNG Vessels

Our vessels operating in U.S. waters now or, in the future, will be subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to protection of the environment. In some cases, these laws and regulations require us to obtain governmental permits and authorizations before we may conduct certain activities. These environmental laws and regulations may impose substantial penalties for noncompliance and substantial liabilities for pollution. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties. As with the industry generally, our operations will entail risks in these areas, and compliance with these laws and regulations, which may be subject to frequent revisions and reinterpretation, increases our overall cost of business.
 
 
42

 
 
Oil Pollution Act and CERCLA
 
The U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) established an extensive regulatory and liability regime for environmental protection and clean up of oil spills. OPA 90 affects all owners and operators whose vessels trade with the United States or its territories or possessions, or whose vessels operate in the waters of the United States, which include the U.S. territorial waters and the two hundred nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the United States. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) applies to the discharge of hazardous substances whether on land or at sea. While OPA 90 and CERCLA would not apply to the discharge of LNG, they may affect us because we carry oil as fuel and lubricants for our engines, and the discharge of these could cause an environmental hazard. Under OPA 90, vessel operators, including vessel owners, managers and bareboat or "demise" charterers, are "responsible parties" who are all liable regardless of fault, individually and as a group, for all containment and clean-up costs and other damages arising from oil spills from their vessels. These "responsible parties" would not be liable if the spill results solely from the act or omission of a third party, an act of God or an act of war. The other damages aside from clean-up and containment costs are defined broadly to include:
 
 
·
natural resource damages and related assessment costs;
 
 
·
real and personal property damages;
 
 
·
net loss of taxes, royalties, rents, profits or earnings capacity;
 
 
·
net cost of public services necessitated by a spill response, such as protection from fire, safety or health hazards; and
 
 
·
loss of subsistence use of natural resources.
 
Effective July 31, 2009, the U.S. Coast Guard adjusted the limits of OPA liability to the greater of $2,000 per gross ton or $17.088 million for any double-hull tanker that is over 3,000 gross tons (subject to possible adjustment for inflation). These limits of liability do not apply, however, where the incident is caused by violation of applicable U.S. federal safety, construction or operating regulations, or by the responsible party's gross negligence or willful misconduct. These limits likewise do not apply if the responsible party fails or refuses to report the incident or to cooperate and assist in connection with the substance removal activities. This limit is subject to possible adjustment for inflation. OPA 90 specifically permits individual states to impose their own liability regimes with regard to oil pollution incidents occurring within their boundaries, and some states have enacted legislation providing for unlimited liability for discharge of pollutants within their waters. In some cases, states, which have enacted their own legislation, have not yet issued implementing regulations defining shipowners' responsibilities under these laws.
 
CERCLA, which also applies to owners and operators of vessels, contains a similar liability regime and provides for cleanup, removal and natural resource damages for releases of "hazardous substances." Liability under CERCLA is limited to the greater of $300 per gross ton or $0.5 million for each release from vessels not carrying hazardous substances as cargo or residue, and $300 per gross ton or $5 million for each release from vessels carrying hazardous substances as cargo or residue. As with OPA 90, these limits of liability do not apply where the incident is caused by violation of applicable U.S. federal safety, construction or operating regulations, or by the responsible party's gross negligence or willful misconduct or if the responsible party fails or refuses to report the incident or to cooperate and assist in connection with the substance removal activities. OPA 90 and CERCLA each preserve the right to recover damages under existing law, including maritime tort law. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with OPA 90, CERCLA and all applicable state regulations in the ports where our vessels call.
 
OPA 90 requires owners and operators of vessels to establish and maintain with the U.S. Coast Guard evidence of financial responsibility sufficient to meet the limit of their potential strict liability under OPA 90/CERCLA. Under the regulations, evidence of financial responsibility may be demonstrated by insurance, surety bond, self-insurance or guaranty. Under OPA 90 regulations, an owner or operator of more than one vessel is required to demonstrate evidence of financial responsibility for the entire fleet in an amount equal only to the financial responsibility requirement of the vessel having the greatest maximum liability under OPA 90/CERCLA. Each of our shipowning subsidiaries that has vessels trading in U.S. waters has applied for, and obtained from the U.S. Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center, three-year certificates of financial responsibility, supported by guarantees which we purchased from an insurance based provider. We believe that we will be able to continue to obtain the requisite guarantees and that we will continue to be granted certificates of financial responsibility from the U.S. Coast Guard for each of our vessels that is required to have one.
 
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may also result in additional regulatory initiatives or statutes, including the raising of liability caps under OPA.  For example, effective on August 15, 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued a final drilling safety rule for offshore oil and gas operations that strengthens the requirements for safety equipment, well control systems, and blowout prevention practice. Compliance with any new requirements of OPA may substantially impact our cost of operations or require us to incur additional expenses to comply with any new regulatory initiatives or statutes.
 
 
43

 
 
Clean Water Act
 
The United States Clean Water Act (or CWA) prohibits the discharge of oil or hazardous substances in United States navigable waters unless authorized by a permit or exemption, and imposes strict liability in the form of penalties for unauthorized discharges. The CWA also imposes substantial liability for the costs of removal, remediation and damages and complements the remedies available under OPA and CERCLA. In additional, many U.S. states that border a navigable waterway have enacted environmental pollution laws that impose strict liability on a person for removal costs and damages resulting from a discharge of oil or a release of a hazardous substance. These laws may be more stringent that U.S. federal law.
 
The EPA regulates the discharge of ballast water, bilge water, and other discharges incidental to the normal operation of vessels within U.S. waters. Under the new rules, which took effect February 6, 2009, commercial vessels 79 feet in length or longer (other than commercial fishing vessels), or Regulated Vessels, are required to obtain a CWA permit regulating and authorizing such normal discharges. This permit, which the EPA has designated as the Vessel General Permit for Discharges Incidental to the Normal Operation of Vessels (or VGP) incorporates the current U.S. Coast Guard requirements for ballast water management as well as supplemental ballast water requirements, and includes limits applicable to 26 specific discharge streams, such as deck runoff, bilge water and gray water. For each discharge type, among other things, the VGP establishes effluent limits pertaining to the constituents found in the effluent, including best management practices (or BMPs) designed to decrease the amount of constituents entering the waste stream. Unlike land-based discharges, which are deemed acceptable by meeting certain EPA-imposed numerical effluent limits, each of the 26 VGP discharge limits is deemed to be met when a Regulated Vessel carries out the BMPs pertinent to that specific discharge stream. The VGP imposes additional requirements on certain Regulated Vessel types that emit discharges unique to those vessels. Administrative provisions, such as inspection, monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, are also included for all Regulated Vessels. Several U.S. states have added specific requirements to the VGP and, in some cases, may require vessels to install ballast water treatment technology to meet biological performance standards. On March 28, 2013 the EPA re-issued the VGP for another five years, which took effect December 19, 2013. The 2013 VGP contains ballast water discharge standards for most vessels that now contain numeric limits. EPA is also planning to finalize the VGP for small vessels- the VGP but the final rule has not yet been issued.
 
On March 8, 2011, EPA reached a settlement with several environmental groups and the State of Michigan regarding EPA's issuance of the VGP. As part of the settlement, EPA agreed to include in the next draft VGP numeric concentration-based effluent limits for discharges of ballast water expressed as organisms per unit of ballast water volume. These requirements correspond with the IMO's adoption of similar requirements as discussed above. On March 28, 2013 the EPA issued the 2013 VGP. The 2013 VGP contains ballast water discharge standards for most vessels that now contain numeric limits. Later this year the EPA is also planning to finalize the VGP for small vessels- the small VGP.
 
National Aquatic Invasive Species Act
 
The National Invasive Species Act (or NISA) was enacted in 1996 in response to growing reports of harmful organisms being released into U.S. ports through ballast water taken on by ships in foreign ports. NISA established a ballast water management program for ships entering U.S. waters. Under NISA, mid-ocean ballast water exchange is voluntary, except for ships heading to the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, or vessels engaged in the foreign export of Alaskan North Slope crude oil. However, NISA's exporting and record-keeping requirements are mandatory for vessels bound for any port in the United States. Although ballast water exchange is the primary means of compliance with the act's guidelines, compliance can also be achieved through the retention of ballast water onboard the ship, or the use of environmentally sound alternative ballast water management methods approved by the U.S. Coast Guard. If the mid-ocean ballast exchange is made mandatory throughout the United States, or if water treatment requirements or options are instituted, the costs of compliance could increase for ocean carriers.
 
As of June 21, 2012, the U.S. Coast Guard implemented revised regulations on ballast water management by establishing standards for the allowable concentration of living organisms in ballast water discharged in U.S. waters. The revised regulations adopt ballast water discharge standards for vessels calling on U.S. ports and intending to discharge ballast water equivalent to those set in IMO's BWM Convention. The final rule requires that ballast water discharge have no more than 10 living organisms per milliliter for organisms between 10 and 50 micrometers in size. For organisms larger than 50 micrometers, the discharge can have 10 living organisms per cubic meter of discharge. New ships constructed on or after December 1, 2012 must comply with these standards and some existing ships must comply with these standards and some existing ships must comply by their first dry dock after January 1, 2014. The U.S. Coast Guard will review the practicability of implementing a more stringent ballast water discharge standard and publish the results no later than January 1, 2016. Compliance with these regulations will require us to incur additional costs and other measures that may be significant.
 
Clean Air Act
 
The U.S. Clean Air Act of 1970, as amended (or the CAA) requires the EPA to promulgate standards applicable to emissions of volatile organic compounds and other air contaminants. Our vessels are subject to vapor control and recovery requirements for certain cargoes when loading, unloading, ballasting, cleaning and conducting other operations in regulated port areas and emission standards for so-called "Category 3" marine diesel engines operating in U.S. waters. The marine diesel engine emission standards are currently limited to new engines beginning with the 2004 model year. On April 30, 2010, the EPA promulgated final emission standards for Category 3 marine diesel engines equivalent to those adopted in the amendments to Annex VI to MARPOL. The emission standards apply in two stages: near-term standards for newly-built engines will apply from 2011, and long-term standards requiring an 80% reduction in nitrogen dioxides (or NOx) will apply from 2016. The CAA also requires states to draft State Implementation Plans, or SIPs, designed to attain national health-based air quality standards in each state.  Although state-specific, SIPs may include regulations concerning emissions resulting from vessel loading and unloading operations by requiring the installation of vapor control equipment.  Compliance with these standards may cause us to incur costs to install control equipment on our vessels in the future.
 
 
44

 
 
Other Regulations
 
The European Union has also adopted legislation that would: (1) ban manifestly sub-standard vessels (defined as those over 15 years old that have been detained by port authorities at least twice in a six month period) from European waters and create an obligation of port states to inspect vessels posing a high risk to maritime safety or the marine environment; and (2) provide the European Union with greater authority and control over classification societies, including the ability to seek to suspend or revoke the authority of negligent societies.
 
The European Union has implemented regulations requiring vessels to use reduced sulfur content fuel for their main and auxiliary engines. The EU Directive 2005/EC/33 (amending Directive 1999/32/EC) introduced parallel requirements in the European Union to those in MARPOL Annex VI in respect of the sulfur content of marine fuels. In addition, it has introduced a 0.1% maximum sulfur requirement for fuel used by ships at berth in EU ports, effective January 1, 2010.
 
In 2005, the European Union adopted a directive on ship-source pollution, imposing criminal sanctions for intentional, reckless or negligent pollution discharges by ships. The directive could result in criminal liability for pollution from vessels in waters of European countries that adopt implementing legislation. Criminal liability for pollution may result in substantial penalties or fines and increased civil liability claims. We cannot predict what regulations, if any, may be adopted by the European Union or any other country or authority.
 
Regulation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
 
In February 2005, the Kyoto Protocol entered into force. Pursuant to the Kyoto Protocol, adopting countries are required to implement national programs to reduce emissions of certain gases, generally referred to as greenhouse gases, which are suspected of contributing to global warming. Currently, the emissions of greenhouse gases from ships involved in international transport are not subject to the Kyoto Protocol. In December 2009, more than 27 nations, including the United States and China, signed the Copenhagen Accord, which includes a non-binding commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, in December 2011, the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change adopted the Durban Platform which calls for a process to develop binding emissions limitations on both developed and developing countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change applicable to all Parties. The European Union has indicated that it intends to propose an expansion of the existing European Union emissions trading scheme to include emissions of greenhouse gases from marine vessels, and in January 2012, the European Commission launched a public consultation on possible measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships. For 2020, the EU made a unilateral commitment to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from its member stated by 20% of 1990 levels. The EU also committed to reduce its emissions by 20% under the Kyoto Protocol's second period, from 2013 to 2020.
 
As of January 1, 2013, all ships (including rigs and drillships) must comply with mandatory requirements adopted by MEPC in July 2011 relating to greenhouse gas emissions. The amendments to MARPOL Annex VI Regulations for the prevention of air pollution from ships add a new Chapter 4 to Annex VI on Regulations on energy efficiency requiring the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), for new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships. Other amendments to Annex VI add new definitions and requirements for survey and certification, including the format for the International Energy Efficiency Certificate. The regulations apply to all ships of 400 gross tonnage and above. These new rules will likely affect the operations of vessels that are registered in countries that are signatories to MARPOL Annex VI or vessels that call upon ports located within such countries. The implementation of the EEDI and SEEMP standards could cause us to incur additional compliance costs. The IMO is also planning to implement market-based mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships at an upcoming MEPC session. It is impossible to predict the likelihood that such a standard might be adopted or its potential impact on our operations at this time.
 
In the United States, the EPA has issued a final finding that greenhouse gases threaten public health and safety, and has promulgated regulations that regulate the emission of greenhouse gases. In 2009 and 2010, EPA adopted greenhouse reporting requirements for various onshore facilities, and also adopted a rule potentially imposing control technology requirements on certain stationary sources subject to the federal Clean Air Act. The EPA may decide in the future to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from ships and has already been petitioned by the California Attorney General to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from ocean-going vessels. Other federal and state regulations relating to the control of greenhouse gas emissions may follow, including climate change initiatives that have recently been considered in the U.S. Congress. Any passage of climate control legislation or other regulatory initiatives by the IMO, the European Union, the United States, or other countries where we operate, or any treaty adopted at the international level to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, that restrict emissions of greenhouse gases could require us to make significant financial expenditures, including capital expenditures to upgrade our vessels, that we cannot predict with certainty at this time. In addition, even without such regulation, our business may be indirectly affected to the extent that climate change results in sea level changes or more intense weather events. 
 
Vessel Security Regulations
 
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there have been a variety of initiatives intended to enhance vessel security. On November 25, 2002, the Maritime Transportation Act of 2002 (or MTSA) came into effect. To implement certain portions of the MTSA, in July 2003, the U.S. Coast Guard issued regulations requiring the implementation of certain security requirements aboard vessels operating in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Similarly, in December 2002, amendments to SOLAS created a new chapter of the convention dealing specifically with maritime security. The new chapter became effective in July 2004 and imposes various detailed security obligations on vessels and port authorities, most of which are contained in the ISPS Code. The ISPS Code is designed to protect ports and international shipping against terrorism. After July 1, 2004, to trade internationally, a vessel must attain an International Ship Security Certificate (or ISSC) from a recognized security organization approved by the vessel's flag state. 
 
 
45

 
 
Among the various requirements are:
 
 
·
on-board installation of automatic identification systems to provide a means for the automatic transmission of safety-related information from among similarly equipped ships and shore stations, including information on a ship's identity, position, course, speed and navigational status;
 
 
·
on-board installation of ship security alert systems, which do not sound on the vessel but only alerts the authorities on shore ;
 
 
·
the development of vessel security plans;
 
 
·
ship identification number to be permanently marked on a vessel's hull;
 
 
·
a continuous synopsis record kept onboard showing a vessel's history including, the name of the ship and of the state whose flag the ship is entitled to fly, the date on which the ship was registered with that state, the ship's identification number, the port at which the ship is registered and the name of the registered owner(s) and their registered address; and
 
 
·
compliance with flag state security certification requirements.
 
The U.S. Coast Guard regulations, intended to align with international maritime security standards, exempt non-U.S. vessels from obtaining U.S. Coast Guard-approved MTSA vessel security plans provided such vessels have on board an ISSC that attests to the vessel's compliance with SOLAS security requirements and the ISPS Code.
 
Our Manager has developed Security Plans, appointed and trained Ship and Office Security Officers and each of our vessels in our fleet complies with the requirements of the ISPS Code, SOLAS and the MTSA.
 
Other Regulation

Our LNG vessels may also become subject to the 2010 HNS Convention, if it is entered into force. The Convention creates a regime of liability and compensation for damage from hazardous and noxious substances (or HNS), including liquefied gases. The 2010 HNS Convention sets up a two-tier system of compensation composed of compulsory insurance taken out by shipowners and an HNS Fund which comes into play when the insurance is insufficient to satisfy a claim or does not cover the incident. Under the 2010 HNS Convention, if damage is caused by bulk HNS, claims for compensation will first be sought from the shipowner up to a maximum of 100 million Special Drawing Rights (or SDR). If the damage is caused by packaged HNS or by both bulk and packaged HNS, the maximum liability is 115 million SDR. Once the limit is reached, compensation will be paid from the HNS Fund up to a maximum of 250 million SDR. The 2010 HNS Convention has not been ratified by a sufficient number of countries to enter into force, and we cannot estimate the costs that may be needed to comply with any such requirements that may be adopted with any certainty at this time.
 
In-House Inspections
 
Our Manager carries out ship audits and inspections of the ships on a regular basis; both at sea and while the vessels are in port. The results of these inspections, which are conducted both in port and underway, result in a report containing recommendations for improvements to the overall condition of the vessel, maintenance, safety and crew welfare. Based in part on these evaluations, our Manager has created and implemented a program of continual maintenance for our vessels and their systems.
 
Inspection by Classification Societies
 
Every large, commercial seagoing vessel must be "classed" by a classification society. A classification society certifies that a vessel is "in class," signifying that the vessel has been built and maintained in accordance with the rules of the classification society and the vessel's country of registry and the international conventions of which that country is a member. In addition, where surveys are required by international conventions and corresponding laws and ordinances of a flag state, the classification society will undertake them on application or by official order, acting on behalf of the authorities concerned.
 
For maintenance of the class certificate, regular and special surveys of hull, machinery, including the electrical plant and any special equipment classed, are required to be performed by the classification society, to ensure continuing compliance. Vessels are dry-docked at least once during a five-year class cycle for inspection of the underwater parts and for repairs related to inspections. Vessels under five years of age can waive dry docking in order to increase available days and decrease capital expenditures, provided the vessel is inspected underwater. If any defects are found, the classification surveyor will issue a "recommendation" which must be rectified by the shipowner within prescribed time limits. The classification society also undertakes on request of the flag state other surveys and checks that are required by the regulations and requirements of that flag state. These surveys are subject to agreements made in each individual case and/or to the regulations of the country concerned.
 
Most insurance underwriters make it a condition for insurance coverage that a vessel be certified as "in class" by a classification society, which is a member of the International Association of Classification Societies (the IACS). In 2012, the IACS issued draft harmonized Common Structure Rules that align with IMO goal standards, and are expected to be adopted in 2013. All of the vessels in our fleet are certified by Lloyds Register, have been awarded ISM certification and are currently "in class."
 
Our Manager carries out inspections of the ships on a regular basis; both at sea and while the vessels are in port. The results of these inspections, which are conducted both in port and underway, result in a report containing recommendations for improvements to the overall condition of the vessel, maintenance, safety and crew welfare. Based in part on these evaluations we create and implement a program of continual maintenance and improvement for our vessels and their systems.
 
 
46

 
 
Safety, Management of Ship Operations and Administration
 
Safety is our top operational priority. Our vessels are operated in a manner intended to protect the safety and health of the crew, the general public and the environment. We actively manage the risks inherent in our business and are committed to preventing incidents that threaten safety, such as groundings, fires and collisions. We are also committed to reducing emissions and waste generation. We have established key performance indicators to facilitate regular monitoring of our operational performance. We set targets on an annual basis to drive continuous improvement, and we review performance indicators monthly to determine if remedial action is necessary to reach our targets. Our Manager's shore staff performs a full range of technical, commercial and business development services for us. This staff also provides administrative support to our operations in finance, accounting and human resources.
 
Risk of Loss and Liability Insurance
 
The operation of any vessel, including LNG carriers, has inherent risks. These risks include mechanical failure, personal injury, collision, property loss, vessel or cargo loss or damage and business interruption due to political circumstances in foreign countries or hostilities. In addition, there is always an inherent possibility of marine disaster, including explosion, spills and other environmental mishaps, and the liabilities arising from owning and operating vessels in international trade. We believe that our present insurance coverage is adequate to protect us against the accident related risks involved in the conduct of our business and that we maintain appropriate levels of environmental damage and pollution insurance coverage consistent with standard industry practice. However, not all risks can be insured, and there can be no guarantee that any specific claim will be paid, or that we will always be able to obtain adequate insurance coverage at reasonable rates.
 
We have obtained hull and machinery insurance on all our vessels against marine and war risks, which include the risks of damage to our vessels, salvage or towing costs, and also insure against actual or constructive total loss of any of our vessels. However, our insurance policies contain deductible amounts for which we will be responsible. We have also arranged additional total loss coverage for each vessel. This coverage, which is called hull interest and freight interest coverage, provides us additional coverage in the event of the total loss of a vessel. The agreed deductible on each vessel averages $500,000.
 
We have also obtained loss of hire insurance to protect us against loss of income in the event one of our vessels cannot be employed due to damage that is covered under the terms of our hull and machinery insurance. Under our loss of hire policies, our insurer will pay us the daily rate agreed in respect of each vessel for each day, in excess of a certain number of deductible days, for the time that the vessel is out of service as a result of damage, for a maximum of 120 days. The number of deductible days varies from 14 days to 120 days, depending on the type of damage, machinery or hull damage. The number of deductible days for the vessels in our fleet is 14 days per vessel.
 
Protection and indemnity insurance, which covers our third party legal liabilities in connection with our shipping activities, is provided by a mutual protection and indemnity association, or P&I club. This includes third party liability and other expenses related to the injury or death of crew members, passengers and other third party persons, loss or damage to cargo, claims arising from collisions with other vessels or from contact with jetties or wharves and other damage to other third party property, including pollution arising from oil or other substances, and other related costs, including wreck removal. Subject to the capping discussed below, our coverage, except for pollution, is unlimited. Our current protection and indemnity insurance coverage for pollution is $1 billion per vessel per incident. The thirteen P&I clubs that comprise the International Group of Protection and Indemnity Clubs insure approximately 90% of the world's commercial tonnage and have entered into a pooling agreement to reinsure each association's liabilities. Each P&I club has capped its exposure in this pooling agreement so that the maximum claim covered by the pool and its reinsurance would be approximately $5.45 billion per accident or occurrence. We are a member of the North of England P&I Club. As a member of these P&I clubs, we are subject to a call for additional premiums based on the clubs' claims record, as well as the claims record of all other members of the P&I clubs comprising the International Group. However, our P&I clubs have reinsured the risk of additional premium calls to limit our additional exposure. This reinsurance is subject to a cap, and there is the risk that the full amount of the additional call would not be covered by this reinsurance.
 
 
C.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
 
We are a majority-owned subsidiary of Dynagas Holding Ltd., our Sponsor.
 
We own (i) a 100% limited partner interest in Dynagas Operating LP, which owns a 100% interest in our fleet through intermediate holding companies and (ii) the non-economic general partner interest in Dynagas Operating LP through our 100% ownership of its general partner, Dynagas Operating GP LLC.
 
Please see Exhibit 8.1 to this annual report for a list of our current subsidiaries.
 
 
D.
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
 
For a description of our fleet, please see "Item 4. Information on the Partnership—B. Business Overview—Our Fleet."
 
 
ITEM 4A.
UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
 
Not applicable.
 
 
47

 
 
ITEM 5.
OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS
 
The following management's discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the "Selected Historical Consolidated Financial and Operating Data" and the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in "Item 18. Financial Statements" of this Annual Report. Amounts relating to percentage variations in period—on—period comparisons shown in this section are derived from the actual numbers in our books and records. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our future plans, estimates, beliefs and expected performance. The forward-looking statements are dependent upon events, risks and uncertainties that may be outside our control. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. See "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements." In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed may not occur.
 
A.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
 
Overview
 
We are a growth-oriented limited partnership focused on owning and operating LNG carriers. Our vessels are employed on multi-year time charters, which we define as charters of two years or more, with international energy companies such as BG Group and Gazprom, providing us with the benefits of stable cash flows and high utilization rates. We intend to leverage the reputation, expertise, and relationships of our Sponsor and our Manager in maintaining cost-efficient operations and providing reliable seaborne transportation services to our customers. In addition, we intend to make further vessel acquisitions from our Sponsor and from third parties. There is no guarantee that we will grow the size of our fleet or the per unit distributions that we intend to pay or that we will be able to make further vessel acquisitions from our Sponsor or third parties.
 
Our Sponsor entered the LNG sector in 2004 by ordering the construction of three LNG carriers, the Clean Energy , the Ob River , and the Clean Force , from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. or HHI, one of the world's leading shipbuilders of LNG carriers. On October 29, 2013, we acquired from our Sponsor these vessels, which we refer to as our Initial Fleet, in exchange for 6,735,000 of our common units and all of our subordinated units. In November 2013, we successfully completed our IPO on the NASDAQ Global Select Market of 8,250,000 of our common units together with 4,250,000 common units offered by our Sponsor. On December 5, 2013, our Sponsor offered and sold additional 1,875,000 units in connection with the exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option. As of March 21, 2014, the LNG carriers that comprise our fleet are employed under time charters with an average remaining term of 3.1 years and have an average age of 6.7 years.
 
At the closing of our IPO, we entered into the following agreements: (i) an Omnibus Agreement with our Sponsor and our General Partner that provides us with the right to purchase up to seven LNG carrier vessels from the Sponsor (the "Optional Vessels") within 24 months of their delivery to our Sponsor at a purchase price to be determined pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Omnibus Agreement. (ii) a $30 million revolving credit facility with our Sponsor to be used for general partnership purposes and (iii) the Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility. Please also see "Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions."
 
We used borrowings under the Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility of $214.1 million to fully repay the outstanding indebtedness under our $150 million Clean Energy and our $128 million Clean Force Credit Facilities, and incurred additional borrowings of $6.0 million which are expected to be used for general partnership purposes. As at December 31, 2013, we had a borrowing capacity of $72.5 million under our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility and our revolving credit facility with our Sponsor. See "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—B. Liquidity and Capital Resources."
 
Our fleet is managed by our Manager, Dynagas Ltd., a company controlled by Mr. George Prokopiou. See "Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions."
 
On February 14, 2014, we paid a partial cash distribution for the fourth quarter of 2013 of $0.1746 per unit, prorated from the IPO closing date through December 31, 2013. This distribution corresponds to a quarterly distribution of $0.365 per outstanding unit, or $1.46 per outstanding unit on an annualized basis, which is consistent with our minimum quarterly distribution.
 
Our fleet consists of three LNG carriers currently operating under multi-year charters with BG Group and Gazprom. The Clean Force and the Ob River have been assigned with Ice Class designation for hull and machinery and are fully winterized, which means that they are designed to call at ice-bound and harsh environment terminals and to withstand temperatures up to minus 30 degrees Celsius.
 
The following table sets forth summary information about our fleet as of March 21, 2014:
 
Vessel
Name
Shipyard
Year Built
Capacity
(cbm)
Ice Class
Flag State
Charterer
Clean Energy
HHI
2007
149,700
No
Marshall Islands
BG Group
Ob River
HHI
2007
149,700
Yes
Marshall Islands
Gazprom
Clean Force
HHI
2008
149,700
Yes
Marshall Islands
BG Group
____________________
 
 
48

 
 
We principally deploy our vessels on multi-year, fixed-rate time charters to take advantage of the stable cash flows and high utilization rates typically associated with multi-year time charters. We have secured multi-year fixed rate time charter contracts for the three LNG carriers in our fleet. The following table summarizes our current time charters for the vessels in our fleet and the expirations and extension options, as of March 21, 2014:
 
Vessel
Name
Charterer
Contract
Backlog
(in millions)
Charter
Commencement Date
Earliest Charter Expiration Date
Latest Charter
Expiration Including
Non-Exercised
Options
Clean Energy
BG Group
$95.2
February 2012
April 2017
August 2020 (2)
Ob River
Gazprom
$110.0
September 2012
September 2017
May 2018 (3)
Clean Force
BG Group
$57.5
October 2010
September 2016
January 2020 (4)
____________________
 
(2)
BG Group has the option to extend the duration of the charter for an additional three-year term until August 2020 at an escalated daily rate, upon notice to us before January 2016.
 
(3)
Gazprom has the option to extend the duration of the charter until May 2018 on identical terms, upon notice to us before March 2017.
 
(4)
On January 2, 2013, BG Group exercised its option to extend the duration of the charter by an additional three-year term at an escalated daily rate, commencing on October 5, 2013. BG Group has the option to extend the duration of the charter by an additional three-year term at a further escalated daily rate, which would commence on October 5, 2016, upon notice to us before January 5, 2016. The latest expiration date upon the exercise of all options is January 2020.
 
The following table summarizes our contracted charter revenues and contracted days for the vessels in our fleet as of December 31, 2013 assuming the earliest redelivery dates possible under our charters and 365 revenue days per annum per ship and assuming charterers do not exercise any options to extend the time charters of the Clean Force , the Clean Energy and the Ob River .
 
 
(in millions of U.S. Dollars, except days and percentages)
     
2014
     
2015
     
2016
     
2017
 
No. of Vessels whose contracts expire (1)
 
 
 
-
 
 
 
-
 
 
 
1
 
 
 
2
 
Contracted Time Charter Revenues (1)
 
 
 
85.8
 
 
 
85.8
 
 
 
78.4
 
 
 
31.5
 
Contracted Days
 
 
 
1,095
 
 
 
1,095
 
 
 
979
 
 
 
368
 
Available Days
 
 
 
1,095
 
 
 
1,095
 
 
 
1,095
 
 
 
1,051
 
Contracted/Available Days
 
 
 
100%
 
 
 
100%
 
 
 
89%
 
 
 
35%
 
____________________
 
(1)
Annual revenue calculations are based on: (a) an assumed 365 revenue days per vessel per annum, (b) the earliest redelivery dates possible under our LNG carrier charters, and (c) no exercise of any option to extend the terms of those charters except for the option regarding the Clean Force exercised on January 2, 2013.
 
Although these expected revenues are based on contracted charter rates, any contract is subject to various risks, including performance by the counterparties or an early termination of the contract pursuant to its terms. If the charterers are unable to make charter payments to us, if we agree to renegotiate charter terms at the request of a charterer or if contracts are prematurely terminated for any reason, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected. Historically, we have had no defaults or early terminations by charterers. For these reasons, the contracted charter revenue information presented is an estimate and should not be relied upon as being necessarily indicative of future results. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this information. Neither our independent auditors, nor any other independent accountants, have compiled, examined or performed any procedures with respect to the information presented in the table, nor have they expressed any opinion or any other form of assurance on such information or its achievability, and assume no responsibility for, and disclaim any association with, the information in the table.
 
In the year ended December 31, 2013, we received all of our revenues from two charterers, which individually accounted for 61% and 39% of our revenues, respectively, as compared to three in the same period in 2012 which individually accounted for 58%, 16% and 26%, respectively, of our revenues in 2012.
 
Principal Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations
 
The principal factors which have affected our results and are expected to affect our future results of operations and financial position, include:
 
 
·
Number of Vessels in Our Fleet. The number of vessels in our fleet is a key factor in determining the level of our revenues. Aggregate expenses also increase as the size of our fleet increases. As of December 31, 2013, our fleet consisted of the same three LNG carriers we acquired from our Sponsor in connection with the closing of our IPO.
 
 
·
Charter Rates. Our revenue is dependent on the charter rates we are able to obtain on our vessels.
 
 
49

 
 
 
·
Charter rates on our vessels are based primarily on demand for and supply of LNG carrier capacity at the time we enter into the charters for our vessels, which is influenced by demand and supply for natural gas and in particular LNG as well as the supply of LNG carriers available for employment. The charter rates we obtain are also dependent on whether we employ our vessels under multi-year charters or charters with initial terms of less than two years. The vessels in our fleet are currently employed under multiyear time charters with staggered maturities, which will make us less susceptible to cyclical fluctuations in charter rates than vessels operated on charters of less than two years. However, we will be exposed to fluctuations in prevailing charter rates when we seek to recharter our vessels upon the expiry of their respective current charters and when we seek to charter vessels that we may acquire in the future.
 
 
·
BG Group's potential exercise of charter extension. In 2010, we entered into the time charter contract for the Clean Force with the BG Group at a time when time charter rates were significantly lower than prevailing time charter rates for equivalent periods. On January 2, 2013, BG Group exercised its option to extend the charter of the Clean Force until 2016 and currently holds another option to extend the duration of the charter until 2019 at a further increased daily rate. BG also holds an option to extend the time charter of the Clean Energy for an additional three years until 2020 at an increased daily rate;
 
 
·
Utilization of Our Fleet. Historically, our fleet has had a limited number of unscheduled off-hire days. In the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 our fleet utilization was 100% and 99.5%, respectively. However, an increase in annual off-hire days would reduce our utilization. The efficiency with which suitable employment is secured, the ability to minimize off-hire days and the amount of time spent positioning vessels also affects our results of operations. If the utilization pattern of our fleet changes, our financial results would be affected;
 
 
·
The level of our vessel operating expenses, including crewing costs, insurance and maintenance costs.  Our ability to control our vessel operating expenses also affects our financial results. These expenses include commission expenses, crew wages and related costs, the cost of insurance, expenses for repairs and maintenance, the cost of spares and consumable stores, lubricating oil costs, tonnage taxes and other miscellaneous expenses. In addition, factors beyond our control, such as developments relating to market premiums for insurance and the value of the U.S. dollar compared to currencies in which certain of our expenses, primarily crew wages, are paid, can cause our vessel operating expenses to increase;
 
 
·
The timely delivery of the Optional Vessels (four of which are currently under construction and three of which were delivered in 2013) to our Sponsor and our ability to exercise the options to purchase the seven Optional Vessels. See "Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions;"
 
 
·
The timely delivery of the vessels we may acquire in the future;
 
 
·
Our ability to maintain solid working relationships with our existing charterers and our ability to increase the number of our charterers through the development of new working relationships;
 
 
·
The performance of our charterer's obligations under their charter agreements;
 
 
·
The effective and efficient technical management of the vessels under our management agreements;
 
 
·
Our ability to obtain acceptable debt financing to fund our capital commitments;
 
 
·
The ability of our Sponsor to fund its capital commitments and take delivery of the Optional Vessels under construction;
 
 
·
Our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals and to satisfy technical, health, safety and compliance standards that meet our charterer's requirements;
 
 
·
Economic, regulatory, political and governmental conditions that affect shipping and the LNG industry, which includes changes in the number of new LNG importing countries and regions, as well as structural LNG market changes impacting LNG supply that may allow greater flexibility and competition of other energy sources with global LNG use;
 
 
·
Our ability to successfully employ our vessels at economically attractive rates, as our charters expire or are otherwise terminated;
 
 
·
Our access to capital required to acquire additional ships and/or to implement our business strategy;
 
 
·
Our level of debt, the related interest expense and the timing of required payments of principal;
 
 
·
The level of our general and administrative expenses, including salaries and costs of consultants;
 
 
·
Our charterer's right for early termination of the charters under certain circumstances;
 
 
·
Performance of our counterparties and our charterer's ability to make charter payments to us; and
 
 
·
The level of any distribution on our common and subordinated units.
 
See "Risk Factors" for a discussion of certain risks inherent in our business.
 
 
50

 
 
Important Financial and Operational Terms and Concepts
 
We use a variety of financial and operational terms and concepts when analyzing our performance. These include the following:
 
Time Charter Revenues.   Our time charter revenues are driven primarily by the number of vessels in our fleet, the amount of daily charter hire that our LNG carriers earn under time charters and the number of revenue earning days during which our vessels generate revenues. These factors are, in turn, affected by our decisions relating to vessel acquisitions, the amount of time that our LNG carriers spend dry-docked undergoing repairs, maintenance and upgrade work, the age, condition and specifications of our vessels and the levels of supply and demand in the LNG carrier charter market.  Our revenues will also be affected if any of our charterers cancel a time charter or if we agree to renegotiate charter terms during the term of a charter resulting in aggregate revenue reduction. Our time charter arrangements have been contracted in varying rate environments and expire at different times. We recognize revenues from time charters over the term of the charter as the applicable vessel operates under the charter. Under time charters, revenue is not recognized during days a vessel is off-hire. Revenue is recognized from delivery of the vessel to the charterer, until the end of the time charter period. Under time charters, we are responsible for providing the crewing and other services related to the vessel's operations, the cost of which is included in the daily hire rate, except when off-hire.
 
Off-hire (Including Commercial Waiting Time).  When a vessel is "off-hire"—or not available for service—the charterer generally is not required to pay the time charter hire rate and we are responsible for all costs. Prolonged off-hire may lead to vessel substitution or termination of a time charter. Our vessels may be out of service, that is, off-hire, for several reasons: scheduled dry-docking, special survey, vessel upgrade or maintenance or inspection, which we refer to as scheduled off-hire; days spent waiting for a charter, which we refer to as commercial waiting time; and unscheduled repairs, maintenance, operational efficiencies, equipment breakdown, accidents, crewing strikes, certain vessel detentions or similar problems, or our failure to maintain the vessel in compliance with its specifications and contractual standards or to provide the required crew, which we refer to as unscheduled off-hire. We have obtained loss of hire insurance to protect us against loss of income in the event one of our vessels cannot be employed due to damage that is covered under the terms of our hull and machinery insurance. Under our loss of hire policies, our insurer generally will pay us the hire rate agreed in respect of each vessel for each day in excess of 14 days and with a maximum period of 120 days.
 
Voyage Expenses.   Voyage expenses primarily include port and canal charges, bunker (fuel) expenses, agency fees which are paid for by the charterer under our time charter arrangements or by us during periods of off-hire except for commissions, which are always paid for by us.  All voyage expenses are expensed as incurred, except for commissions.  Commissions paid to brokers are deferred and amortized over the related charter period to the extent revenue has been deferred since commissions are earned as our revenues are earned.  We may incur voyage related expenses when positioning or repositioning vessels before or after the period of a time charter, during periods of commercial waiting time or while off-hire during a period of dry-docking. Voyage expenses can be higher when vessels trade on charters with initial terms of less than two years due to fuel consumption during idling, cool down requirements, commercial waiting time in between charters and positioning and repositioning costs. From time to time, in accordance with industry practice, we pay commissions ranging up to 1.25% of the total daily charter rate under the charters to unaffiliated ship brokers, depending on the number of brokers involved with arranging the charter. These commissions do not include the fees we pay to our Manager, which are described below under "—Management Fees."
 
Available  Days.  Available days are the total number of calendar days our vessels were in our possession during a period, less the total number of scheduled off-hire days during the period associated with major repairs, or dry-dockings.
 
Average Number of Vessels. Average number of vessels is the number of vessels that constituted our fleet for the relevant period, as measured by the sum of the number of days each vessel was a part of our fleet during the period divided by the number of calendar days in the period.
 
Fleet utilization. We calculate fleet utilization by dividing the number of our revenue earning days, which are the total number of Available Days of our vessels net of unscheduled off-hire days, during a period, by the number of our Available Days during that period. The shipping industry uses fleet utilization to measure a company's efficiency in finding employment for its vessels and minimizing the amount of days that its vessels are off-hire for reasons such as unscheduled repairs but excluding scheduled off-hires for vessel upgrades, drydockings or special or intermediate surveys.
 
Vessel Operating Expenses. Vessel operating expenses include crew wages and related costs, the cost of insurance, expenses for repairs and maintenance, the cost of spares and consumable stores, lubricant costs, statutory and classification expenses, forwarding and communications expenses and other miscellaneous expenses. Vessel operating expenses also include all peripheral expenses incurred while vessels perform their classification special survey and dry-docking such as spare parts, port dues, tugs, service engineer attendance etc.
 
Vessel operating expenses are paid by the ship-owner under time charters and are recognized when incurred. We expect that insurance costs, dry-docking and maintenance costs will increase as our vessels age. Factors beyond our control, some of which may affect the shipping industry in general—for instance, developments relating to market premiums for insurance and changes in the market price of lubricants due to increases in oil prices—may also cause vessel operating expenses to increase. In addition, a substantial portion of our vessel operating expenses, primarily crew wages, are in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, and may increase or decrease as a result of fluctuation of the U.S. dollar against these currencies.
 
 
51

 
 
Dry-docking.  We must periodically drydock each of our vessels for inspection, repairs and maintenance and any modifications required to comply with industry certification or governmental requirements. In accordance with industry certification requirements, we drydock our vessels at least every 60 months until the vessel is 15 years old, after which dry-docking takes place at least every 30 months thereafter as required for the renewal of certifications required by classification societies. Special survey and dry-docking costs (mainly shipyard costs, paints and class renewal expense) are expensed as incurred. The number of dry-dockings undertaken in a given period and the nature of the work performed determine the level of dry-docking expenditures. We expense costs related to routine repairs and maintenance performed during dry-docking or as otherwise incurred. All three vessels in our fleet completed their scheduled special survey and dry-docking repairs in 2012.
 
Depreciation.  We depreciate our LNG carriers on a straight-line basis over their remaining useful economic lives which we estimate to be 35 years from their initial delivery from the shipyard. Vessel residual value is estimated as 12% of the initial vessel cost and represents Management's best estimate of the current selling price assuming the vessels are already of age and condition expected at the end of its useful life. The assumptions made reflect our experience, market conditions and the current practice in the LNG industry; however they required more discretion since there is a lack of historical references in scrap prices of similar types of vessels.
 
Interest and Finance Costs. We incur interest expense on outstanding indebtedness under our existing credit facilities which we include in interest and finance costs. Interest expense depends on our overall level of borrowings and may significantly increase when we acquire or refinance ships. Interest expense may also change with prevailing interest rates, although interest rate swaps or other derivative instruments may reduce the effect of these changes. We also incur financing and legal costs in connection with establishing credit facilities, which are deferred and amortized to interest and finance costs using the effective interest method. We will incur additional interest expense in the future on our outstanding borrowings and under future borrowings. For a description of our existing credit facilities see "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects —Liquidity and Capital Resources."
 
Vessels Lives and Impairment. Vessels are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If circumstances require a long-lived asset or asset group to be tested for possible impairment, we first compare the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by that asset or asset group to its carrying value. If the carrying value of the long lived asset is not recoverable on an undiscounted cash flow basis, impairment is recognized to the extent that the carrying value exceeds its fair value. Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques including discounted cash flow models, quoted market values and third party independent appraisals as considered necessary. As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, there were no events or changes in circumstances indicating that the carrying amount of the vessels may not be recoverable and, accordingly, no impairment loss was recorded these years.
 
Insurance
 
Hull and Machinery Insurance.   We have obtained hull and machinery insurance on all our vessels to insure against marine and war risks, which include the risks of damage to our vessels, salvage and towing costs, and also insures against actual or constructive total loss of any of our vessels. However, our insurance policies contain deductible amounts for which we will be responsible. We have also arranged additional total loss coverage for each vessel. This coverage, which is called hull interest and freight interest coverage, provides us additional coverage in the event of the total loss or the constructive total loss of a vessel. The agreed deductible on each vessel averages $500,000.
 
Loss of Hire Insurance. We have obtained loss of hire insurance to protect us against loss of income in the event one of our vessels cannot be employed due to damage that is covered under the terms of our hull and machinery insurance. Under our loss of hire policies, our insurer will pay us the hire rate agreed in respect of each vessel for each day, in excess of a certain number of deductible days, for the time that the vessel is out of service as a result of damage, for a maximum of 120 days. The number of deductible days for the vessels in our fleet is 14 days per vessel.
 
Protection and Indemnity Insurance. Protection and indemnity insurance, which covers our third-party legal liabilities in connection with our shipping activities, is provided by a mutual protection and indemnity association, or P&I club. This includes third-party liability and other expenses related to the injury or death of crew members, passengers and other third-party persons, loss or damage to cargo, claims arising from collisions with other vessels or from contact with jetties or wharves and other damage to other third-party property, including pollution arising from oil or other substances, and other related costs, including wreck removal. Our current protection and indemnity insurance coverage is unlimited, except for pollution, which is limited to $1 billion per vessel per incident.
 
Critical Accounting Policies and estimates
 
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We are an "emerging growth company," as defined in the JOBS Act.  We have elected to take advantage of the reduced reporting obligations, including the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards under Section 102 of the JOBS Act, and as such, the information that we provide to our unitholders may be different from information provided by other public companies and our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates. The preparation of those financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure at the date of our financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions.
 
Critical accounting policies are those that reflect significant judgments of uncertainties and potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. For a description of all our significant accounting policies, see Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included under "Item 18. Financial Statements" of this annual report.
 
 
52

 
 
Time Charter Revenues
 
We recognize revenues from time charters over the term of the charter as the applicable vessel operates under the charter. Under time charters, revenue is not recognized during days a vessel is off-hire. Revenue is recognized from delivery of the vessel to the charterer, until the end of the time charter period. Under time charters, we are responsible for providing the crewing and other services related to vessel's operations, the cost of which is included in the daily hire rate, except when off-hire. Revenues are affected by hire-rates and the number of days a vessel operates.
 
Our time charter revenues are driven primarily by the number of vessels in our fleet, the amount of daily charter hire that our vessels earn under time charters and the number of revenue earning days during which our vessels generate revenues. These factors are, in turn, affected by our decisions relating to vessel acquisitions, the amount of time that we spend positioning our vessels, the amount of time that our vessels spend in drydock undergoing repairs, maintenance and upgrade work, the age, condition and specifications of our vessels and the levels of supply and demand in the LNG carrier charter market.
 
Our LNG carriers are employed through multi-year time charter contracts, which for accounting purposes are considered as operating leases and are thus recognized on a straight line basis as the average minimum lease revenue over the rental periods of such charter agreements, as service is performed. Revenues under our time charters are recognized when services are performed, revenue is earned and the collection of the revenue is reasonably assured. The charter hire revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the relevant time charter.
 
Advance payments under time charter contracts are classified as liabilities until such time as the criteria for recognizing the revenue are met. Our revenues will be affected by the acquisition of any additional vessels in the future subject to time charters. Our revenues will also be affected if any of our charterers cancel a time charter or if we agree to renegotiate charter terms during the term of a charter resulting in aggregate revenue reduction or increase. Our time charter arrangements have been contracted in varying rate environments and expire at different times. Rates payable in the market for LNG carriers have been uncertain and volatile as has the supply and demand for LNG carriers
 
Vessels Lives and Impairment
 
The carrying value of a vessel represents its historical acquisition or construction cost, including capitalized interest, supervision, technical and delivery cost, net of accumulated depreciation and impairment loss, if any. Expenditures for subsequent conversions and major improvements are capitalized provided that such costs increase the earnings capacity or improve the efficiency or safety of the vessels.
 
We depreciate the original cost, less an estimated residual value, of our LNG carriers on a straight-line basis over each vessel's estimated useful life. The carrying values of our vessels may not represent their market value at any point in time because the market prices of second-hand vessels tend to fluctuate with changes in hire rates and the cost of newbuilds. Both hire rates and newbuild costs tend to be cyclical in nature.
 
We review vessels for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable, which occurs when the asset's carrying value is greater than the future undiscounted cash flows the asset is expected to generate over its remaining useful life. We determine undiscounted projected net operating cash flows for each vessel and compare it to the vessel's carrying value. In developing estimates of future cash flows, we must make assumptions about future charter rates, vessel operating expenses, fleet utilization, and the estimated remaining useful life of the vessels. These assumptions are based on historical trends as well as future expectations. The projected net operating cash flows are determined by considering the charter revenues from existing time charters for the fixed fleet days and the five-year historical average of charter rates for the unfixed days. If the estimated future undiscounted cash flows of an asset exceed the asset's carrying value, no impairment is recognized even though the fair value of the asset may be lower than its carrying value. If the estimated future undiscounted cash flows of an asset is less than the asset's carrying value and the fair value of the asset is less than its carrying value, the asset is written down to its fair value. Historically, there was no indication of impairment for any of the three vessels in our fleet. Our impairment test exercise is sensitive to variances in the time charter rates. The use of the most recent three and one year historical average rates to determine the charter revenues for the unfixed days would not result to impairment.
 
We determine the fair value of our vessels based on our estimates and assumptions and by making use of available market data and taking into consideration third party valuations. As of December 31, 2013, the aggregate charter-free market value of our vessels substantially exceeded their aggregate carrying value as of the same date. A decrease of the estimated fair market value by 10% would not result in any impairment loss as of December 31, 2013. We employ our LNG carriers on fixed-rate charters with major companies. These charters typically have original terms of two or more years in length. Consequently, while the market value of a vessel may decline below its carrying value, the carrying value of a vessel may still be recoverable based on the future undiscounted cash flows the vessel is expected to obtain from servicing its existing and future charters.
 
 
53

 
 
Depreciation on our LNG carriers is calculated using an estimated useful life of 35 years, commencing at the date the vessel was originally delivered from the shipyard. However, the actual life of a vessel may be different than the estimated useful life, with a shorter actual useful life resulting in an increase in the depreciation and potentially resulting in an impairment loss. The estimated useful life of our LNG carriers takes into account design life, commercial considerations and regulatory restrictions. Our estimates of future cash flows involve assumptions about future hire rates, vessel utilization, operating expenses, dry-docking expenditures, vessel residual values and the remaining estimated life of our vessels. Our estimated hire rates are based on rates under existing vessel charters and the five-year average historical charter rates for the unfixed periods. Our estimates of vessel utilization, including estimated off-hire time are based on historical experience of trading our vessels and our projections of future chartering prospects. Our estimates of operating expenses and dry-docking expenditures are based on our historical operating and dry-docking costs and our expectations of future inflation and operating requirements. Vessel residual values are based on our estimation over our vessels sale price at the end of their useful life, being a product of a vessel's lightweight tonnage and an estimated scrap rate and the estimated resale price of certain equipment and material. The remaining estimated lives of our vessels used in our estimates of future cash flows are consistent with those used in the calculation of depreciation.
 
Certain assumptions relating to our estimates of future cash flows are more predictable by their nature in our experience, including estimated revenue under existing charter terms, on-going operating costs and remaining vessel life. Certain assumptions relating to our estimates of future cash flows require more discretion and are inherently less predictable, such as future hire rates beyond the firm period of existing charters and vessel residual values, due to factors such as the volatility in vessel hire rates and the lack of historical references in scrap prices of similar type of vessels. We believe that the assumptions used to estimate future cash flows of our vessels are reasonable at the time they are made. We can make no assurances, however, as to whether our estimates of future cash flows, particularly future vessel hire rates or vessel values, will be accurate.
 
If we conclude that a vessel is impaired, we recognize a loss in an amount equal to the excess of the carrying value of the asset over its fair value at the date of impairment. The fair value at the date of the impairment becomes the new cost basis and will result in a lower depreciation expense than for periods before the vessel impairment.
 
The table set forth below indicates (i) the historical acquisition cost of our vessels and (ii) the carrying value of each of our vessels as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012.
 
 
 
 
Vessel
 
 
Capacity
(cbm)
 
 
Year
Purchased
 
 
 
Acquisition
Cost
 
Carrying Value
(in millions of US dollars)
   
December 31, 2013
 
December 31,2012
   LNG
 
 
           
   Clean Energy
149,700
2007
 
$178.2
 
$147.5
 
$152.0
   Ob River
149,700
2007
 
  176.0
 
  147.3
 
  151.7
   Clean Force
149,700
2008
 
  186.3
 
  158.4
 
  163.1
   TOTAL Capacity
449,100
 
 
 $540.5
 
 $453.2
 
 $466.8

 
The market value of each vessel individually and in the aggregate substantially exceeds the respective carrying value of each vessel as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012. As such, the Partnership is not required to perform an impairment test. We refer you to the risk factor entitled "Vessel values may fluctuate substantially and, if these values are lower at a time when we are attempting to dispose of vessels, we may incur a loss" and the discussion herein under the heading "Risks relating to our Partnership."
 
Our estimates of basic market value assume that our vessels are all in good and seaworthy condition without need for repair and if inspected would be certified in class without notations of any kind.  Our estimates are based on information available from various industry sources, including:
 
 
·
reports by industry analysts and data providers that focus on our industry and related dynamics affecting vessel values;
 
 
·
news and industry reports of similar vessel sales;
 
 
·
news and industry reports of sales of vessels that are not similar to our vessels where we have made certain adjustments in an attempt to derive information that can be used as part of our estimates;
 
 
·
approximate market values for our vessels or similar vessels that we have received from shipbrokers, whether solicited or unsolicited, or that shipbrokers have generally disseminated;
 
 
·
offers that we may have received from potential purchasers of our vessels; and
 
 
·
vessel sale prices and values of which we are aware through both formal and informal communications with ship-owners, shipbrokers, industry analysts and various other shipping industry participants and observers.
 
As we obtain information from various industry and other sources, our estimates of basic market value are inherently uncertain. In addition, vessel values are highly volatile; as such, our estimates may not be indicative of the current or future basic market value of our vessels or prices that we could achieve if we were to sell them.
 
 
54

 
 
Depreciation
 
We depreciate our LNG carriers on a straight-line basis over their remaining useful economic lives which we estimate to be 35 years from their initial delivery from the shipyard. A vessel's residual value is estimated as 12% of the initial vessel cost, being approximate to vessel's light weight multiplied by the then estimated scrap price per metric ton adjusted to reflect the premium from the value of stainless steel material and represents management's best estimate of the current selling price assuming the vessel is already of age and condition expected at the end of its useful life. The assumptions made reflect our experience, market conditions and the current practice in the LNG industry however such assumptions required more discretion since there is a lack of historical references in scrap prices of similar type of vessels. A decrease of 10% in estimated scrap price would result to $0.2 million of increase in depreciation cost in the year ended December 31, 2013.
 
We depreciate our vessels on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, after considering their estimated residual values, based on the assumed value of the scrap steel available for recycling after demolition. A decrease in the useful life of a vessel or in its residual value would have the effect of increasing the annual depreciation charge. When regulations place limitations over the ability of a vessel to trade on a worldwide basis, its remaining useful life is adjusted at the date such regulations become effective.
 
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
 
There are no recent accounting pronouncements issued in 2013, whose adoption would have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements in the current year or are expected to have a material impact in future years.
 
Results of Operations
 
Year ended December 31, 2013 compared to the year ended December 31, 2012
 
During the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, we had an average of three vessels in our fleet. In the year ended December 31, 2013 our fleet Available days totaled 1,095 days as compared to 1,056 days in the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase of 3.7% is attributable to the lack of dry-docking repairs in 2013 since all three LNG carriers in our fleet completed their initial scheduled special survey and dry-docking repairs in 2012. Revenue earning days are the primary driver of voyage revenue and vessel operating expenses.
 
Revenues. The following table sets forth details of our time charter revenues for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   2013
 
 
   2012
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Time charter revenues
 
$
85,679
 
 
$
77,498
 
 
$
8,181
 
 
 
10.6
%
 

Total revenues increased by 10.6%, or $8.2 million, to $85.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2013, from $77.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in revenues was primarily attributable to the escalated time charter rate earned by the LNG carrier Clean Force , following the exercise by the Charterer of a minimum three year extension period under its current time charter contract  as well as the higher charter rate earned by the LNG Carrier Ob River , soon after entering its current five year time charter contract in September, 2012.
 
Voyage Expenses.  The following table sets forth details of our voyage expenses, not including voyage expenses set forth under "Voyage Expenses—related Party" for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
   
 
 
 
   2013
   
  2012
 
Change
   
% Change
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
   
 
 
Commissions
    618       819       (201 )     (24.5 %)
Bunkers
    -       1,361       (1,361 )     (100 %)
Port Expenses
    57       307       (250 )     (81.4 %)
Voyage Expenses
  $ 675     $ 2,487     $ (1,812 )     (72.9 %)
 
 
Voyage expenses decreased by 72.9%, or $1.8 million, to $0.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2013 from $2.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2012. The decrease was mainly attributable to the lack of dry-dock related voyage expenses in 2013. During the year ended December 31, 2012, all of our three vessels underwent their mandatory initial special survey and dry-docking survey and as a result incurred $1.4 million in bunker expenses and $0.2 million in port expenses in connection with positioning the vessels to the shipyards compared to nil bunker expenses and negligible port expenses in 2013. The decrease was also attributable to $0.2 million of fewer commissions charged by third party brokers in the year ended December 31, 2013, pursuant to the Ob River charter agreement discussed above, that provides for no third party brokerage commission charges.
 
 
55

 
 
Voyage Expenses – related party.  The following table sets forth details of our voyage expenses charged by our Manager for commercial services. For the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 pursuant to the management agreements under which Dynagas Ltd. earned a 1.25% commission on gross time charter income:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
2012
 
 
Change
 
 
%Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Voyage Expenses – related party (commissions)
 
 
1,011
 
 
 
981
 
 
 
30
 
 
 
3.1
%
 
 
Voyage expenses charged by our Manager increased slightly by 3.1% or $0.03 million between the two periods, as a result of the increased time charter revenues earned by our vessels during 2013.
 
Vessels'   Operating Expenses. The following table sets forth details of our vessel operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
   2013
   
   2012
   
Change
   
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
   
 
 
Crew wages and related  costs
    8,618       9,755       (1,137 )     (11.7 %)
Insurance
    1,554       1,488       66       4.4 %
Spares and consumable stores
    1,086       2,561       (1,475 )     (57.6 %)
Repairs and maintenance
    323       1,340       (1,017 )     (75.9 %)
Tonnage taxes
    96       18       78       433.3 %
Other operating expenses
    232       560       (328 )     (5 8 .6 %)
Total
  $ 11,909     $ 15,722     $ (3,813 )     (24.3 %)
 
 
Vessels' operating expenses decreased by 24.3%, or $3.8 million, to $11.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2013 from $15.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2012. The decrease is primarily the result of the peripheral operating expenses (mainly comprising of store, repair and incremental labor costs) of approximately $1.7 million we incurred in 2012 in relation to the initial special survey and dry-docking repairs of our three vessels. Peripheral expenses for dry-docking include all expenses related to the dry-docking of the vessel, except for shipyard, paint and classification society survey cost such as spare parts, service engineer attendances, stores and consumable stores. The overall decrease in operating expenses was also due to significantly lower crew training expenses we incurred during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to the prior year.
 
General and Administrative Expenses. The following table sets forth details of our general and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
2012
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
General and administrative costs
 
$
387
 
 
$
278
 
 
$
109
 
 
 
39.2
%
 
 
General and administrative expenses increased by 39.2%, or $0.1 million, to $0.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2013, from $0.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in the year ended December 31, 2013 is mainly attributable to the expenses we incurred in relation to us serving as a public company since November 18, 2013, which were expensed as incurred.
 
Management Fees. The following table sets forth details of our management fees for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
2012
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Management fees
 
$
2,737
 
 
$
2,638
 
 
$
99
 
 
 
3.8
%
 
 
Management fees increased by 3.8%, or $0.1 million, to $2.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2013, from $2.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in the year ended December 31, 2013 is attributable to the slightly increased daily management fee that was charged by our Manager to each of the vessels in our fleet in 2013, pursuant to the new management agreements effective from January 1, 2013.
 
 
56

 
 
Depreciation . The following table sets forth details of our depreciation expense for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
2012
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Depreciation
 
$
13,579
 
 
$
13,616
 
 
$
(37
)
 
 
(0.3)
%
 
 
Depreciation expense remained substantially the same during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to the year ended December 31, 2012.
 
Drydocking and Special survey costs.   The following table sets forth details of our drydocking and special survey expenses for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
2012
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Drydocking and Special Survey Costs
 
$
-
 
 
$
2,109
 
 
$
(2,109
)
 
 
(100)
%
 
 
All our vessels completed their initial scheduled drydocking and special surveys during the year ended December 31, 2012. The vessels undergo dry-dock or special survey approximately every five years during the first fifteen years of their life and every two and a half years within their following useful life.
 
We drydock our vessels when the next special survey becomes due. As we dry-docked all of the vessels in our fleet in 2012, we expect the next scheduled dry-dockings to occur in 2017, 2017 and 2018 for the Clean Energy , Ob River and Clean Force respectively. We expect that our fleet will average 22 days on drydock per ship, at which time we perform class renewal surveys and make any necessary repairs or retrofittings.
 
Interest and Finance Costs.   The following table sets forth details of our interest and finance costs for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
   2013
   
   2012
   
Change
   
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
   
 
 
Interest on long-term debt
    8,248       8,551       (303 )     (3.5 )%
Amortization and write-off of financing fees
    1,050       590       460       78.0 %
Commitment fees
    327       372       (45 )     (12.1 )%
Other
    107       63       44       69.8 %
Total
  $ 9,732     $ 9,576     $ 156       1.6 %
 
 
Interest and finance costs increased by 1.6%, to $9.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2013, from $9.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2012. Interest expense decreased by 3.5%, to $8.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2013, from $8.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2012. Such decrease in loan interest expense, driven by lower weighted average debt balance of $342.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2013, as compared to $369.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2012, was counterbalanced by the $0.5 million increase in the amortization and write-off of financing fees, attributable to the full repayment of all loans outstanding at the IPO closing date.
 
Our weighted average interest rate for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 was 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively.
 
Realized and Unrealized Loss on Derivative Financial Instruments. The following table sets forth details of our realized and unrealized loss on derivative instruments for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
2012
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Realized and Unrealized Loss on Derivative Financial Instruments
 
$
-
 
 
$
196
 
 
$
(196
)
 
 
(100)
%
 
 
The $0.2 million loss on derivative financial instruments during the year ended December 31, 2012, was primarily related to realized and unrealized losses on three interest rate swap contracts of $285.6 million notional amount due to declining long-term interest rates.  These three interest rate swap agreements matured in March, July and June 2012. No new financial instruments have been entered into by the Partnership since then.
 
Other. Other expenses decreased to $0.03 million during the year ended December 31, 2013, from $0.06 million during the year ended December 31, 2012.
 
 
57

 
 
Year ended December 31, 2012 compared to the year ended December 31, 2011
 
During the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, we had an average of three vessels in our fleet. In the year ended December 31, 2012 our fleet Available days totaled 1,056 days as compared to 1,095 days in the twelve month period ended December 31, 2011, the decrease of 3.6% attributable to scheduled dry-docking repairs completed in 2012. Revenue earning days are the primary driver of voyage revenue and vessel operating expenses.
 
Revenues. The following table sets forth details of our time charter revenues for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
2011
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Time charter revenues
 
$
77,498
 
 
$
52,547
 
 
$
24,951
 
 
 
47.5
%
 
 
Total revenues increased by 47.5%, or $25.0 million, to $77.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2012, from $52.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2011. The increase in revenues was primarily attributable to an increase in time charter rates for two of our vessels. The Clean Energy in 2011 was employed on a time charter contract entered into in 2010, which was at historically low levels and which ended in the first quarter of 2012. The Clean Energy was subsequently employed under its present time charter contract at a significantly higher time charter rate, effective as of February 2012. The increase in revenues was also attributable to the increase in the time charter rates attained by the Ob River which was employed on a historically low time charter rate in the first quarter of 2011 and subsequently was employed at a higher rate until September 2012. In September 2012, the Ob River was employed on its present time charter contract at a rate which is 15% higher than the charter rate under its previous charter.
 
Voyage Expenses.  The following table sets forth details of our voyage expenses, not including voyage expenses set forth under "Voyage Expenses—related Party" for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
   2012
   
   2011
   
Change
   
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
   
 
 
Commissions
    819       446       373       83.6 %
Bunkers
    1,361       117       1,244       1,063.2 %
Port Expenses
    307       152       155       102.0 %
Voyage Expenses
  $ 2,487     $ 715     $ 1,772       247.8 %


Voyage expenses increased by 247.8%, or $1.8 million, to $2.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2012 from $0.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2011. The increase was mainly attributable to the fact that during the year ended December 31, 2012 all of our three vessels underwent their mandatory special survey and dry-docking survey and as a result incurred $1.4 million in bunker expenses in connection with positioning the vessels to the shipyards compared to negligible bunker expense for 2011. The increase was also attributable to the increase of $0.4 million in commissions paid to third party brokers in the year ended December 31, 2012 as a result of the higher time charter revenues during 2012 and to port expenses payable during the vessel's mandatory dry-docking and special survey.
 
Voyage Expenses – related party.  The following table sets forth details of our voyage expenses paid to our Manager for commercial services. For the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 pursuant to the management agreements under which Dynagas Ltd. earned a 1.25% commission on gross time charter income:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
2011
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Voyage Expenses – related party (commissions)
 
$
981
 
 
$
638
 
 
$
343
 
 
 
53.8
%
 
 
Voyage expenses paid to our Manager increased by 53.8% or $0.3 million, to $1 million during the year ended December 31, 2012 from $0.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2011. The increase was attributable to the higher time charter revenues during 2012.
 
 
58

 
 
Vessels'   Operating Expenses. The following table sets forth details of our vessel operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
   2012
   
   2011
   
Change
   
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
   
 
 
Crew wages and related costs
    9,755       8,040       1,715       21.3 %
Insurance
    1,488       1,587       (99     (6.2 )%
Spares and consumable stores
    2,561       1,102       1,459       132.4 %
Repairs and maintenance
    1,340       356       984       276.4 %
Tonnage taxes
    18       28       (10     (35.7 )%
Other operating expenses
    560       237       323       136.3 %
Total
  $ 15,722     $ 11,350     $ 4,372       38.5 %
 
 
V essels' operating expenses increased by 38.5%, or $4.4 million, to $15.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2012 from $11.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to the increase in spares and consumables stores and peripheral maintenance and repair expenses related to the dry-docking of our three vessels in 2012. Peripheral expenses for dry-docking include all expenses related to the dry-docking of the vessel, except for shipyard, paint and classification society survey cost such as spare parts, service engineer attendances, stores and consumable stores which totaled to $1.7 million. The increase is also attributable to an increase in crew wages and related costs of $1.7 million to $9.8 million during the twelve month period ended December 31, 2012 from $8 million during the year ended December 31, 2011 as a result of continued inflationary crew costs and increased training expenses.
 
General and Administrative Expenses. The following table sets forth details of our general and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
2011
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
General and administrative costs
 
$
278
 
 
$
54
 
 
$
224
 
 
 
414.8
%
 
 
General and administrative expenses increased by 414.8%, or $0.22 million, to $0.27 million during the year ended December 31, 2012, from $0.05 million during the year ended December 31, 2011. The increase in the year ended December 31, 2012 is mainly attributable to the expenses incurred in connection with the preparations for the IPO, which were expensed as incurred.
 
Management Fees. The following table sets forth details of our management fees for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
2011
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Management fees
 
$
2,638
 
 
$
2,529
 
 
$
109
 
 
 
4.3
%
 
 
Management fees increased by 4.3%, or $0.1 million, to $2.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2012, from $2.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2011. The increase in the year ended December 31, 2012 is attributable to the year-to-year increase in management fees payable to our Manager.
 
Depreciation . The following table sets forth details of our depreciation expense for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
2011
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Depreciation
 
$
13,616
 
 
$
13,579
 
 
$
37
 
 
 
0.3
%
 
 
Depreciation expense remained substantially the same during the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to the year ended December 31, 2011.
 
 
59

 
 
Drydocking and Special survey costs.   The following table sets forth details of our drydocking and special survey expenses for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
2011
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Drydocking and Special Survey Costs
 
$
2,109
 
 
$
-
 
 
$
2,109
 
 
 
100
%
 
 
Dry-docking and special survey costs comprised of the repair cost paid to the yards, paints and class expenses and are expensed in the period incurred. Costs relating to routine repairs and maintenance are also expensed as incurred and are included in "Vessel Operating Expenses". All our vessels completed their scheduled drydocking and special surveys during the year ended December 31, 2012. The vessels undergo dry-dock or special survey approximately every five years during the first fifteen years of their life and every two and a half years within their following useful life.
 
We drydock our vessels when the next special survey becomes due. As we drydocked all our fleet in 2012, we expect the next scheduled dry-dockings to occur in 2017, 2017 and 2018 for the Clean Energy , Ob River and Clean Force respectively. We expect that our fleet will average 22 days on drydock per ship, at which time we perform class renewal surveys and make any necessary repairs or retrofittings.
 
Interest Income. Interest income for the year ended December 31, 2012 of $0.001 million was substantially similar to interest income of $0.004 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.
 
Interest and Finance Costs.   The following table sets forth details of our interest and finance costs for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
   2012
   
   2011
   
Change
   
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
   
 
 
Interest on long-term debt
    8,551       3,794       4,757       125.4 %
Amortization and write-off of financing fees
    590       100       490       490.0 %
Commitment fees
    372       54       318       588.9 %
Other
    63       29       34       117.2 %
Total
  $ 9,576     $ 3,977     $ 5,599       140.8 %
 
 
Interest and finance costs increased by 140.8%, or $5.6 million, to $9.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2012, from $4 million during the year ended December 31, 2011. Interest expense increased by $4.8 million to $8.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2012, from $3.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2011. The increase is mainly attributable to the higher average debt balance and interest margin costs during the year ended December 31, 2012 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2011 as a result of the refinancing of the Clean Energy and Ob River in 2012. The increase in amortization and write-off of financing fees of $0.5 million was attributable to financing fees incurred in connection with the refinancing of Clean Energy and Ob River in 2012 and the increase in commitment fees of $0.3 million attributable to our refinancing activities during the year ended December 31, 2012.
 
During the year ended December 31, 2012, we had an average of $369.2 million of outstanding indebtedness with a weighted average interest rate of 2.3%, and during the year ended December 31, 2011, we had an average of $295.6 million of outstanding indebtedness with a weighted average interest rate of 1.3%.
 
Realized and Unrealized Loss on Derivative Financial Instruments. The following table sets forth details of our realized and unrealized loss on derivative instruments for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
2011
 
 
Change
 
 
% Change
 
 
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
 
 
 
 
Realized and Unrealized Loss on Derivative Financial Instruments
 
$
196
 
 
$
824
 
 
$
(628
)
 
 
(76.2)
%
 
 
The loss on derivative financial instruments during the years ended December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively, was primarily related to realized and unrealized losses on three interest rate swap contracts of $285.6 million notional amount due to declining long-term interest rates.  These three interest rate swap agreements matured in March, July and June 2012, resulting in a decrease of $0.6 million in the loss from derivative financial instruments to $0.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2012, as compared to $0.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2011.
 
Other. Other Income decreased to $0.06 million during the year ended December 31, 2012, from $0.07 million during the year ended December 31, 2011.
 
 
60

 
 
B.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
 
Our principal sources of funds are our operating cash flows, borrowings under existing or future credit facilities with prominent financial institutions and our Sponsor and equity contributions by our unitholders. Our liquidity requirements relate to servicing our debt and funding capital expenditures and working capital. We frequently monitor our capital needs by projecting our upcoming income, expenses and debt obligations, and seek to maintain adequate cash reserves to compensate for any budget overruns. Our short-term liquidity requirements relate to funding working capital, including vessel operating expenses and payments under our management agreements. Our long-term liquidity requirements relate to funding capital expenditures, including the acquisition of additional vessels and the repayment of our long-term debt.
 
In addition to paying distributions to our unitholders, our other liquidity requirements relate to servicing our debt, funding potential investments (including the equity portion of investments in the Optional Vessels or other third party acquisitions), funding working capital and maintaining cash reserves against fluctuations in operating cash flows. Because we distribute all of our available cash, we expect that we will rely upon external financing sources, including bank borrowings and the issuance of debt and equity securities, to fund acquisitions and other expansion capital expenditures. Cash and cash equivalents are held primarily in U.S. dollars. We have not   made use of derivative instruments since July 2012, when all of our swaps matured.
 
As of December 31, 2013, we had cash of $27.7 million (including cash minimum liquidity requirements imposed by our lenders) which increased by $20.9 million, or 308.6%, compared to $6.8 million, as of December 31, 2012, primarily due to the $16.3 million increase in cash generated from operating activities on a year to year basis and working capital advances provided by our Sponsor and our lenders during 2013 of approximately $11.5 million.
 
On November 18, 2013, we completed our IPO of 8,250,000 common units at $18.00 per unit and raised gross proceeds of approximately $148.5 million. The net proceeds of this offering, including the underwriting discount and offering costs of $2.7 million, were approximately $136.9 million.
 
On November 14, 2013, we entered into the Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility.  See "—Our Borrowing Activities."  At the IPO closing date, a portion of the borrowings of $214.1 million under this facility, together with a portion of the proceeds of the IPO, were used to fully repay the then outstanding total indebtedness of $346.1 million.
 
As of December 31, 2013, we had $219.6 million of indebtedness outstanding under our credit agreements, of which $5.5 million outstanding under our unsecured revolving facility with our Sponsor was repaid in January 2014, and $72.5 million of available borrowing capacity under our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility and our $30 million revolving credit facility with our Sponsor.
 
As of March 21, 2014, we had $214.1 million of indebtedness outstanding under our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility, for which no payments are required prior to June 30, 2016 provided that we do not draw down any additional funds from the undrawn borrowing capacity under our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility. See "—Our Borrowing Activities." As of December 31, 2013, we were in compliance with all the financial and liquidity covenants contained in our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility, which are described under the heading "—Our Borrowing Activities."
 
We may exercise our options under the Omnibus Agreements to purchase the Optional Vessels at any time during the 24 months following their delivery. To the extent we exercise any of these options, we will incur additional payment obligations for which we currently have not secured financing.
 
Working capital is equal to current assets minus current liabilities, including the current portion of long-term debt. Our working capital deficit was $7.3 million as of December 31, 2013, compared to a working capital deficit of $389.5 million as of December 31, 2012. Absent our intention to repay the $5.5 million indebtedness towards our Sponsor as of December 31, 2013, our working capital would result in a deficit of $1.8 million. The deficit decrease is mainly due to the repayment of all bank debt outstanding at the IPO closing date which, subject to violations with certain financial covenants and minimum liquidity requirements contained in our loan agreements as of December 31, 2012, was otherwise classified as current, and our commitment under the Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility which does not call for any payments prior to June 30, 2016.
 
Based on our fixed-rate charters, we anticipate  that we will internally generate sufficient cash from operations to fund the operations of our fleet, including the normal working capital requirements, and make at least minimum quarterly dividend distributions in accordance with our Partnership Agreement.
 
Estimated Maintenance and Replacement Capital Expenditures
 
Our Partnership Agreement requires our Board of Directors to deduct from operating surplus each quarter estimated maintenance and replacement capital expenditures, as opposed to actual maintenance and replacement capital expenditures in order to reduce disparities in operating surplus caused by fluctuating maintenance and replacement capital expenditures, such as dry-docking and vessel replacement. Because of the substantial capital expenditures we are required to make to maintain our fleet, our initial annual estimated maintenance and replacement capital expenditures for purposes of estimating maintenance and replacement capital expenditures will be $9.5 million per year, which is composed of $2.1 million for dry-docking and $7.5 million, including financing costs, for replacing our vessels at the end of their useful lives. The $7.5 million for future vessel replacement is based on assumptions and estimates regarding the remaining useful lives of our vessels, a long term net investment rate equivalent to our current expected long-term borrowing costs, vessel replacement values based on current market conditions and residual value of the vessels at the end of their useful lives based on current steel prices. The actual cost of replacing the vessels in our fleet will depend on a number of factors, including prevailing market conditions, hire rates and the availability and cost of financing at the time of replacement. Our Board of Directors, with the approval of the conflicts committee, may determine that one or more of our assumptions should be revised, which could cause our Board of Directors to increase the amount of estimated maintenance and replacement capital expenditures. We may elect to finance some or all of our maintenance and replacement capital expenditures through the issuance of additional common units which could be dilutive to existing unitholders.
 
 
61

 
 
Cash Flows
 
The following table summarizes our net cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities and our cash and cash equivalents for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
 
 
Year Ended December
31,
 
2013
 
2012
 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
Net cash provided by operating activities
  $ 44,204     $ 27,902  
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities
           
Net cash used in financing activities
    (38,527 )     (27,902 )
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
           
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year
  $ 5,677     $  
 
 
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities. Net cash flows provided by operating activities increased by $16.3 million, or 58.4%, to $44.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2013, compared to $27.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase is primarily attributable to the significantly reduced settlements that we performed during the year ended December 31, 2013 towards our Manager, the increase in cash generated from charter revenues and the lack of dry dock related expenditures, counterbalanced by the increase in settlements towards our suppliers of approximately $7.0 million.
 
Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities was nil in the years ended December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012.
 
Net Cash Used in Financing Activities. Net cash used in financing activities was $38.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2013, consisting mainly of debt repayment of $380.7 million, increase in restricted cash by $15.2 million and payment of $1.0 million in financing costs in relation with our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility, which were offset by the $214.1 million proceeds from such facility, the $138.8 million net cash proceeds from the IPO we completed in November 2013 and the $5.5 million drawn under our $30 million revolving facility with our Sponsor.  Net cash used in financing activities was $27.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, consisting mainly of debt repayment of $124.9 million, payment of $116.6 million in outstanding principal in connection with the unsecured loan given to us by a corporation controlled by the Prokopiou Family in previous years, payment of $2 million in financing costs and an increase of $4.5 million in restricted cash, which were offset by the proceeds from the refinancing of Ob River and Clean Energy of $220 million.
 
Dividends
 
On February 14, 2014, we paid a partial cash distribution for the fourth quarter of 2013 of $5.2 million or $0.1746 per unit, prorated from the IPO closing date through December 31, 2013 to all unitholders on record as of February 10, 2014 based on the Board of Directors decision made on January 31, 2014. This distribution corresponds to a quarterly distribution of $0.365 per outstanding unit, or $1.46 per outstanding unit on an annualized basis. In the future, the declaration and payment of dividends, if any, will always be subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors.
 
Our Borrowing Activities
 
Our Loan Agreements
 
Amounts Outstanding as of
 
(In millions of U.S. dollars)
 
December 31, 2013
 
 
December 31, 2012
 
$128 Million Clean Force Credit Facility
 
$
-
 
 
$
87,625
 
$150 Million Clean Energy Credit  Facility
 
$
-
 
 
$
139,500
 
$193 Million Ob River Credit Facility
 
$
-
 
 
$
153,590
 
Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility
 
$
214,085
   
$
-
 
Total interest bearing debt
 
$
214,085
 
 
$
380,715
 

 
$140 Million Shareholder Loan
 
On February 9, 2004, we entered into a $140 million unsecured credit facility with a corporation owned by members of the Prokopiou Family. We used the proceeds from this facility to partially finance the construction costs of the vessels in our fleet and for working capital to fund general corporate purposes. This facility bore no interest, and was fully repaid in April 2012.
 
$30 Million Revolving Credit Facility
 
On November 18, 2013, concurrently with the consummation of our IPO, we entered into an interest free $30.0 million revolving credit facility with our Sponsor, with an original term of five years from the closing date, to be used for general partnership purposes. The loan may be drawn and be prepaid in whole or in part at any time during the life of the facility. As of December 31, 2013, $5.5 million were drawn down under the facility, which were repaid early in January 2014.
 
 
62

 
 
$128 Million Clean Force Credit Facility
 
On May 9, 2006 we entered into a $128 million secured credit facility with The Royal Bank of Scotland NV (ex ABN Amro Bank NV), to partly finance the acquisition of the Clean Force . This facility bore interest at LIBOR plus a margin and was repayable in 48 consecutive quarterly installments of $2.1 million each over 12 years plus a balloon payment of $26 million due at maturity. This facility was secured by, among other things, a first priority mortgage over the Clean Force . In connection with our IPO, the then outstanding loan balance of $79.1 million was fully repaid from a portion of the proceeds from our IPO and the proceeds from our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility and the related security under the facility was released.
 
$129.75 Million Clean Energy Credit Facility
 
On May 9, 2005 we entered into a $129.75 million secured credit facility with The Royal Bank of Scotland plc. to partly finance the acquisition of the Clean Energy . This facility bore interest at LIBOR plus a margin. This facility was repayable in 40 consecutive quarterly installments of $1.8 million each, plus a balloon payment of $57.8 million due at maturity in 2017. As of December 31, 2011, the outstanding balance of this facility was $95.6 million, which was subsequently repaid and refinanced in full on March 2012 upon our entrance into the $150 Million Clean Energy Credit Facility.
 
$150 Million Clean Energy Credit Facility
 
On January 30, 2012, we entered into a secured loan facility for up to $150 million with Credit Suisse to refinance our $129.75 Million Clean Energy Credit Facility. This facility bore interest at LIBOR plus a margin, and was repayable in 20 consecutive quarterly installments of $3.5 million each, plus a balloon payment of $80 million due at maturity in March 2017. This facility was secured by, among other things, a first priority mortgage over the Clean Energy and a 2005-built panamax tanker which is beneficially owned by members of the Prokopiou Family. In connection with our IPO, the then outstanding loan balance of $129 million was fully repaid from a portion of the proceeds of the IPO and the Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility and the related security under the facility was released.
 
$193 Million Ob River Credit Facility
 
On October 20, 2005 we entered into a ten-year $123 million credit facility with The Royal Bank of Scotland plc to partly finance the acquisition of the Ob River , which we refer to as the First Ob River Credit Facility. On February 29, 2012, we amended and restated the First Ob River Credit Facility to refinance our indebtedness under the loan by increasing the amount available to $193 million. This facility bore interest at LIBOR plus a margin and was repayable in two tranches. Under the first tranche, $92.2 million of existing debt was repayable in 22 quarterly installments of $1.7 million each over 5.5 years, with a balloon payment of $54.6 million due in July 2017. Under the second tranche, $70.0 million of new indebtedness was repayable in 20 quarterly installments of $3.5 million each, beginning October 2012. This facility was secured by, among other things, a first priority mortgage over the Ob River . On October 29, 2013, we agreed with our lender to defer a principal payment installment of $5.2 million payable in October 2013 to the balloon payment due in July 2017. In connection with our IPO, the then outstanding loan balance of $138.0 million was fully repaid from the proceeds of the IPO and the Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility and the related security under the facility was released.
 
The secured credit facilities described above were generally secured by   first priority mortgages on our vessels and certain tanker vessels beneficially owned by the Prokopiou Family, guarantees by Dynagas Ltd , assignments of the earnings, insurances and requisition compensation of our vessels, pledges of the operating accounts of our vessels and   assignments of rights and interests in charter party agreements. The credit facilities further contained financial and restrictive covenants which required us, among other things, to   maintain minimum liquidity of $30 million, maintain an asset coverage ratio of between 125% and 130%, depending on the credit facility,   deposit $15 million as collateral into a reserve account at any time the Clean Force is not operating under an approved charter and prohibited us from paying dividends to unitholders, incurring additional indebtedness or   reducing our share capital without the prior written consent of our lenders.
 
As of December 31, 2012 we were not in compliance with certain restrictive and financial covenants in our loan facilities and as a result, all of our outstanding debt was classified as a current liability. On July 19, 2013, one of our lenders declared an event of default under one of our credit facilities. On October 29, 2013, our lenders (i) provided us with their consent to issue guarantees under three of our Sponsor's credit facilities and to repay the $140 Million Shareholder Loan, and (ii) waived their rights in respect of our non-compliance with the minimum liquidity requirement of $30.0 million contained in the $193 Million Ob River Facility until September 30, 2014, which are described in Note 6 of our audited consolidated financial statements included in "Item 18. Financial Statements" of this annual report. As also previously discussed, all the above mentioned loans were fully repaid upon consummation of our IPO.
 
Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility
 
On November 14, 2013, in connection with the closing of the IPO, we entered into an agreement with and affiliate of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC for a senior secured revolving credit facility of up to $262.1 million of which $214.1 million were drawn upon closing of the IPO, which, together with the net proceeds of the IPO, was used to repay all of our existing outstanding indebtedness at that time, including the $128 Million Clean Force Credit Facility, $150 Million Clean Energy Credit Facility and $193 Million Ob River Credit Facility.  We refer to this credit facility as the Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility.  This facility is secured by a first priority or preferred cross-collateralized mortgage on each of the Clean Force , Clean Energy and Ob River , a first priority assignment of all charters, earnings, insurances and requisition compensation and corporate guarantees . The loan bears interest at LIBOR plus a margin. We may draw down this facility no more than four times each year, and only so long as the asset coverage ratio, which is the ratio of our outstanding indebtedness under the facility to the aggregate market value of our vessels, is 130%. The available amount to be drawn under the facility will be reduced each quarter for 14 consecutive quarters by $5 million for the first 13 quarters and by approximately $197 million for the fourteenth quarter. In case that the aggregate outstanding amount of the facility is greater than the amount available under the facility as reducing from time to time, the amount exceeded shall be repaid at that point of time.
 
 
63

 
 
Certain of the financial and other covenants require us to:
 
 
·
maintain total consolidated liabilities of less than 65% of the total consolidated market value of our adjusted total assets;
 
 
·
maintain an interest coverage ratio of at least 3.0 times;
 
 
·
maintain minimum liquidity equal to at least $22.0 million and
 
 
·
maintain a hull cover ratio, being the aggregate of the vessels' market values and the net realizable value of any additional security, no less than 130%.
 
Additionally, the terms of the Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility require that the Prokopiou Family owns or controls at least 30% of our share capital and voting rights and that our Manager continue to carry out our commercial and technical management. The facility also restricts us from paying distributions if an event of default occurs. As of December 31, 2013, we were in compliance with all financial and restrictive covenants imposed by our lenders.
 
As of December 31, 2013 and as of the date of this annual report, we had $214.1 million of principal balance outstanding under our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility.
 
Our Sponsor's Loan Agreements
 
We had guaranteed three credit agreements of our Sponsor, with outstanding borrowings of an aggregate of up to $795.9 million, which are secured by five of the Optional Vessels, the Yenisei River , the Lena River , the Clean Ocean, the Clean Planet and the Arctic Aurora. The guarantees have been provided through certain of our subsidiaries, including the subsidiaries that own the vessels comprising our Fleet. On October 31, 2013 and November 1, 2013, our Sponsor entered into binding commitments with its lenders to amend these three credit agreements and released us from our obligations as guarantor.
 
C.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, PATENTS AND LICENSES
 
None.
 
D.
TREND INFORMATION
 
Historically spot and short term charter hire rates for LNG carriers have been uncertain and volatile as has the supply and demand for LNG carriers. An excess of LNG carriers first became evident in 2004 before reaching a peak in the second quarter of 2010 when spot and short term charter hire rates together with utilization reached historic lows.  Due to a lack of newbuilding orders placed between 2008 and 2010, this trend then reversed from the third quarter of 2010, such that the demand for LNG shipping was not being met by available supply in 2011 and the first half of 2012. Spot and short-medium term charter hire rates together with fleet utilization reached historic highs as a result.
 
Charter rates for LNG vessels were muted in 2013, due to marginal addition in the liquefaction capacity compared with high vessel deliveries. The global LNG fleet was augmented by the delivery of 16 vessels during 2013, which added 2.5m cbm, while 5.2 mtpa Angola LNG was the only addition in global liquefaction capacity. Factors such as the supply disruptions at Nigeria LNG and the shutdown of the Qatargas train 7 also reduced cargo volumes in 2013.
 
The 2013 average long-term charter rate for a vessel with a capacity of 155,000 cbm was US$ 90,000/day, similar to the level recorded in 2012. Short-term charter rate (charter period between one and three years) was the worst affected, as it declined from US$ 131,000/day in 2012 to US$ 95,000/day in 2013.
 
E.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
 
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements .
 
 
64

 
 
F.
CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
 
The following table sets forth our contractual obligations and their maturity dates as of December 31, 2013, giving effect to the Executive Services Agreement we entered into on March 21, 2014 with retroactive effect to the closing date of the IPO:
 
 
Payments due by period
 
Obligations
Total
 
Less than 1 year
 
1-3 years
 
3-5 years
 
More than 5 years
 
(in thousands of Dollars)
 
 
Long Term Debt (1)
 
$
214,085
 
 
$
-
 
 
$
11,960
 
 
$
202,125
 
 
$
-
 
Interest on long term debt (2)
 
 
23,201
 
 
 
6,721
 
 
 
13,390
 
 
 
3,090
 
 
 
-
 
Management Fees & commissions payable to the Manager (3)
 
 
25,143
 
 
 
3,892
 
 
 
7,958
 
 
 
6,648
 
 
 
6,645
 
Executive Services fee (4)
   
3,616
     
742
     
1,484
     
1,390
     
-
 
Total
 
$
266,045
 
 
$
11,355
 
 
$
34,792
 
 
$
213,253
 
 
$
6,645
 
___________________
 
(1)
As further discussed in Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report, the outstanding balance of our long-term bank debt at December 31, 2013, was $214.1 million. The loan bears interest at LIBOR plus margin. The contractual obligations table above sets forth our loan repayment obligations without taking into account the outstanding balance of $5.5 million due to our Sponsor as of December 31, 2013, which was repaid early in January 2014.
 
(2)
Our long-term bank debt outstanding as of December 31, 2013 bears variable interest at a margin over LIBOR. The calculation of interest payments has been made assuming interest rates based on the 3-month LIBOR, the period LIBOR specific to our facility, as of December 31, 2013 and our applicable margin rate.
 
(3)
On December 21, 2012, we entered into new management agreements with the Manager effective from January 1, 2013 with an eight year term pursuant to which we agreed to pay a management fee of $2,500 per day with an annual increase of 3%, subject to further annual increases to reflect material unforeseen costs increases of providing the management services, by an amount to be agreed between us and our Manager, which amount will be reviewed and approved by our conflicts committee. The Management Agreements also provide for commissions of 1.25% of charter-hire revenues arranged by the Manager. The agreements will terminate automatically after a change of control of the applicable shipping subsidiary and/or of the owner's ultimate parent, in which case an amount equal to fees of at the least 36 months and not more than 60 months, will become payable to the Manager.
 
(4)
On March 21, 2014, we entered into the Executive Services Agreement with our Manager, with retroactive effect to the date of the closing of our IPO, pursuant to which our Manager provides us with the services of our executive officers, who report directly to our Board of Directors.  Under the Executive Services Agreement, our Manager is entitled to an executive services fee of €538,000 per annum, for the initial five year term, payable in equal monthly installments. The agreement has an initial term of five years and will automatically be renewed for successive five year terms unless terminated earlier.  The calculation of the contractual services fee set forth in the table above assumes an exchange rate of  1.000 to $1.3791, the EURO/USD exchange rate as of December 31, 2013 and does not include any incentive compensation which our Board of Directors may agree to pay.
 
 
Capital Commitments
 
Possible Acquisitions of Other Vessels
 
Although we do not currently have in place any agreements relating to acquisitions of other vessels (other than our right to purchase each Optional Vessel subject to the provisions of the Omnibus Agreement), we assess potential acquisition opportunities on a regular basis.
 
Pursuant to the Omnibus Agreement that we have entered into with our Sponsor and our General Partner, we also have the right, but not the obligation, to purchase any LNG carriers acquired or placed under contracts with an initial term of four or more years, for so long as the Omnibus Agreement is in full force and effect. Subject to the terms of our loan agreements, we could elect to fund any future acquisitions with equity or debt or cash on hand or a combination of these forms of consideration. Any debt incurred for this purpose could make us more leveraged and subject us to additional operational or financial covenants.
 
G.
SAFE HARBOR
 
See the section entitled "Forward Looking Statements" at the beginning of this annual report.
 

 
65

 

ITEM 6.
DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES
 
A.
DIRECTORS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT
 
The following provides information about each of our directors and senior management.  The business address for these individuals is 7 Poseidonos Avenue & 2 Foivis Street Glyfada, 16674, Greece.
 

Name
Age
Position
George Prokopiou
67
Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Tony Lauritzen
37
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Michael Gregos
42
Chief Financial Officer
Levon Dedegian
62
Director
Alexios Rodopoulos
65
Director
Evangelos Vlahoulis
68
Director

 
Certain biographical information about each of our directors and executive officers is set forth below.
 
George Prokopiou. Mr. George Prokopiou has served as our Chairman of our Board of Directors since our inception. Since entering the shipping business in 1974, Mr. Prokopiou has managed a shipping fleet consisting in excess of 250 vessels and is among other, the founder of Dynacom Tankers Management, Sea Traders and Dynagas Ltd., our Manager. Dynacom was founded in 1991 to manage tankers and Sea Traders SA was founded in 1974 to manage bulk carriers. Since 2002, companies controlled by Mr. Prokopiou have built more than 93 vessels at shipyards in South Korea, Japan and China. Mr. Prokopiou holds a civil engineering degree from the National Technical University of Athens. Mr. Prokopiou has also served as Chairman of the North of England P&I Association. He is Chairman of the Greek committee of Bureau Veritas, as well as member of the Greek committees of Germanischer Lloyd, Det Norske Veritas, Lloyd's Register and ABS. In 2005 Dynacom was awarded Tanker Company of the Year award in 2005 by Lloyd's List.
 
Tony Lauritzen.  Mr. Tony Lauritzen has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Mr. Lauritzen has served on our Board of Directors since our inception. Mr. Lauritzen has been the commercial manager of our Sponsor's LNG activities from 2006 to date. He joined the company when the first vessel was delivered in 2007. He worked for the shipowner and shipmanager Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement Ltd. from 2004 until 2007 where he was project manager with a focus on the gas shipping segment. Prior to that, he worked for Westshore Shipbrokers AS in the offshore shipbroking segment. He holds a Master of Science in Shipping Trade and Finance from Cass Business School, London from 2003 and a Master of Arts in Business and Finance from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh from 2002. Mr. Lauritzen is married to Marina Kalliope Prokopiou, daughter of our Chairman George Prokopiou.
 
Michael Gregos. Mr. Michael Gregos has served as our Chief Financial Officer since our inception. From  2010 until 2014, Mr. Gregos  served on the board of Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ: ORIG). Mr. Gregos has served as commercial manager of the activities of Dynacom Tankers Management since 2009. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Gregos served as Chief Operating Officer of OceanFreight Inc. a shipping transportation company listed on NASDAQ. Prior to that, Mr. Gregos was commercial manager of the activities of Dynacom Tankers Management. Mr. Gregos has also worked for Oceania Maritime Agency, a shipping transportation company in Connecticut, USA and ATE Finance the corporate finance arm of Agricultural Bank of Greece responsible for the implementation of initial public offerings in the Greek equities market. He is a graduate of Queen Mary University in London and holds an M.Sc. in Shipping, Trade and Finance from City University.
 
Levon A. Dedegian. Mr. Levon A. Dedegian has served as one of our directors since the closing of our IPO in November 2013 and also serves as Chairman of our conflicts committee. Mr. Dedegian has been involved in shipping since 1975 with various companies and positions. From 1978 to 1984, he served as general manager of Sea Traders. In 1985, he joined S.S.R.S. Ltd., a member of the Manley Hopkins Group of Companies. In 1987 he was transferred to Hong Kong, where he stayed until 1988 as a Managing Director of each of Gapco Trading and Agencies Limited, Bridge Energy ASA and Elf Agriculture. He was relocated to Greece at the end of 1988 as Managing Director of the Greek office of P. Wigham Richardson Shipbrokers and in 1989 he rejoined Sea Traders and Dynacom Tankers Management as general manager where he remained until December 31, 2009. Mr. Dedegian is a graduate of Pierce College (the American College of Greece) and holds a Bsc in Business Administration and Economics.
 
Alexios Rodopoulos.   Mr. Alexios Rodopoulos has served as one of our directors since the closing of our IPO in November 2013 and also serves as Chairman of our audit committee. Mr. Rodopoulos is an independent shipping business consultant, operating through his family-owned company, Rodofin Business Consultants Ltd. From 1999 until 2011 Mr. Rodopoulos served as the Head of Shipping (Piraeus) of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Mr. Rodopoulos is a graduate of the Economic University of Athens, Greece.
 
Evangelos Vlahoulis. Mr. Evangelos Vlahoulis has served as one of our directors since the closing of our IPO in November 2013 and also serves as Chairman of the Compensation Committee. Since 2005, Mr. Vlahoulis has served as Chief Executive Officer of Finship S.A. which provides maritime financing services including to Deutsche Bank in connection with their shipping activities in Greece. From 1984 until 2005 Mr. Vlahoulis served as the representative for Greek shipping of Deutsche Schiffsbank (the predecessor to Commercebank AB). Mr. Vlahoulis is a graduate of London University and holds a BA in Economics.
 
 
66

 
 
Reimbursement of Expenses of Our General Partner
 
Our General Partner does not receive compensation from us for any services it provides on our behalf, although it will be entitled to reimbursement for expenses incurred on our behalf.  In addition, we will reimburse our Manager for expenses incurred pursuant to the management and administrative services agreement.  Please see "Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions."
 
Executive Compensation
 
Our executive officers are provided to us by our Manager under an Executive Services Agreement with retroactive effect from the closing date of our IPO, pursuant to which Dynagas Ltd. provides the services of our executive officers, who report directly to our Board of Directors. Under the agreement, our Manager  is entitled to an executive services fee of €538,000 per annum, for the initial five year term, payable in equal monthly installments and automatically renews for successive five year terms unless terminated earlier.
 
B.       COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS
 
Our chief executive officer who also serves as our director will not receive additional compensation for his service as director.  Each non-management director will receive compensation for attending meetings of our Board of Directors, as well as committee meetings.  Non-management directors will receive director fees of approximately $140,000 per year, in aggregate. In addition, each director will be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses in connection with attending meetings of the Board of Directors or committees.  Each director will be fully indemnified by us for actions associated with being a director to the extent permitted under Marshall Islands law.
 
 
C.
BOARD PRACTICES
 
General
 
Pursuant to the terms of our Partnership Agreement, our General Partner has delegated to our Board of Directors the authority to oversee and direct our operations, management and policies on an exclusive basis, and such delegation will be binding on any successor general partner of the partnership. Our General Partner is wholly-owned by our Sponsor. Our executive officers, who are employed by us, will manage our day-to-day activities consistent with the policies and procedures adopted by our Board of Directors.
 
Our Board of Directors consists of five members appointed by our General Partner, George Prokopiou, Tony Lauritzen, Levon A. Dedegian, Alexios Rodopoulos and Evangelos Vlahoulis.  Our Board of Directors has determined that all of the directors, other than George Prokopiou and Tony Lauritzen, satisfy the independence standards established by NASDAQ, as applicable to us.  Following our first annual meeting of unitholders, our board will consist of five members, two of whom will be appointed by our General Partner in its sole discretion and three of whom will be elected by our common unitholders.  Directors appointed by our General Partner will serve as directors for terms determined by our General Partner.  Directors elected by our common unitholders are divided into three classes serving staggered three-year terms.  Three of the five directors initially appointed by our General Partner will serve until our first annual meeting in 2014, at which time they will be replaced by three directors nominated by our General Partner and elected by our common unitholders. One of the three directors elected by our common unitholders will be designated as the Class I elected director and will serve until our annual meeting of unitholders in 2015, another of the three directors will be designated as the Class II elected director and will serve until our annual meeting of unitholders in 2016, and the remaining director will be designated as our Class III elected director and will serve until our annual meeting of unitholders in 2017. At each subsequent annual meeting of unitholders, directors will be elected to succeed the class of directors whose terms have expired by a plurality of the votes of the common unitholders. Directors elected by our common unitholders will be nominated by the Board of Directors or by any limited partner or group of limited partners that holds at least 15% of the outstanding common units.
 
Each outstanding common unit is entitled to one vote on matters subject to a vote of common unitholders. However, to preserve our ability to be exempt from U.S. federal income tax under Section 883 of the Code, if at any time, any person or group owns beneficially more than 4.9% of any class of units then outstanding, any such units owned by that person or group in excess of 4.9% may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes (except for purposes of nominating a person for election to our board), determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes under our Partnership Agreement, unless otherwise required by law. The voting rights of any such unitholders in excess of 4.9% will effectively be redistributed pro rata among the other common unitholders holding less than 4.9% of the voting power of all classes of units entitled to vote. Our General Partner, its affiliates and persons who acquired common units with the prior approval of our Board of Directors will not be subject to this 4.9% limitation except with respect to voting their common units in the election of the elected directors.
 
Committees
 
We have an audit committee that, among other things, reviews our external financial reporting function, engages our external auditors and oversees our internal audit activities and procedures and the adequacy of our internal accounting controls.  Our audit committee is comprised of two directors, Evangelos Vlahoulis and Alexios Rodopoulos.  Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Vlahoulis and Mr. Rodopoulos satisfy the independence standards established by NASDAQ.  Mr. Rodopoulos qualifies as an "audit committee expert" for purposes of SEC rule and regulations.
 
 
67

 
 
We also have a conflicts committee comprised of two members of our Board of Directors.  The conflicts committee will be available at the board's discretion to review specific matters that the board believes may involve conflicts of interest.  The conflicts committee will determine if the resolution of the conflict of interest is fair and reasonable to us.  The members of the conflicts committee may not be officers or employees of us or directors, officers or employees of our general partner or its affiliates, and must meet the independence standards established by NASDAQ to serve on an audit committee of a Board of Directors and certain other requirements.  Any matters approved by the conflicts committee will be conclusively deemed to be fair and reasonable to us, approved by all of our partners, and not a breach by our directors, our general partner or its affiliates of any duties any of them may owe us or our unitholders.  Our conflicts committee is currently comprised of Levon A. Dedegian and Alexios Rodopoulos.  For additional information about the conflicts committee, please see "Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties."
 
We also have a compensation committee comprised of two members of our Board of Directors. The compensation committee is responsible for carry out the Board's responsibilities relating to compensation of our executive officers and provide such other guidance with respect to compensation matters as the Committee deems appropriate.
 
Exemptions from NASDAQ Corporate Governance Rules
 
We have certified to NASDAQ that our corporate governance practices are in compliance with, and are not prohibited by, the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.  Therefore, we are exempt from many of NASDAQ's corporate governance practices other than the requirements regarding the disclosure of a going concern audit opinion, submission of a listing agreement, notification to NASDAQ of non-compliance with NASDAQ corporate governance practices, prohibition on disparate reduction or restriction of shareholder voting rights, and the establishment of an audit committee satisfying NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(c)(3) and ensuring that such audit committee's members meet the independence requirement of Listing Rule 5605(c)(2)(A)(ii).  The practices we follow in lieu of NASDAQ's corporate governance rules applicable to U.S. domestic issuers are as follows:
 
Audit Committee. NASDAQ requires, among other things, that a listed U.S. company have an audit committee with a minimum of three members, all of whom are independent. As permitted by Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act, our audit committee is comprised of two independent directors.
 
Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee. NASDAQ requires that director nominees be selected, or recommended for the board's selection, either by a nominating committee comprised solely of independent directors or by a majority of independent directors.  Each listed company also must certify that it has adopted a formal charter or board resolution addressing the nominations process.  As permitted under Marshall Islands law and our Partnership Agreement, we do not currently have a nominating or corporate governance committee.
 
Executive Sessions.   NASDAQ requires that non-management directors meet regularly in executive sessions without management. NASDAQ also requires that all independent directors meet in an executive session at least once a year.  As permitted under Marshall Islands law and our Partnership Agreement, our non-management directors do not regularly hold executive sessions without management and we do not expect them to do so in the future.
 
Corporate Governance Guidelines.   NASDAQ requires that a listed U.S. Company adopt a code of conduct applicable to all directors and officers, which must provide for an enforcement mechanism. Disclosure of any director or officer's waiver of the code and the reasons for such waiver is required. We are not required to adopt such guidelines under Marshall Islands law and we have adopted such guidelines.
 
Proxies. As a foreign private issuer, we are not required to solicit proxies or provide proxy statements to NASDAQ pursuant to NASDAQ corporate governance rules or Marshall Islands law. Consistent with Marshall Islands law and as provided in our Partnership Agreement, we will notify our unitholders of meetings between 15 and 60 days before the meeting. This notification will contain, among other things, information regarding business to be transacted at the meeting. In addition, our Partnership Agreement provides that unitholders must give us between 150 and 180 days advance notice to properly introduce any business at a meeting of unitholders.
 
Other than as noted above, we are in compliance with all NASDAQ corporate governance standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. We believe that our established corporate governance practices satisfy NASDAQ's listing standards.
 
 
D.
EMPLOYEES
 
As of December 31, 2013, we did not employ any onshore or offshore staff.  Our Manager has provided and continues to provide us with commercial and technical management services, including all necessary crew-related services, to our vessel owning subsidiaries pursuant to the Management Agreements.  Please see " Item 4. Information on the Partnership—B. Business Overview— Vessel Management."
 
 
E.
UNIT OWNERSHIP
 
"Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—A. Major Unitholders."
 
 
68

 
 
ITEM 7.
MAJOR UNITHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
 
A.
MAJOR UNITHOLDERS
 
The following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of our common units and subordinated units as of March 21, 2014 by each person that we know to beneficially own more than 5% of our outstanding common or subordinated units. The number of units beneficially owned by each person is determined under SEC rules and the information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose:
 
 
 
Common Units
Beneficially Owned
 
Subordinated Units
Beneficially Owned
 
Percentage of Total
Common and
Subordinated Units
Name of Beneficial Owner
 
Number
 
Percent
 
Number
 
Percent
 
Beneficially Owned
Dynagas Holding Ltd. (1)
 
610,000
   
4.1
%
 
14,985,000
   
100
%
 
52.0
%
Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP (2)
 
2,792,150
 
 
18.6
%
 
 
 
 
 
9.3
%
Goldman Sachs Asset Management LP (3)
 
1,590,300
 
 
10.6
%
 
 
 
 
 
5.3
%
Zimmer Partners, LP
 
1,168,563
   
7.8
%
 
   
   
3.9
%
___________________

(1)
Dynagas Holding Ltd. is beneficially owned by the Prokopiou family, including George Prokopiou and his daughters Elisavet Prokopiou, Johanna Prokopiou, Marina Kalliope Prokopiou, and Maria Eleni Prokopiou, which collectively have a business address at 97 Poseidonos Avenue & 2 Foivis Street Glyfada, 16674, Greece.
 
(2)
Based on information contained in the Schedule 13G that was filed with the SEC on February 5, 2014 by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP.
 
(3)
Based on information contained in the Schedule 13G that was filed with the SEC on February 13, 2014 by Goldman Sachs Asset Management LP.
 
(4)
Based on information contained in the Schedule 13G that was filed with the SEC on February 14, 2014 by Zimmer Partners, LP .
 
As of March 21, 2014, we had one unitholder of record located in the United States, CEDE & CO., a nominee of The Depository Trust Company, which held an aggregate of 14,375,000 common units, representing 92.18% of our outstanding common units. We believe that the shares held by CEDE & CO. include common units beneficially owned by both holders in the United States and non-U.S. beneficial owners.
 
We are controlled by our Sponsor. We are not aware of any arrangements, the operation of which may at a subsequent date result in a change in control of us.
 
B.
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
 
From time to time we have entered into agreements and have consummated transactions with certain related parties.  We may enter into related party transactions from time to time in the future. In connection with our IPO, we established a conflicts committee, comprised entirely of independent directors, which must approve all proposed material related party transactions.
 
Omnibus Agreement

On November 18, 2013, we entered into the Omnibus Agreement with the other parties thereto.  The following discussion describes certain provisions of the Omnibus Agreement.
 
Noncompetition

Under the Omnibus Agreement, our Sponsor has agreed, and has caused its affiliates (other than us, and our subsidiaries) to agree, not to acquire, own, operate or contract for any LNG carrier operating under a charter with an initial term of four or more years after the closing of our IPO. We refer to these LNG carriers, together with any related contracts, as "Four-Year LNG carriers" and to all other LNG carriers, together with any related contracts, as "Non-Four-Year LNG carriers." The restrictions in this paragraph will not prevent our Sponsor or any of its controlled affiliates (including us and our subsidiaries) from:
 
 
(1)
acquiring, owning, operating or chartering Non-Four-Year LNG carriers;
 
 
(2)
acquiring or owning one or more Four-Year LNG carrier(s) if our Sponsor offers to sell the LNG carrier to us for the acquisition price plus any administrative costs (including reasonable legal costs) associated with the transfer to us at the time of the acquisition and we do not fulfill our obligations to purchase the LNG carrier in accordance with the terms of the Omnibus Agreement;
 
 
(3)
employing a Non-Four-Year LNG carrier under a charter with a term of four or more years if our Sponsor offers to sell the LNG carrier to us at fair market value (x) promptly after becoming a Four-Year LNG carrier and (y) at each renewal or extension of that contract for four or more years;
 
 
69

 
 
 
(4)
acquiring one or more Four-Year LNG carrier(s) as part of the acquisition of a controlling interest in a business or package of assets and owning, operating or chartering for such LNG carrier(s); provided, however, that if a majority of the value of the business or assets acquired is attributable to Four-Year LNG carriers, as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of our Sponsor, it must offer to sell such Four-Year LNG carrier(s) to us at a purchase price pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Omnibus Agreement plus any additional tax or other similar costs that our Sponsor incurs in connection with the acquisition and the transfer of such LNG carriers to us separate from the acquired business;
 
 
(5)
acquiring a non-controlling interest in any company, business or pool of assets;
 
 
(6)
acquiring, owning, operating or chartering any Four-Year LNG carrier if we do not fulfill our obligation to purchase such LNG carrier in accordance with the terms of the Omnibus agreement;
 
 
(7)
acquiring, owning, operating or chartering a Four-Year LNG carrier that is subject to the offers to us described in paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) above pending our determination whether to accept such offers and pending the closing of any offers we accept;
 
 
(8)
providing vessel management services relating to LNG carriers;
 
 
(9)
owning or operating any Four-Year LNG carrier that our Sponsor owned and operated as of the closing date of the IPO, and that was not included in the Initial Fleet; ; and
 
 
(10)
acquiring, owning, operating or chartering any Four-Year LNG carrier if we have previously advised our Sponsor that we consent to such acquisition, operation or charter.
 
If our Sponsor or any of its controlled affiliates (other than us or our subsidiaries) acquires, owns, operates or contracts for Four-Year LNG carriers pursuant to any of the exceptions described above, it may not subsequently expand that portion of its business other than pursuant to those exceptions.
 
Under the Omnibus Agreement we are not be restricted from acquiring, operating or chartering Non-Four-Year LNG carriers.
 
Upon a change of control of us or our General Partner, the noncompetition provisions of the Omnibus Agreement will terminate immediately. Upon a change of control of our Sponsor, the noncompetition provisions of the Omnibus Agreement applicable to our Sponsor will terminate at the time that is the later of (1) the date of the change of control of our Sponsor and (2) the date on which all of our outstanding subordinated units have converted to common units. In addition, on the date on which a majority of our directors ceases to consist of directors that were (1) appointed by our General Partner prior to our first annual meeting of unitholders and (2) recommended for election by a majority of our appointed directors, the noncompetition provisions applicable to our Sponsor shall terminate immediately.
 
Rights to Purchase Optional Vessels
 
We have the right to purchase the Optional Vessels from our Sponsor at a purchase price to be determined pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Omnibus Agreement. These purchase rights expire 24 months following the respective delivery of each Optional Vessel from the shipyard. If we are unable to agree with our Sponsor on the purchase price of any of the Optional Vessels, the respective purchase price will be determined by an independent appraiser, such as an investment banking firm, broker or firm generally recognized in the shipping industry as qualified to perform the tasks for which such firm has been engaged, and we have the right, but not the obligation, to purchase each vessel at such price. The independent appraiser will be mutually appointed by our Sponsor and our conflicts committee. Please see "Risk Factors—Our Sponsor may be unable to service its debt requirements and comply with the provisions contained in the credit agreements secured by the Optional Vessels. If our Sponsor fails to perform its obligations under its loan agreements, our business and expected plans for growth may be materially affected."
 
Rights of First Offer on LNG carriers

Under the Omnibus Agreement, we and our subsidiaries have granted to our Sponsor the right of first offer on any proposed sale, transfer or other disposition of any LNG carrier owned by us. Under the Omnibus Agreement, our Sponsor has agreed (and will cause their subsidiaries to agree) to grant a similar right of first offer to us for any Four-Year LNG carriers they own. These rights of first offer will not apply to (a) with respect to the Sponsor, a sale, transfer or other disposition of assets between or among any of its subsidiaries (other than us) and with respect to us, a sale, transfer or other disposition of assets between or among any of our subsidiaries (other than the Sponsor, if applicable), or pursuant to the terms of any contract or other agreement with a contractual counterparty existing at the time of the closing of our IPO or (b) a merger with or into, or sale of substantially all of the assets to, an unaffiliated third-party.
 
 
70

 
 
Prior to engaging in any negotiation regarding any LNG carrier's disposition with respect to a Four-Year LNG carrier with a non-affiliated third party, we or our Sponsor, as the case may be, will deliver a written notice to the other relevant party setting forth the material terms and conditions of the proposed transaction. During the 30-day period after the delivery of such notice, we and our Sponsor will negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement on the transaction. If we do not reach an agreement within such 30-day period, we or our Sponsor, as the case may be, will be able within the next 180 calendar days to sell, transfer, dispose or re-contract the LNG carrier to a third party (or to agree in writing to undertake such transaction with a third party) on terms generally no less favorable to us or our Sponsor as the case may be, than those offered pursuant to the written notice.
 
Upon a change of control of us or our General Partner, the right of first offer provisions of the Omnibus Agreement will terminate immediately.
 
Upon a change of control of our Sponsor, the right of first offer provisions applicable to our Sponsor under the Omnibus Agreement will terminate at the time that is the later of the date of the change of control and the date on which all of our outstanding subordinated units have converted to common units. On the date on which a majority of our directors ceases to consist of directors that were (1) appointed by our General Partner prior to our first annual meeting of unitholders and (2) recommended for election by a majority of our appointed directors, the provisions related to the rights of first offer granted to us by our Sponsor shall terminate immediately.
 
For purposes of the Omnibus Agreement a "change of control" means, with respect to any "applicable person", any of the following events: (a) any sale, lease, exchange or other transfer (in one transaction or a series of related transactions) of all or substantially all of the applicable person's assets to any other person, unless immediately following such sale, lease, exchange or other transfer such assets are owned, directly or indirectly, by the applicable person; (b) the consolidation or merger of the applicable person with or into another person pursuant to a transaction in which the outstanding voting securities of the applicable person are changed into or exchanged for cash, securities or other property, other than any such transaction where (i) the outstanding voting securities of the applicable person are changed into or exchanged for voting securities of the surviving person or its parent and (ii) the holders of the voting securities of the applicable person immediately prior to such transaction own, directly or indirectly, not less than a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the surviving person or its parent immediately after such transaction; and (c) a "person" or "group" (within the meaning of Sections 13(d) or 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act), other than our Sponsor or its Affiliates with respect to the General Partner, being or becoming the "beneficial owner" (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Exchange Act) of more than 50% of all of the then outstanding voting securities of the applicable person, except in a merger or consolidation which would not constitute a change of control under clause (b) above.
 
Indemnification

Under the Omnibus Agreement, our Sponsor indemnifies us for a period of five years from the closing of the IPO against certain environmental and toxic tort liabilities with respect to the assets contributed or sold to us to the extent arising prior to or at the time they were contributed or sold to us.
 
Liabilities resulting from a change in law after the closing of our IPO are excluded from the environmental indemnity. There is an aggregate cap of $5 million on the amount of indemnity coverage provided by our Sponsor for environmental and toxic tort liabilities. No claim may be made unless the aggregate dollar amount of all claims exceeds $500,000, in which case our Sponsor is liable for claims only to the extent such aggregate amount exceeds $500,000.
 
Our Sponsor also indemnifies us for liabilities related to:
 
 
·
certain defects in title to our Sponsor's assets contributed or sold to us and any failure to obtain, prior to the time they were contributed or sold to us, certain consents and permits necessary to conduct, own and operate such assets, which liabilities arise within three years after the closing of our IPO (or, in the case of the seven Optional Vessels which we have rights to purchase, within three years after our purchase of them, if applicable); and
 
 
·
tax liabilities attributable to the operation of the assets contributed or sold to us prior to the time they were contributed or sold.
 
Amendments

The Omnibus Agreement may not be amended without the prior approval of the conflicts committee of our Board of Directors if the proposed amendment will, in the reasonable discretion of our Board of Directors, adversely affect holders of our common units.
 
Vessel Management

Our Manager provides us with commercial and technical management services for our fleet and certain corporate governance and administrative and support services, pursuant to three identical agreements with our three wholly-owned vessel owning subsidiaries, or the Management Agreements. Our Manager is wholly-owned by Mr. George Prokopiou and has been providing these services for the vessels in our fleet for over eight years. In addition, our Manager performs the commercial and technical management of each of the Optional Vessels, which also includes the supervision of the construction of these vessels. Through our Manager, we have had a presence in LNG shipping for over eight years, and during that time we believe our Manager has established a track record for efficient, safe and reliable operation of LNG carriers.
 
 
71

 
 
We currently pay our Manager a technical management fee of $2,575 per day for each vessel, prorated for the calendar days we own each vessel, for providing the relevant vessel owning subsidiaries with services, including engaging and providing qualified crews, maintaining the vessel, arranging supply of stores and equipment, arranging and supervising periodic dry-docking, cleaning and painting and ensuring compliance with applicable regulations, including licensing and certification requirements.
 
In addition, we pay our Manager a commercial management fee equal to 1.25% of the gross charter hire, ballast bonus which is the amount paid to the ship owner as compensation for all or a part of the cost of positioning the vessel to the port where the vessel will be delivered to the charterer, or other income earned during the course of the employment of our vessels, during the term of the management agreements, for providing the relevant vessel-owning subsidiary with services, including chartering, managing freight payment, monitoring voyage performance, and carrying out other necessary communications with the shippers, charterers and others.  In addition to such fees, we pay for any capital expenditures, financial costs, operating expenses and any general and administrative expenses, including payments to third parties, in accordance with the Management Agreements.
 
We paid an aggregate of approximately $3.7 million to our Manager in connection with the management of our fleet under the Management Agreements for the year ended December 31, 2013.
 
The term of the Management Agreements with our Manager will expire on December 31, 2020, and will renew automatically for successive eight-year terms thereafter unless earlier terminated. The technical management fee of $2,500 per day for each vessel was fixed until December 31, 2013 and will thereafter increase annually by 3%, subject to further annual increases to reflect material unforeseen costs of providing the management services, by an amount to be agreed between us and our Manager, which amount will be reviewed and approved by our conflicts committee.
 
Under the terms of the Management Agreements, we may terminate the Management Agreements upon written notice if our Manager fails to fulfill its obligations to us under the Management Agreements. The Management Agreements terminate automatically following a change of control in us. If the Management Agreements are terminated as a result of a change of control in us, then we will have to pay our Manager a termination penalty. For this purpose a change of control means (i) the acquisition of fifty percent or more by any individual, entity or group of the beneficial ownership or voting power of the outstanding shares of us or our vessel owning subsidiaries, (ii) the consummation of a reorganization, merger or consolidation of us and/or our vessel owning subsidiaries or the sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of our assets or those of our vessel owning subsidiaries and (iii) the approval of a complete liquidation or dissolution of us and/or our vessel owning subsidiaries. Additionally, the Management Agreements may be terminated by our Manager with immediate effect if, among other things, (i) we fail to meet our obligations and/or make due payments within ten business days from receipt of invoices, (ii) upon a sale or total loss of a vessel (with respect to that vessel), or (iii) if we file for bankruptcy.
 
Pursuant to the terms of the Management Agreements, liability of our Manager to us is limited to instances of negligence, gross negligence or willful default on the part of our Manager. Further, we are required to indemnify our Manager for liabilities incurred by our Manager in performance of the Management Agreements, except in instances of negligence, gross negligence or willful default on the part of our Manager.
 
Additional LNG carriers that we acquire in the future may be managed by our Manager or other unaffiliated management companies.
 
Contribution Agreement
 
On October 29, 2013, we entered into a contribution and conveyance agreement, or the Contribution Agreement, with our Sponsor, our General Partner, Dynagas Operating GP LLC, Dynagas Operating LP and Dynagas Equity Holding Ltd. Pursuant to this agreement, our Sponsor made a capital contribution to us of all of the issued and outstanding shares, or the Vessel Interests, of Dynagas Equity Holding Ltd., the sole owner of all of the shares of the entities owning the vessels in our fleet, in exchange for all of our common units and subordinated units, and we, in turn, made a capital contribution of such Vessel Interests to Dynagas Operating LP, our wholly-owned subsidiary.
 
$30 Million Revolving Credit Facility
 
In connection with the closing of the IPO, our Sponsor provided us with a $30.0 million revolving credit to be used for general partnership purposes, including working capital. This revolving credit facility is interest free and has a term of five years.  The loan may be drawn and prepaid in whole or in part at any time during its term.  As of December 31, 2013, $5.5 million was outstanding under the facility.  This amount was repaid in full in January 2014.
 
Executive Services Agreement

On March 21, 2014, we entered into an executive services agreement with our Manager with retroactive effect from the IPO closing date, pursuant to which our Manager provides to us the services of our executive officers, who report directly to our Board of Directors. Under the agreement, our Manager is entitled to an executive services fee of €538,000 per annum, for the initial five year term, payable in equal monthly installments and automatically renews for successive five year terms unless terminated earlier.
 
 
72

 
 
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND FIDUCIARY DUTIES

Conflicts of interest exist and may arise in the future as a result of the relationships between our General Partner and its affiliates, including Dynagas Holding Ltd., on the one hand, and us and our unaffiliated limited partners, on the other hand. Our General Partner has a fiduciary duty to make any decisions relating to our management in a manner beneficial to us and our unitholders. Similarly, our Board of Directors has fiduciary duties to manage us in a manner beneficial to us, our General Partner and our limited partners. Certain of our officers and directors will also be officers of our Sponsor or its affiliates and will have fiduciary duties to our Sponsor or its affiliates that may cause them to pursue business strategies that disproportionately benefit our Sponsor or its affiliates or which otherwise are not in the best interests of us or our unitholders. As a result of these relationships, conflicts of interest may arise between us and our unaffiliated limited partners on the one hand, and our Sponsor and its affiliates, including our General Partner, on the other hand. The resolution of these conflicts may not be in the best interest of us or our unitholders.
 
Our partnership affairs are governed by our Partnership Agreement and the Partnership Act. The provisions of the Partnership Act resemble provisions of the limited partnership laws of a number of states in the United States, most notably Delaware. We are not aware of any material difference in unitholder rights between the Partnership Act and the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act. The Partnership Act also provides that it is to be applied and construed to make it uniform with the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act and, so long as it does not conflict with the Partnership Act or decisions of the Marshall Islands courts, interpreted according to the non-statutory law or "case law" of the courts of the State of Delaware. There have been, however, few, if any, court cases in the Marshall Islands interpreting the Partnership Act, in contrast to Delaware, which has a fairly well-developed body of case law interpreting its limited partnership statute. Accordingly, we cannot predict whether Marshall Islands courts would reach the same conclusions as courts in Delaware. For example, the rights of our unitholders and fiduciary responsibilities of our General Partner and its affiliates under Marshall Islands law are not as clearly established as under judicial precedent in existence in Delaware. Due to the less-developed nature of Marshall Islands law, our public unitholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests or seeking remedies in the face of actions by our General Partner, its affiliates or our controlling unitholders than would unitholders of a limited partnership organized in the United States.
 
Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that modify and limit the fiduciary duties of our General Partner and our directors to the unitholders under Marshall Islands law. Our Partnership Agreement also restricts the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by our General Partner or our directors that, without those limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
 
Neither our General Partner nor our Board of Directors will be in breach of their obligations under the Partnership Agreement or their duties to us or the unitholders if the resolution of the conflict is:
 
 
·
approved by our conflicts committee, although neither our General Partner nor our Board of Directors are obligated to seek such approval;
 
 
·
approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding any common units owned by our General Partner or any of its affiliates, although neither our General Partner nor our Board of Directors is obligated to seek such approval;
 
 
·
on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties, but neither our General Partner nor our Board of Directors is required to obtain confirmation to such effect from an independent third party; or
 
 
·
fair and reasonable to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us.
 
Our General Partner or our Board of Directors may, but are not required to, seek the approval of such resolution from the conflicts committee of our Board of Directors or from the common unitholders. If neither our General Partner nor our Board of Directors seeks approval from the conflicts committee, and our board of directors determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in the third and fourth bullet points above, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, our Board of Directors, including the board members affected by the conflict, acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. When our Partnership Agreement requires someone to act in good faith, it requires that person to reasonably believe that he is acting in the best interests of the partnership, unless the context otherwise requires. See "Management—Management of Dynagas LNG Partners LP" for information about the composition and formation of the conflicts committee of our Board of Directors.
 
Conflicts of interest could arise in the situations described below, among others.
 
 
73

 
 
Actions taken by our Board of Directors may affect the amount of cash available for distribution to unitholders or accelerate the right to convert subordinated units.

The amount of cash that is available for distribution to unitholders is affected by decisions of our Board of Directors regarding such matters as:
 
 
·
the amount and timing of asset purchases and sales;
 
 
·
cash expenditures;
 
 
·
borrowings;
 
 
·
estimates of maintenance and replacement capital expenditures;
 
 
·
the issuance of additional units; and
 
 
·
the creation, reduction or increase of reserves in any quarter.
 
In addition, borrowings by us and our affiliates do not constitute a breach of any duty owed by our General Partner or our directors to our unitholders, including borrowings that have the purpose or effect of:
 
 
·
enabling our General Partner or its affiliates to receive distributions on any subordinated units held by them or the incentive distribution rights; or
 
 
·
hastening the expiration of the subordination period.
 
For example, in the event we have not generated sufficient cash from our operations to pay the minimum quarterly distribution on our common units and our subordinated units, our Partnership Agreement permits us to borrow funds, which would enable us to make this distribution on all outstanding units.
 
Our Partnership Agreement provides that we and our subsidiaries may borrow funds from our General Partner and its affiliates. Our General Partner and its affiliates may not borrow funds from us or our subsidiaries.

Neither our Partnership Agreement nor any other agreement requires our Sponsor to pursue a business strategy that favors us or utilizes our assets or dictates what markets to pursue or grow. Our Sponsor's directors and executive officers have a fiduciary duty to make these decisions in the best interests of the shareholders of our Sponsor, which may be contrary to our interests.

Because we expect that certain of our officers and directors will also be officers of our Sponsor and its affiliates, such directors have fiduciary duties to our Sponsor and its affiliates that may cause them to pursue business strategies that disproportionately benefit our Sponsor, or which otherwise are not in the best interests of us or our unitholders.

Our General Partner is allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than us, such as our Sponsor.

Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that reduce the standards to which our General Partner would otherwise be held by Marshall Islands fiduciary duty law. For example, our Partnership Agreement permits our General Partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our General Partner. This entitles our General Partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires, and it has no duty or obligations to give any consideration to any interest of or factors affecting us, our affiliates or any unitholder. Decisions made by our General Partner in its individual capacity will be made by its sole owner, Dynagas Holding Ltd. Specifically, our General Partner will be considered to be acting in its individual capacity if it exercises its call right, pre-emptive rights, registration rights or right to make a determination to receive common units in a resetting of the target distribution levels related to its incentive distribution rights, consents or withholds consent to any merger or consolidation of the partnership, appoints any directors or votes for the election of any director, votes or refrains from voting on amendments to our Partnership Agreement that require a vote of the outstanding units, voluntarily withdraws from the partnership, transfers (to the extent permitted under our Partnership Agreement) or refrains from transferring its units, General Partner interest or incentive distribution rights it owns or votes upon the dissolution of the partnership.
 
Certain of our officers face conflicts in the allocation of their time to our business.

Certain of our officers who perform executive officer functions for us are not required to work full-time on our affairs and also perform services for affiliates of our General Partner, including our Sponsor. The affiliates of our General Partner, including our Sponsor, conduct substantial businesses and activities of their own in which we have no economic interest. As a result, there could be material competition for the time and effort of our officers who also provide services to our General Partner's affiliates, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We will reimburse our General Partner and its affiliates for expenses.

We will reimburse our General Partner and its affiliates for costs incurred, if any, in managing and operating us. Our Partnership Agreement provides that our General Partner will determine the expenses that are allocable to us in good faith.
 
 
74

 
 
Our General Partner intends to limit its liability regarding our obligations.

Our Partnership Agreement directs that liability of our General Partner for the contractual arrangements of the partnership are limited (to the maximum extent permitted under the law) so that the other party has recourse only to our assets and not against our General Partner or its assets or any affiliate of our General Partner or its assets. Our Partnership Agreement provides that any action taken by our General Partner or by our directors to limit the liability of our General Partner or our directors is not a breach of the fiduciary duties of our General Partner or our directors, even if we could have obtained terms that are more favorable without the limitation on liability.

Common unitholders will have no right to enforce obligations of our General Partner and its affiliates under agreements with us.

Any agreements between us, on the one hand, and our General Partner and its affiliates, on the other, will not grant to the unitholders, separate and apart from us, the right to enforce the obligations of our General Partner and its affiliates in our favor.

Contracts between us, on the one hand, and our General Partner and its affiliates, on the other, will not be the result of arm's-length negotiations.

Neither our Partnership Agreement nor any of the other agreements, contracts and arrangements between us and our General Partner and its affiliates are or will be the result of arm's-length negotiations. Our Partnership Agreement generally provides that any affiliated transaction, such as an agreement, contract or arrangement between us and our General Partner and its affiliates, must be:
 
 
·
on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or
 
 
·
"fair and reasonable" to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us).
 
Our Manager, which will provide certain management and administrative services to us, may also enter into additional contractual arrangements with any of its affiliates on our behalf; however, there is no obligation of any affiliate of our Manager to enter into any contracts of this kind.

Common units are subject to our General Partner's limited call right.

Our General Partner may exercise its right to call and purchase common units as provided in the Partnership Agreement or assign this right to one of its affiliates or to us. Our General Partner may use its own discretion, free of fiduciary duty restrictions, in determining whether to exercise this right. Our General Partner is not obligated to obtain a fairness opinion regarding the value of the common units to be repurchased by it upon the exercise of this limited call right. As a result, a common unitholder may have common units purchased from the unitholder at an undesirable time or price.

We may choose not to retain separate counsel for ourselves or for the holders of common units.

The attorneys, independent accountants and others who perform services for us have been retained by our Board of Directors. Attorneys, independent accountants and others who perform services for us are selected by our Board of Directors or the conflicts committee and may perform services for our General Partner and its affiliates. We may retain separate counsel for ourselves or the holders of common units in the event of a conflict of interest between our General Partner and its affiliates, on the one hand, and us or the holders of common units, on the other, depending on the nature of the conflict. We do not intend to do so in most cases.

Our General Partner's affiliates, including our Sponsor, may compete with us.

Our Partnership Agreement provides that our General Partner will be restricted from engaging in any business activities other than acting as our General Partner and those activities incidental to its ownership of interests in us. In addition, our Partnership Agreement provides that our General Partner, for so long as it is General Partner of our partnership, will cause its affiliates not to engage in, by acquisition or otherwise, the businesses described above.   Similarly, under the Omnibus Agreement, our Sponsor has agreed, for so long as it controls our partnership, not to engage in the businesses described above.  Except as provided in our Partnership Agreement and the Omnibus Agreement, affiliates of our General Partner are not prohibited from engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that might be in direct competition with us.

Fiduciary Duties

Our General Partner and its affiliates are accountable to us and our unitholders as fiduciaries. Fiduciary duties owed to unitholders by our General Partner and its affiliates are prescribed by law and the Partnership Agreement. The Partnership Act provides that Marshall Islands partnerships may, in their partnership agreements, restrict or expand the fiduciary duties owed by our General Partner and its affiliates to the limited partners and the partnership. Our directors are subject to the same fiduciary duties as our General Partner, as restricted or expanded by the Partnership Agreement.
 
 
75

 
 
Our Partnership Agreement contains various provisions restricting the fiduciary duties that might otherwise be owed by our General Partner or by our directors. We have adopted these provisions to allow our General Partner and our directors to take into account the interests of other parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interest. We believe this is appropriate and necessary because our officers and directors have fiduciary duties to our Sponsor, as well as to our unitholders. These modifications disadvantage the common unitholders because they restrict the rights and remedies that would otherwise be available to unitholders for actions that, without those limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty, as described below. The following is a summary of:
 
 
·
the fiduciary duties imposed on our General Partner and our directors by the Partnership Act;
 
 
·
material modifications of these duties contained in our Partnership Agreement; and
 
 
·
certain rights and remedies of unitholders contained in the Partnership Act.

 
Marshall Islands law fiduciary duty standards
Fiduciary duties are generally considered to include an obligation to act in good faith and with due care and loyalty. The duty of care, in the absence of a provision in a Partnership Agreement providing otherwise, would generally require a General Partner and the directors of a Marshall Islands limited partnership to act for the partnership in the same manner as a prudent person would act on his own behalf. The duty of loyalty, in the absence of a provision in a Partnership Agreement providing otherwise, would generally prohibit a General Partner or the directors of a Marshall Islands limited partnership from taking any action or engaging in any transaction where a conflict of interest is present.
Partnership Agreement modified standards
Our Partnership Agreement contains provisions that waive or consent to conduct by our General Partner and its affiliates and our directors that might otherwise raise issues as to compliance with fiduciary duties under the laws of the Marshall Islands. For example, our Partnership Agreement provides that when our General Partner is acting in its capacity as our General Partner, as opposed to in its individual capacity, it must act in "good faith" and will not be subject to any other standard under the laws of the Marshall Islands. In addition, when our General Partner is acting in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our General Partner, it may act without any fiduciary obligation to us or the unitholders whatsoever. These standards reduce the obligations to which our General Partner and our Board of Directors would otherwise be held. Our Partnership Agreement generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not involving a vote of unitholders and that are not approved by our conflicts committee of our Board of Directors must be:
 
·
on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or
 
·
"fair and reasonable" to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us).
 
If our Board of Directors does not seek approval from the conflicts committee, and our Board of Directors determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in the bullet points above, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, our Board of Directors acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. These standards reduce the obligations to which our Board of Directors would otherwise be held.
 
In addition to the other more specific provisions limiting the obligations of our General Partner and our directors, our Partnership Agreement further provides that our General Partner and our officers and directors, will not be liable for monetary damages to us or our limited partners for errors of judgment or for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our General Partner or our officers or directors engaged in actual fraud or willful misconduct.
Rights and remedies of unitholders
The provisions of the Partnership Act resemble the provisions of the limited partnership act of Delaware. For example, like Delaware, the Partnership Act favors the principles of freedom of contract and enforceability of Partnership Agreements and allows the Partnership Agreement to contain terms governing the rights of the unitholders. The rights of our unitholders, including voting and approval rights and our ability to issue additional units, are governed by the terms of our Partnership Agreement.
 
As to remedies of unitholders, the Partnership Act permits a limited partner to institute legal action on behalf of the partnership to recover damages from a third party where a General Partner or a Board of Directors has refused to institute the action or where an effort to cause a General Partner or a Board of Directors to do so is not likely to succeed. These actions include actions against a General Partner for breach of its fiduciary duties or of the Partnership Agreement.
 
 
 
76

 
 
In becoming one of our limited partners, a common unitholder effectively agrees to be bound by the provisions in the Partnership Agreement, including the provisions discussed above. The failure of a limited partner or transferee to sign a Partnership Agreement does not render the Partnership Agreement unenforceable against that person.
 
Under the Partnership Agreement, we must indemnify our General Partner and our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law, against liabilities, costs and expenses incurred by our General Partner or these other persons. We must provide this indemnification unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that these persons engaged in actual fraud or willful misconduct. We also must provide this indemnification for criminal proceedings when our General Partner or these other persons acted with no reasonable cause to believe that their conduct was unlawful. Thus, our General Partner and our directors and officers could be indemnified for their negligent acts if they met the requirements set forth above. To the extent that these provisions purport to include indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is contrary to public policy and therefore unenforceable.
 

C.
INTERESTS OF EXPERTS AND COUNSEL
 
Not applicable.
 
 
ITEM 8.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
 
A.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INFORMATION
 
Please see "Item 18. Financial Statements" below for additional information required to be disclosed under this item.
 
Legal Proceedings
 
From time to time we have been, and expect to continue to be, subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of our business, principally personal injury and property casualty claims.  These claims, even if lacking merit, could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources.  We are not aware of any legal proceedings or claims that we believe will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on us.
 
Our Cash Distribution Policy
 
Rationale for Our Cash Distribution Policy

Our cash distribution policy reflects a judgment that our unitholders will be better served by our distributing our available cash rather than retaining it because, in general, we plan to finance any expansion capital expenditures from external financing sources. Our cash distribution policy is consistent with the terms of our Partnership Agreement, which requires that we distribute all of our available cash quarterly. Available cash is generally defined to mean, for each quarter cash generated from our business less the amount of cash reserves established by our Board of Directors at the date of determination of available cash for the quarter to provide for the proper conduct of our business (including reserves for our future capital expenditures and anticipated future credit needs subsequent to that quarter), comply with applicable law, any of our debt instruments or other agreements; and provide funds for distributions to our unitholders and to our General Partner for any one or more of the next four quarters, plus, if our Board of Directors so determines, all or any portion of the cash on hand on the date of determination of available cash for the quarter resulting from working capital borrowings made subsequent to the end of such quarter.

Limitations on Cash Distributions and Our Ability to Change Our Cash Distribution Policy

There is no guarantee that unitholders will receive quarterly distributions from us. Our cash distribution policy is subject to certain restrictions and may be changed at any time. Set forth below are certain factors that influence our cash distribution policy:
 
 
·
Our unitholders have no contractual or other legal right to receive distributions other than the obligation under our Partnership Agreement to distribute available cash on a quarterly basis, which is subject to the broad discretion of our Board of Directors to establish reserves and other limitations.
 
 
·
We are and will be subject to restrictions on distributions under our existing financing arrangements as well as under any new financing arrangements that we may enter into in the future. Our financing arrangements contain financial and other covenants that must be satisfied prior to paying distributions in order to declare and pay such distributions. If we are unable to satisfy the requirements contained in any of our financing arrangements or are otherwise in default under any of those agreements, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders notwithstanding our cash distribution policy.
 
 
·
We are required to make substantial capital expenditures to maintain and replace our fleet. These expenditures may fluctuate significantly over time, particularly as our vessels near the end of their useful lives. In order to minimize these fluctuations, our Partnership Agreement requires us to deduct estimated, as opposed to actual, maintenance and replacement capital expenditures from the amount of cash that we would otherwise have available for distribution to our unitholders. In years when estimated maintenance and replacement capital expenditures are higher than actual maintenance and replacement capital expenditures, the amount of cash available for distribution to unitholders will be lower than if actual maintenance and replacement capital expenditures were deducted.
 
 
77

 
 
 
·
Although our Partnership Agreement requires us to distribute all of our available cash, our Partnership Agreement, including provisions contained therein requiring us to make cash distributions may be amended. During the subordination period, with certain exceptions, our Partnership Agreement may not be amended without the approval of non-affiliated common unitholders. After the subordination period has ended, our Partnership Agreement may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding common units. Our Sponsor owns approximately 610,000 of our common units and all of our subordinated units, representing approximately 52% of the outstanding common and subordinated units in aggregate.
 
 
·
Even if our cash distribution policy is not modified or revoked, the amount of distributions we pay under our cash distribution policy and the decision to make any distribution is determined by our Board of Directors, taking into consideration the terms of our Partnership Agreement. 
 
 
·
Under Section 57 of the Marshall Islands Act, we may not make a distribution to our unitholders if the distribution would cause our liabilities to exceed the fair value of our assets.
 
 
·
We may lack sufficient cash to pay distributions to our unitholders due to decreases in total operating revenues, decreases in hire rates, the loss of a vessel or increases in operating or general and administrative expenses, principal and interest payments on outstanding debt, taxes, working capital requirements, maintenance and replacement capital expenditures or anticipated cash needs. See "Risk Factors" for a discussion of these factors. 
 
 
·
Our ability to make distributions to our unitholders depends on the performance of our subsidiaries and their ability to distribute cash to us. The ability of our subsidiaries to make distributions to us may be restricted by, among other things, the provisions of existing and future indebtedness, applicable limited partnership and limited liability company laws in the Marshall Islands and other laws and regulations.
 
Minimum Quarterly Distribution
 
Common unitholders are entitled under our Partnership Agreement to receive a quarterly distribution of $0.365 per unit, or $1.46 per unit per year, prior to any distribution on the subordinated units to the extent we have sufficient cash on hand to pay the distribution, after establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses.  There is no guarantee that we will pay the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units and subordinated units in any quarter.  Even if our cash distribution policy is not modified or revoked, the amount of distributions paid under our policy and the decision to make any distribution is determined by our Board of Directors, taking into consideration the terms of our Partnership Agreement.  We will be prohibited from making any distributions to unitholders if it would cause an event of default, or an event of default is then existing, under our financing arrangements.  Please read "Item 5—Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Liquidity and Capital Resources" for a discussion of the restrictions contained in our credit facilities and lease arrangements that may restrict our ability to make distributions.
 
No cash distribution was paid from the IPO closing date through and including December 31, 2013.
 
In February 2014, the Partnership declared and paid a cash distribution of $ 0.1746 per unit in respect of the three months ended December 31, 2013. The distribution was prorated for the period beginning on November 18, 2013, which was the closing date of the IPO, and ending on December 31, 2013, and corresponds to a quarterly distribution of $0.365 per outstanding unit, or $1.46 per outstanding unit on an annualized basis.  The prorated cash distribution of approximately $5.2 million was paid on February 14, 2014 to all unit holders of record as of the close of business on February 10, 2014.
 
Subordination Period
 
General
 
During the subordination period, the common units will have the right to receive distributions of available cash from operating surplus in an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.365 per unit, plus any arrearages in the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units from prior quarters, before any distributions of available cash from operating surplus may be made on the subordinated units.  Distribution arrearages do not accrue on the subordinated units.  The purpose of the subordinated units is to increase the likelihood that during the subordination period there will be available cash from operating surplus to be distributed on the common units.
 
Incentive Distribution Rights
 
Incentive distribution rights represent the right to receive an increasing percentage of quarterly distributions of available cash from operating surplus after the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels have been achieved.  Our General Partner currently hold the incentive distribution rights.  The incentive distribution rights may be transferred separately from our general partner interest, subject to restrictions in the Partnership Agreement.  Except for transfers of incentive distribution rights to an affiliate or another entity as part of our general partner's merger or consolidation with or into, or sale of substantially all of its assets to such entity, the approval of a majority of our common units (excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates), voting separately as a class, generally is required for a transfer of the incentive distribution rights to a third party prior to December 31, 2016.  Any transfer by our general partner of the incentive distribution rights would not change the percentage allocations of quarterly distributions with respect to such rights.
 
 
78

 
 
The following table illustrates the percentage allocations of the additional available cash from operating surplus among the unitholders, our General Partner and the holders of the incentive distribution rights up to the various target distribution levels.  The amounts set forth under "Marginal Percentage Interest in Distributions" are the percentage interests of the unitholders, our General Partner and the holders of the incentive distribution rights in any available cash from operating surplus we distribute up to and including the corresponding amount in the column "Total Quarterly Distribution Target Amount," until available cash from operating surplus we distribute reaches the next target distribution level, if any.  The percentage interests shown for the unitholders, our General Partner and the holders of the incentive distribution rights for the minimum quarterly distribution are also applicable to quarterly distribution amounts that are less than the minimum quarterly distribution.  The percentage interests shown for our General Partner include its 0.1% General Partner interest only and assume that our General Partner has contributed any capital necessary to maintain its 0.1% General Partner interest.
 
                             
 
 
Marginal Percentage Interest in Distributions
 
 
 
Total Quarterly
Distribution Target
Amount
 
Unitholders
 
 
General
Partner
 
 
Holders
of IDRs
 
Minimum Quarterly Distribution
 
$0.365
 
 
99.9
%
 
 
0.1
%
 
 
0.0
%
First Target Distribution
 
up to $0.420
 
 
99.9
%
 
 
0.1
%
 
 
0.0
%
Second Target Distribution
 
above $0.420 up to $0.456
 
 
85.0
%
 
 
0.1
%
 
 
14.9
%
Third Target Distribution
 
Above $0.456 up to $0.548
 
 
75.0
%
 
 
0.1
%
 
 
24.9
%
Thereafter
 
above $0.548
 
 
50.0
%
 
 
0.1
%
 
 
49.9
%

 
B.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
 
Not applicable.
 
 
ITEM 9.
THE OFFER AND LISTING.
 
A.
OFFER AND LISTING DETAILS
 
Our common units started trading on NASDAQ under the symbol "DLNG" on November 13, 2013.  The following table sets forth the high and low prices for the common units on the NASDAQ since the date of listing for the periods indicated.
 
For the Year Ended
 
 
High (US$)
 
Low (US$)
 
December 31, 2013*
 
 
23.79
   
16.75
 
               
* For the period beginning November 13, 2013
 
 
         

For the Quarter Ended:
 
 
High (US$)
 
Low (US$)
 
December 31, 2013*
 
 
23.79
   
16.75
 
March 31, 2014 (through and including March 21, 2014)
 
 
22.33
    20.94
 
               
* For the period beginning November 13, 2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Most Recent Six Months:
 
 
High (US$)
 
Low (US$)
 
November 2013 (beginning on November 13, 2013)
 
 
18.85
   
16.75
 
December 2013
 
 
23.79
   
18.25
 
January 2014
 
 
22.77
   
20.71
 
February 2014
 
 
22.74
   
20.87
 
March 2014 (through and including March 21, 2014)
 
 
22.31     21.39  

 
 
79

 
 
ITEM 10.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 
A.
SHARE CAPITAL
 
Not applicable.
 
 
B.
MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
 
The information required to be disclosed under Item 10.B. is incorporated by reference to our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on November 8, 2013.
 
 
C.
MATERIAL CONTRACTS
 
Attached as exhibits to this annual report are the contracts we consider to be both material and not entered into in the ordinary course of business. Descriptions are included within Item 5.B. with respect to our credit facilities, and Item 7.B. with respect to our related party transactions.  Other than these contracts, we have no other material contracts, other than contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business, to which we are a party.
 
 
D.
EXCHANGE CONTROLS
 
We are not aware of any governmental laws, decrees or regulations, including foreign exchange controls, in the Republic of The Marshall Islands that restrict the export or import of capital, or that affect the remittance of dividends, interest or other payments to non-resident holders of our securities.
 
We are not aware of any limitations on the right of non-resident or foreign owners to hold or vote our securities imposed by the laws of the Republic of The Marshall Islands or our Partnership Agreement.
 
 
E.
TAXATION
 
UNITED STATES TAX CONSIDERATIONS
 
The following discussion is a summary of the material United States federal income tax considerations relevant to us and to a U.S. Holder and Non-U.S. Holder (each defined below) of our common units.  This discussion is based on advice received by us from Seward & Kissel LLP, our United States counsel.  This discussion does not purport to deal with the tax consequences of owning common units to all categories of investors, some of which (such as dealers in securities or currencies, investors whose functional currency is not the United States dollar, financial institutions, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, tax-exempt organizations, insurance companies, persons holding our common units as part of a hedging, integrated, conversion or constructive sale transaction or a straddle, persons liable for alternative minimum tax and persons who are investors in pass-through entities) may be subject to special rules. This discussion only applies to unitholders who (i) own our common units as a capital asset and (ii) own less than 10% of our common units. Unitholders are encouraged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the specific tax consequences to them of purchasing, holding or disposing of common units.
 
This discussion is based upon provisions of the Code, Treasury Regulations, and current administrative rulings and court decisions, all as in effect or existence on the date of this Annual Report and all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect. Changes in these authorities may cause the tax consequences of unit ownership to vary substantially from the consequences described below. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this section to "we," "our" or "us" are references to Dynagas LNG Partners LP.

Election to be Treated as a Corporation

We have elected to be treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes. As a result, we will be subject to United States federal income tax to the extent we earn income from United States sources or income that is treated as effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States unless such income is exempt from tax under an applicable tax treaty or Section 883 of the Code. In addition, among other things, United States Holders (as defined below) will not directly be subject to United States federal income tax on our income, but rather will be subject to United States federal income tax on distributions received from us and dispositions of units as described below.
 
 
80

 
 
United States Federal Income Taxation of Our Partnership

Taxation of Operating Income: In General

Unless exempt from United States federal income taxation under the rules discussed below, a foreign corporation is subject to United States federal income taxation in respect of any income that is derived from the use of vessels, from the hiring or leasing of vessels for use on a time, voyage or bareboat charter basis, from the participation in a pool, partnership, strategic alliance, joint venture, code sharing arrangements or other joint venture it directly or indirectly owns or participates in that generates such income, or from the performance of services directly related to those uses, which we refer to as "shipping income," to the extent that the shipping income is derived from sources within the United States. For these purposes, 50% of shipping income that is attributable to transportation that begins or ends, but that does not both begin and end, in the United States constitutes income from sources within the United States, which we refer to as "U.S.-source shipping income."
 
Shipping income attributable to transportation that both begins and ends in the United States is considered to be 100% from sources within the United States. We are not permitted by law to engage in transportation that produces income which is considered to be 100% from sources within the United States.
 
Shipping income attributable to transportation exclusively between non-United States ports will be considered to be 100% derived from sources outside the United States. Shipping income derived from sources outside the United States will not be subject to any United States federal income tax.
 
In the absence of exemption from tax under Section 883, our gross U.S.-source shipping income would be subject to a 4% tax imposed without allowance for deductions as described below.

Exemption of Operating Income from United States Federal Income Taxation

Under Section 883 of the Code, we will be exempt from United States federal income taxation on our U.S.-source shipping income if:
 
 
·
we are organized in a foreign country (our "country of organization") that grants an "equivalent exemption" to corporations organized in the United States; and
 
either
 
 
·
more than 50% of the value of our units is owned, directly or indirectly, by individuals who are "residents" of our country of organization or of another foreign country that grants an "equivalent exemption" to corporations organized in the United States, which we refer to as the "50% Ownership Test," or
 
 
·
our units are "primarily and regularly traded on an established securities market" in our country of organization, in another country that grants an "equivalent exemption" to United States corporations, or in the United States, which we refer to as the "Publicly-Traded Test."
 
The Marshall Islands, the jurisdiction where we and our ship-owning subsidiaries are incorporated, grants an "equivalent exemption" to United States corporations. Therefore, we will be exempt from United States federal income taxation with respect to our U.S.-source shipping income if we satisfy either the 50% Ownership Test or the Publicly-Traded Test. For taxable years prior to our IPO, we believe that the 50% Ownership Test was satisfied. After our IPO, it may be difficult for us to satisfy the 50% Ownership Test due to the widely-held ownership of our stock. Our ability to satisfy the Publicly-Traded Test is discussed below.
 
The regulations provide, in pertinent part, that stock of a foreign corporation will be considered to be "primarily traded" on an established securities market if the number of shares of each class of stock that are traded during any taxable year on all established securities markets in that country exceeds the number of shares in each such class that are traded during that year on established securities markets in any other single country. For the taxable year ended December 31, 2013, our common units were "primarily traded" on NASDAQ.
 
Under the regulations, our units will be considered to be "regularly traded" on an established securities market if one or more classes of our units representing more than 50% or more of our outstanding units, by total combined voting power of all classes of units entitled to vote and total value, is listed on the market which we refer to as the listing threshold. Since our common units, which represent more than 50% of our outstanding units, are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, we currently satisfy the listing requirement.
 
 
81

 
 
It is further required that with respect to each class of stock relied upon to meet the listing threshold (i) such class of the stock is traded on the market, other than in minimal quantities, on at least 60 days during the taxable year or 1 / 6 of the days in a short taxable year; and (ii) the aggregate number of shares of such class of stock traded on such market is at least 10% of the average number of shares of such class of stock outstanding during such year or as appropriately adjusted in the case of a short taxable year. We believe we currently satisfy the trading frequency and trading volume tests. Even if this were not the case, the regulations provide that the trading frequency and trading volume tests will be deemed satisfied by a class of stock if, as we expect to be the case with our common units, such class of stock is traded on an established market in the United States and such class of stock is regularly quoted by dealers making a market in such stock.
 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the regulations provide, in pertinent part, our common units will not be considered to be "regularly traded" on an established securities market for any taxable year in which 50% or more of our outstanding common units are owned, actually or constructively under specified attribution rules, on more than half the days during the taxable year by persons who each own 5% or more of the voting power and value of our common units, which we refer to as the "5 Percent Override Rule."
 
For purposes of being able to determine the persons who own 5% or more of our common units, or "5% Unitholders," the regulations permit us to rely on Schedule 13G and Schedule 13D filings with the SEC to identify persons who have a 5% or more beneficial interest in our common units. The regulations further provide that an investment company which is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, will not be treated as a 5% Unitholder for such purposes.
 
For more than half the days of our taxable year ended December 31, 2013, less than 50% of our common units were owned by 5% Unitholders.  Therefore, we believe that we were not subject to the 5 Percent Override Rule for 2013.  However, there is no assurance that we will continue to qualify for exemption under Section 883.  For example, we could be subject to the 5% Override Rule if our 5% Unitholders were to own 50% or more of the common units.  It is noted that holders of our common units are limited to owning 4.9% of the voting power of such common units.  Assuming that such limitation is treated as effective for purposes of determining voting power under Section 883, then our 5% Unitholders could not own 50% of more of our common units.  If contrary to these expectations, our 5% Unitholders were to own 50% or more of the common units, then we would be subject to the 5% Override Rule unless it could establish that, among the common units owned by the 5% Unitholders, sufficient common units were owned by qualified unitholders to preclude non-qualified unitholders from owning 50 percent or more of our common units for more than half the number of days during the taxable year.  These requirements are onerous and there is no assurance that we will be able to satisfy them.
 
Based on the foregoing, we believe that we satisfied the publicly traded test for our taxable year ended December 31, 2013.  However, we did not earn any U.S.-source shipping income during such taxable year.
 
Taxation In Absence of Exemption

To the extent the benefits of Section 883 are unavailable, our U.S.-source shipping income, to the extent not considered to be "effectively connected" with the conduct of a United States trade or business, as described below, would be subject to a 4% tax imposed by Section 887 of the Code on a gross basis, without the benefit of deductions. Since under the sourcing rules described above, no more than 50% of our shipping income would be treated as being derived from United States sources, the maximum effective rate of United States federal income tax on our shipping income would never exceed 2% under the 4% gross basis tax regime.
 
To the extent the benefits of the Section 883 exemption are unavailable and our U.S.-source shipping income is considered to be "effectively connected" with the conduct of a United States trade or business, as described below, any such "effectively connected" U.S.-source shipping income, net of applicable deductions, would be subject to the United States federal corporate income tax currently imposed at rates of up to 35%. In addition, we may be subject to the 30% "branch profits" taxes on earnings effectively connected with the conduct of such trade or business, as determined after allowance for certain adjustments, and on certain interest paid or deemed paid attributable to the conduct of its United States trade or business.
 
Our U.S.-source shipping income would be considered "effectively connected" with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business only if:
 
 
·
we have, or are considered to have, a fixed place of business in the United States involved in the earning of shipping income; and
 
 
·
substantially all of our U.S.-source shipping income is attributable to regularly scheduled transportation, such as the operation of a vessel that follows a published schedule with repeated sailings at regular intervals between the same points for voyages that begin or end in the United States.
 
We do not intend to have, or permit circumstances that would result in having any vessel operating to the United States on a regularly scheduled basis. Based on the foregoing and on the expected mode of our shipping operations and other activities, we believe that none of our U.S.-source shipping income will be "effectively connected" with the conduct of a United States trade or business.
 
 
82

 
 
United States Taxation of Gain on Sale of Vessels

Regardless of whether we qualify for exemption under Section 883, we will not be subject to United States federal income taxation with respect to gain realized on a sale of a vessel, provided the sale is considered to occur outside of the United States under United States federal income tax principles. In general, a sale of a vessel will be considered to occur outside of the United States for this purpose if title to the vessel, and risk of loss with respect to the vessel, pass to the buyer outside of the United States. It is expected that any sale of a vessel by us will be considered to occur outside of the United States.

U.S. Federal Income Taxation of U.S. Holders

As used herein, the term "U.S. Holder" means a beneficial owner of our common units that owns (actually or constructively) less than 10% of our equity and that is:
 
 
·
an individual citizen or resident of the United States (as determined for United States federal income tax purposes),
 
 
·
a corporation (or other entity that is classified as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) organized under the laws of the United States or any of its political subdivisions),
 
 
·
an estate the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source, or
 
 
·
a trust if (i) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary jurisdiction over the administration of the trust and one or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (ii) the trust has a valid election in effect to be treated as a United States person for United States federal income tax purposes.
 
Distributions

Subject to the discussion below of the rules applicable to PFICs, any distributions to a U.S. Holder made by us with respect to our common units generally will constitute dividends, which may be taxable as ordinary income or "qualified dividend income" as described in more detail below, to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under United States federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of our earnings and profits will be treated first as a nontaxable return of capital to the extent of the U.S. Holder's tax basis in its common units and thereafter as capital gain. U.S. Holders that are corporations generally will not be entitled to claim a dividends received deduction with respect to distributions they receive from us because we are not a United States corporation. Dividends received with respect to our common units generally will be treated as "passive category income" for purposes of computing allowable foreign tax credits for United States federal income tax purposes.
 
Dividends received with respect to our common units by a U.S. Holder that is an individual, trust or estate (or a U.S. Individual Holder) generally will be treated as "qualified dividend income" that is taxable to such U.S. Individual Holder at preferential capital gain tax rates provided that: (i) our common units are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States (such as the NASDAQ on which our common units are traded); (ii) we are not a PFIC for the taxable year during which the dividend is paid or the immediately preceding taxable year (which we do not believe we are, have been or will be, as discussed below under "—PFIC Status and Significant Tax Consequences"); (iii) the U.S. Individual Holder has owned the common units for more than 60 days during the 121-day period beginning 60 days before the date on which the common units become ex-dividend (and has not entered into certain risk limiting transactions with respect to such common units); and (iv) the U.S. Individual Holder is not under an obligation to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property. There is no assurance that any dividends paid on our common units will be eligible for these preferential rates in the hands of a U.S. Individual Holder, and any dividends paid on our common units that are not eligible for these preferential rates will be taxed as ordinary income to a U.S. Individual Holder.
 
Special rules may apply to any amounts received in respect of our common units that are treated as "extraordinary dividends." In general, an extraordinary dividend is a dividend with respect to a common unit that is equal to or in excess of 10% of a unitholder's adjusted tax basis (or fair market value upon the unitholder's election) in such common unit. In addition, extraordinary dividends include dividends received within a one year period that, in the aggregate, equal or exceed 20% of a unitholder's adjusted tax basis (or fair market value). If we pay an "extraordinary dividend" on our common units that is treated as "qualified dividend income," then any loss recognized by a U.S. Individual Holder from the sale or exchange of such common units will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of the amount of such dividend.
 
Sale, Exchange or Other Disposition of Common Units

Subject to the discussion of PFIC status below, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss upon a sale, exchange or other disposition of our units in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized by the U.S. Holder from such sale, exchange or other disposition and the U.S. Holder's adjusted tax basis in such units. The U.S. Holder's initial tax basis in its units generally will be the U.S. Holder's purchase price for the units and that tax basis will be reduced (but not below zero) by the amount of any distributions on the units that are treated as non-taxable returns of capital (as discussed above under "Distributions" and "Ratio of Dividend Income to Distributions"). Such gain or loss will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder's holding period is greater than one year at the time of the sale, exchange or other disposition. Certain U.S. Holders (including individuals) may be eligible for preferential rates of United States federal income tax in respect of long-term capital gains. A U.S. Holder's ability to deduct capital losses is subject to limitations. Such capital gain or loss generally will be treated as United States source income or loss, as applicable, for United States foreign tax credit purposes.
 
 
83

 
 
PFIC Status and Significant Tax Consequences

Adverse United States federal income tax rules apply to a U.S. Holder that owns an equity interest in a non-United States corporation that is classified as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In general, we will be treated as a PFIC with respect to a U.S. Holder if, for any taxable year in which the holder held our units, either:
 
 
·
at least 75% of our gross income (including the gross income of our vessel-owning subsidiaries) for such taxable year consists of passive income (e.g., dividends, interest, capital gains and rents derived other than in the active conduct of a rental business); or
 
 
·
at least 50% of the average value of the assets held by us (including the assets of our vessel-owning subsidiaries) during such taxable year produce, or are held for the production of, passive income.
 
For purposes of determining whether we are a PFIC, we will be treated as earning and owning our proportionate share of the income and assets, respectively, of any of our subsidiary corporations in which we own at least 25% of the value of the subsidiary's stock. Income earned, or deemed earned, by us in connection with the performance of services would not constitute passive income. By contrast, rental income would generally constitute "passive income" unless we were treated under specific rules as deriving our rental income in the active conduct of a trade or business.
 
Based on our current and projected methods of operation, and an opinion of our United States counsel, we do not believe that we are, nor do we expect to become, a PFIC with respect to any taxable year. We have received an opinion of our United States counsel, Seward & Kissel LLP, in support of this position that concludes that the income our subsidiaries earn from certain of our present time-chartering activities should not constitute passive income for purposes of determining whether we are a PFIC. In addition, we have represented to our United States counsel that we expect that more than 25% of our gross income for our current taxable year and each future year will arise from such time-chartering activities on other income which does not constitute passive income, and more than 50% of the average value of our assets for each such year will be held for the production of such nonpassive income. Assuming the composition of our income and assets is consistent with these expectations, and assuming the accuracy of other representations we have made to our United States counsel for purposes of their opinion, our United States counsel is of the opinion that we should not be a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future year. We believe there is substantial legal authority supporting our position consisting of case law and IRS pronouncements concerning the characterization of income derived from time charters and voyage charters as services income for other tax purposes. However, it should be noted that there is also authority concluding that income derived from time charters should be treated as rental income rather than services income for other tax purposes. Therefore, in the absence of any legal authority specifically relating to the statutory provisions governing PFICs, our United States counsel has advised us that the conclusions reached are not free from doubt, and the IRS or a court could disagree with our position and the opinion of our United States counsel. In addition, although we intend to conduct our affairs in a manner to avoid being classified as a PFIC with respect to any taxable year, we cannot assure you that the nature of our operations will not change in the future.
 
As discussed more fully below, if we were to be treated as a PFIC for any taxable year, a U.S. Holder would be subject to different taxation rules depending on whether the U.S. Holder makes an election to treat us as a "Qualified Electing Fund," which we refer to as a "QEF election." As an alternative to making a QEF election, a U.S. Holder should be able to make a "mark-to-market" election with respect to our common units, as discussed below. If we are a PFIC, a U.S. Holder will be subject to the PFIC rules described herein with respect to any of our subsidiaries that are PFICs. However, the mark-to-market election discussed below will likely not be available with respect to shares of such PFIC subsidiaries. In addition, if a U.S. Holder owns our common units during any taxable year that we are a PFIC, such U.S. Holder must file an annual report with the IRS.
 
Taxation of U.S. Holders Making a Timely QEF Election

If a U.S. Holder makes a timely QEF election (or an Electing Holder), then, for United States federal income tax purposes, that holder must report as income for its taxable year its pro rata share of our ordinary earnings and net capital gain, if any, for our taxable years that end with or within the taxable year for which that holder is reporting, regardless of whether or not the Electing Holder received distributions from us in that year. The Electing Holder's adjusted tax basis in the common units will be increased to reflect taxed but undistributed earnings and profits. Distributions of earnings and profits that were previously taxed will result in a corresponding reduction in the Electing Holder's adjusted tax basis in common units and will not be taxed again once distributed. An Electing Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common units. A U.S. Holder makes a QEF election with respect to any year that we are a PFIC by filing IRS Form 8621 with its United States federal income tax return. If, contrary to our expectations, we determine that we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year, we will provide each U.S. Holder with the information necessary to make the QEF election described above.
 
 
84

 
 
Taxation of U.S. Holders Making a "Mark-to-Market" Election

If we were to be treated as a PFIC for any taxable year and, as we anticipate, our units were treated as "marketable stock," then, as an alternative to making a QEF election, a U.S. Holder would be allowed to make a "mark-to-market" election with respect to our common units, provided the U.S. Holder completes and files IRS Form 8621 in accordance with the relevant instructions and related Treasury Regulations. If that election is made, the U.S. Holder generally would include as ordinary income in each taxable year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the U.S. Holder's common units at the end of the taxable year over the holder's adjusted tax basis in the common units. The U.S. Holder also would be permitted an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of the U.S. Holder's adjusted tax basis in the common units over the fair market value thereof at the end of the taxable year, but only to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. A U.S. Holder's tax basis in its common units would be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss recognized. Gain recognized on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common units would be treated as ordinary income, and any loss recognized on the sale, exchange or other disposition of the common units would be treated as ordinary loss to the extent that such loss does not exceed the net mark-to-market gains previously included in income by the U.S. Holder. Because the mark-to-market election only applies to marketable stock, however, it would not apply to a U.S. Holder's indirect interest in any of our subsidiaries that were determined to be PFICs.

Taxation of U.S. Holders Not Making a Timely QEF or Mark-to-Market Election

If we were to be treated as a PFIC for any taxable year, a U.S. Holder that does not make either a QEF election or a "mark-to-market" election for that year (or a Non-Electing Holder) would be subject to special rules resulting in increased tax liability with respect to (1) any excess distribution (i.e., the portion of any distributions received by the Non-Electing Holder on our common units in a taxable year in excess of 125% of the average annual distributions received by the Non-Electing Holder in the three preceding taxable years, or, if shorter, the Non-Electing Holder's holding period for the common units), and (2) any gain realized on the sale, exchange or other disposition of the units. Under these special rules:
 
 
·
the excess distribution or gain would be allocated ratably over the Non-Electing Holder's aggregate holding period for the common units;
 
 
·
the amount allocated to the current taxable year and any taxable year prior to the taxable year we were first treated as a PFIC with respect to the Non-Electing Holder would be taxed as ordinary income; and
 
 
·
the amount allocated to each of the other taxable years would be subject to tax at the highest rate of tax in effect for the applicable class of taxpayers for that year, and an interest charge for the deemed deferral benefit would be imposed with respect to the resulting tax attributable to each such other taxable year.
 
United States Federal Income Taxation of Non-U.S. Holders

A beneficial owner of our common units (other than a partnership or an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) that is not a U.S. Holder is referred to as a Non-U.S. Holder. If you are a partner in a partnership (or an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) holding our common units, should consult your own tax advisor regarding the tax consequences to you of the partnership's ownership of our common units.
 
Distributions

Distributions we pay to a Non-U.S. Holder will not be subject to United States federal income tax or withholding tax if the Non-U.S. Holder is not engaged in a United States trade or business. If the Non-U.S. Holder is engaged in a United States trade or business, our distributions will be subject to United States federal income tax to the extent they constitute income effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder's United States trade or business. However, distributions paid to a Non-U.S. Holder that is engaged in a trade or business may be exempt from taxation under an income tax treaty if the income arising from the distribution is not attributable to a United States permanent establishment maintained by the Non-U.S. Holder.
 
Disposition of Units

In general, a Non-U.S. Holder is not subject to United States federal income tax or withholding tax on any gain resulting from the disposition of our common units provided the Non-U.S. Holder is not engaged in a United States trade or business. A Non-U.S. Holder that is engaged in a United States trade or business will be subject to United States federal income tax in the event the gain from the disposition of units is effectively connected with the conduct of such United States trade or business (provided, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder entitled to the benefits of an income tax treaty with the United States, such gain also is attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment). However, even if not engaged in a United States trade or business, individual Non-U.S. Holders may be subject to tax on gain resulting from the disposition of our common units if they are present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year in which those units are disposed and meet certain other requirements.
 
 
85

 
 
Backup Withholding and Information Reporting

In general, payments to a non-corporate U.S. Holder of distributions or the proceeds of a disposition of common units will be subject to information reporting. These payments to a non-corporate U.S. Holder also may be subject to backup withholding if the non-corporate U.S. Holder:
 
 
·
fails to provide an accurate taxpayer identification number;
 
 
·
is notified by the IRS that it has failed to report all interest or corporate distributions required to be reported on its U.S. federal income tax returns; or
 
 
·
in certain circumstances, fails to comply with applicable certification requirements.
 
Non-U.S. Holders may be required to establish their exemption from information reporting and backup withholding by certifying their status on IRS Form W-8BEN, W-8ECI or W-8IMY, as applicable.
 
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, a unitholder generally may obtain a credit for any amount withheld against its liability for United States federal income tax (and obtain a refund of any amounts withheld in excess of such liability) by timely filing a United States federal income tax return with the IRS.
 
Pursuant to recently enacted legislation, individuals who are U.S. Holders (and to the extent specified in applicable Treasury regulations, certain individuals who are Non-U.S. Holders and certain United States entities) who hold "specified foreign financial assets" (as defined in Section 6038D of the Code) are required to file IRS Form 8938 with information relating to the asset for each taxable year in which the aggregate value of all such assets exceeds $75,000 at any time during the taxable year or $50,000 on the last day of the taxable year (or such higher dollar amount as prescribed by applicable Treasury regulations). Specified foreign financial assets would include, among other assets, our common units, unless the shares held through an account maintained with a United States financial institution. Substantial penalties apply to any failure to timely file IRS Form 8938, unless the failure is shown to be due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. Additionally, in the event an individual U.S. Holder (and to the extent specified in applicable Treasury regulations, an individual Non-U.S. Holder or a United States entity) that is required to file IRS Form 8938 does not file such form, the statute of limitations on the assessment and collection of United States federal income taxes of such holder for the related tax year may not close until three years after the date that the required information is filed. U.S. Holders (including U.S. entities) and Non-U.S. Holders are encouraged consult their own tax advisors regarding their reporting obligations under this legislation.
 

NON-UNITED STATES TAX CONSIDERATIONS

Marshall Islands Tax Consequences

The following discussion is based upon the opinion of Seward & Kissel LLP, our counsel as to matters of the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the current laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands applicable to persons who do not reside in, maintain offices in or engage in business in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
 
Because we and our subsidiaries do not and do not expect to conduct business or operations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, under current Marshall Islands law you will not be subject to Marshall Islands taxation or withholding on distributions, including upon distribution treated as a return of capital, we make to you as a unitholder. In addition, you will not be subject to Marshall Islands stamp, capital gains or other taxes on the purchase, ownership or disposition of common units, and you will not be required by the Republic of the Marshall Islands to file a tax return relating to your ownership of common units.

EACH PROSPECTIVE UNITHOLDER IS URGED TO CONSULT HIS OWN TAX COUNSEL OR OTHER ADVISOR WITH REGARD TO THE LEGAL AND TAX CONSEQUENCES OF UNIT OWNERSHIP UNDER THEIR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES.

Taxation of Non-U.K. Holders

Under the United Kingdom Tax Acts, non-U.K. holders will not be subject to any United Kingdom taxes on income or profits (including chargeable (capital) gains) in respect of the acquisition, holding, disposition or redemption of the common units, provided that:
 
 
·
we are not treated as carrying on business in the United Kingdom;
 
 
·
such holders do not have a fixed base or permanent establishment in the United Kingdom to which such common units pertain; and
 
 
·
such holders do not use or hold and are not deemed or considered to use or hold their common units in the course of carrying on a business in the United Kingdom.
 
 
86

 
 
A non-United Kingdom resident company or an individual not resident or ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom that carries on a business in the United Kingdom through a partnership is subject to United Kingdom tax on income derived from the business carried on by the partnership in the United Kingdom. Nonetheless, we expect to conduct our affairs in such a manner that we will not be treated as carrying on business in the United Kingdom. Consequently, we expect that non-U.K. Holders will not be considered to be carrying on business in the United Kingdom for the purposes of the United Kingdom Tax Acts solely by reason of the acquisition, holding, disposition or redemption of their common units.
 
While we do not expect it to be the case, if the arrangements we propose to enter into result in our being considered to carry on business in the United Kingdom for the purposes of the United Kingdom Tax Acts, our unitholders would be considered to be carrying on business in the United Kingdom and would be required to file tax returns with the United Kingdom taxing authority and, subject to any relief provided in any relevant double taxation treaty (including, in the case of holders resident in the United States, the double taxation agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States), would be subject to taxation in the United Kingdom on any income and chargeable gains that are considered to be attributable to the business carried on by us in the United Kingdom.
 
EACH PROSPECTIVE UNITHOLDER IS URGED TO CONSULT HIS OWN TAX COUNSEL OR OTHER ADVISOR WITH REGARD TO THE LEGAL AND TAX CONSEQUENCES OF UNIT OWNERSHIP UNDER THEIR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES.
 

DIVIDENDS AND PAYING AGENTS
 
Not applicable.
 
 
G.
STATEMENTS BY EXPERTS
 
Not applicable.
 
 
H.
DOCUMENTS ON DISPLAY
 
Documents concerning us that are referred to herein may be inspected at our principal executive headquarters at 97 Poseidonos Avenue & 2 Foivis Street, Glyfada, 16674 Greece. Those documents electronically filed via the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (or EDGAR) system may also be obtained from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, free of charge, or from the SEC's Public Reference Section at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates. Further information on the operation of the SEC public reference rooms may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
 
 
I.
SUBSIDIARY INFORMATION
 
Not applicable.
 
 
ITEM 11.
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
 
We are exposed to various market risks, including foreign currency fluctuations, changes in interest rates and credit risk. Our policy is to hedge our exposure to these risks where possible, within boundaries deemed appropriate by management. We accomplish this by entering into appropriate derivative instruments and contracts to maintain the desired level of risk exposure.
 
Our activities expose us primarily to the financial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates as described below.

Interest Rate Risk

The international shipping industry is capital intensive, requiring significant amounts of investment provided in the form of long-term debt. Our debt usually contains floating interest rates that fluctuate with changes in the financial markets and in particular changes in LIBOR. Increasing interest rates could increase our interest expense and adversely impact our future earnings. In the past we have managed this risk by entering into interest rate swap agreements in which we exchanged fixed and variable interest rates based on agreed upon notional amounts. We have used such derivative financial instruments as risk management tools and not for speculative or trading purposes. In addition, the counterparties to our derivative financial instruments have been major financial institutions, which helped us to manage our exposure to nonperformance of our counterparties under our debt agreements. We expect our sensitivity to interest rate changes to increase in the future since all of our interest rate swaps matured during 2012. As of December 31, 2013, our net effective exposure to floating interest rate fluctuations on our outstanding debt was $214.1 million since there was no interest rate swap effective as of that date.
 
Our interest expense is affected by changes in the general level of interest rates, particularly LIBOR. As an indication of the extent of our sensitivity to interest rate changes, an increase in LIBOR of 1% would have decreased our net income and cash flows during the year ended December 31, 2013 by approximately $3.5 million based upon our debt level during 2013. We expect our sensitivity to interest rate changes to increase in the future if we enter into additional debt agreements in connection with our potential acquisition of the Optional Vessels.
 
 
87

 
 
Inflation and Cost Increases

Although inflation has had a moderate impact on operating expenses, interest costs, dry-docking expenses and overhead, we do not expect inflation to have a significant impact on direct costs in the current and foreseeable economic environment other than potentially in relation to insurance costs and crew costs. It is anticipated that insurance costs, which have increased over the last three years, will continue to rise over the next few years and rates may exceed the general level of inflation. LNG transportation is a specialized area and the number of vessels has increased rapidly. Therefore, there has been an increased demand for qualified crews, which has, and may continue to, put inflationary pressure on crew costs.

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

We generate all of our revenue in U.S. dollars, and the majority of our expenses are denominated in U.S. dollars. However, a portion of our ship operating, voyage and the majority of our dry-docking related expenses, primarily ship repairs and spares, consumable stores, port expenses and the majority of our administrative expenses, are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. For the year ended December 31, 2013, we incurred approximately 14.0% of our operating expenses and the majority of our general and administrative expenses in currencies other than the U.S. dollar as compared to 24.7% for the year ended December 31, 2012, including dry docking expenses. For accounting purposes, expenses incurred in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate prevailing on the date of each transaction. Because a significant portion of our expenses are incurred in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, our expenses may from time to time increase relative to our revenues as a result of fluctuations in exchange rates, which could affect the amount of net income that we report in future periods. As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, the net effect of a 1% adverse movement in U.S. dollar exchange rates would not have a material effect on our net income.

We do not currently hedge movements in currency exchange rates, but our management monitors exchange rate fluctuations on a continuous basis. We may seek to hedge this currency fluctuation risk in the future.
 
 
ITEM 12.
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES
 
Not applicable.
 


PART II
 
ITEM 13.
DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES
 
As of December 31, 2013, we were in compliance with all the debt covenants under our various debt agreements.
 
As of June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012 and 2011 and prior to our IPO, we were not in compliance with the following restrictive and financial covenants in our loan facilities and as a result, our independent registered public accounting firm expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern and all of our outstanding debt was classified as a current liability. On July 19, 2013, one of our lenders declared an event of default under one of our credit facilities.  On October 29, 2013 and November 1, 2013, our lenders (i) provided us with their consent to issue guarantees under three of our Sponsor's credit facilities and to repay the $140 Million Shareholder Loan, and (ii) waived their rights in respect of our non-compliance with the minimum liquidity requirement of $30.0 million contained in the $193 Million Ob River Facility until September 30, 2014, which are described in Note 7 of our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. Following the receipt of the waivers and the consents described above our debt was no longer considered callable by our lenders.

$128 Million Clean Force Credit Facility
 
 
·
Restriction on the Provision of Guarantees . We were prohibited from issuing any guarantees for the obligations of any person without the prior written consent of our lender. In September 2012 and June 2013, without obtaining the required lender consent, we, through certain of our subsidiaries, provided guarantees on three loans of our Sponsor, with outstanding borrowings of an aggregate of up to $795.9 million, which are secured by five of the Optional Vessels, the Yenisei River , the Lena River , the Clean Ocean,   the   Clean Planet   and   the   Arctic Aurora.
 
 
·
Restriction on Repayment of Unitholder Loans . We were prohibited from repaying any unitholder loans without the prior written consent of our lender. In April 2012, without obtaining the necessary lender consent, we repaid in full the then outstanding balance of our $140 Million Shareholder Loan using a portion of the proceeds we received from refinancing the Clean Energy   and the Ob River , which resulted in a breach of this covenant as of December 31, 2012.
 
$150 Million Clean Energy Credit Facility
 
 
·
Restriction on the Provision of Guarantees . We were prohibited from issuing any guarantees for the obligations of any person without the prior written consent of our lender. In September 2012 and June 2013, without obtaining the required lender consent, we, through certain of our subsidiaries, provided guarantees on three loans of our Sponsor, with outstanding borrowings of an aggregate of up to $795.9 million, which are secured by five of the Optional Vessels, the Yenisei River , the Lena River , the Clean Ocean,   the   Clean Planet   and the   Arctic Aurora .
 
 
88

 
 
$193 Million Ob River Credit Facility
 
 
·
Minimum Liquidity . We were required to maintain minimum liquidity of $30 million. As of June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, we had $2.8 million and $6.8 million in cash and cash equivalents, respectively.

 
 
·
Restriction on Repayment of Unitholder Loans . We were prohibited from repaying any unitholder loans without the prior written consent of our lender. In April 2012, without obtaining the necessary lender consent, we repaid in full the then outstanding balance of our $140 Million Shareholder Loan using a portion of the proceeds we received from refinancing the Clean Energy   and the Ob River , which resulted in a breach of this covenant as of December 31, 2012.

 
 
·
Restriction on the Provision of Guarantees . We were prohibited from issuing any guarantees for the obligations of any person without the prior written consent of our lender. In September 2012 and June 2013, without obtaining the necessary lender consent, we, through certain of our subsidiaries, provided guarantees on three loans of our Sponsor, with outstanding borrowings of an aggregate of up to $795.9 million, which are secured by five of the Optional Vessels, the Yenisei River , the Lena River , the Clean Ocean,   the   Clean Planet   and the   Arctic Aurora.
 
In addition, one of our credit facilities contained a cross-default provision that could be triggered by a default under one of our other credit facilities.
 
In connection with the closing of our IPO, all of the above referenced credit facilities were repaid in full with a portion of the proceeds of our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility and a portion of the net proceeds of the IPO.
 

ITEM 14.
MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS
 
Use of Proceeds
 
Our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (Registration No. 333-191653), relating to our underwritten IPO of common units, was declared effective by the SEC on November 12, 2013.   The maximum aggregate offering amount registered was $301,875,000.   The offering date of the IPO was November 12, 2013 and the IPO was completed on November 18, 2013. Credit Suisse, BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Deutsche Bank Securities are acting as joint book-running managers of this offering, and ABN AMRO and Crédit Agricole CIB are acting as co-managers of this offering.
 
In November 2013, we completed our IPO (including the full exercise of the underwriters option to purchase an additional 1,875,000 common units from our Sponsor) of 14,75,000 common units, including 6,125,000 common units sold by our Sponsor, at $18.00 per common unit, which resulted in net proceeds to us after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses of $136.9 million.
 
As of the date of this annual report, we have used substantially all the net proceeds of the IPO together with the net proceeds of the S enior Secured Revolving Credit Facility   to repay all of our then existing secured indebtedness and for general partnership purposes, including working capital and vessel acquisitions.
 
 
ITEM 15.
CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
 
Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
 
Our Principal Executive Officer and our Principal Financial and Accounting Officer, after evaluating the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2013, have concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective and ensured that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Principal Executive Officer and our Principal Financial and Accounting, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the SEC's rules and forms.
 
This annual report does not include a report of management's assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting due to a transition period established by rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission for newly public companies. We are an "emerging growth company" as defined in the JOBS Act. As an "emerging growth company" we are exempt from having our independent auditor assess our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
 
Changes in internal control over financial reporting
 
There were no changes in our internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this annual report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
 
 
89

 
 
ITEM 16.
[RESERVED]
 
 
ITEM 16A.
AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT
 
Our Board of Directors has determined that Alexios Rodopoulos qualifies as an audit committee financial expert and is independent under applicable NASDAQ and SEC standards.
 
 
ITEM 16B.
CODE OF ETHICS
 
We have adopted the Dynagas LNG Partners LP Corporate Code of Business Ethics and Conduct that applies to all of our employees and our officers and directors. This document is available under the "Corporate Governance" tab in the "Investor Relations" section of our website (www.dynagaspartners.com). We intend to disclose, under this tab of our web site, any waivers to or amendments of the Dynagas LNG Partners LP Corporate Code of Business Ethics and Conduct for the benefit of any of our directors and executive officers.
 
 
ITEM 16C.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
 
Our principal accountant for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 was Ernst & Young (Hellas) Certified Auditors Accountants S.A.
 
Fees Incurred by the Partnership for   Ernst & Young (Hellas) Certified Auditors Accountants S.A. 's Services
 
In 2013, the fees rendered by the auditors were as follows:
 
 
 
2013
 
   
2012
Audit Fees
 
226,300
 
 
 115,300
Audit-Related Fees
 
-
 
   
 
Tax Fees
 
-
 
   
 
All Other Fees
 
-
 
   
 
 
 
226,300
 
 
115,300
 
 
Audit Fees
 
Audit fees for 2013 include fees related to aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for the audit of the Partnership's annual financial statements. Audit fees in 2012 include fees relating to professional services rendered by the principal accountant for the audit of the Partnership's financial statements in connection with our IPO in November 2013.
 
The audit committee has the authority to pre-approve permissible audit-related and non-audit services not prohibited by law to be performed by our independent auditors and associated fees.  Engagements for proposed services either may be separately pre-approved by the audit committee or entered into pursuant to detailed pre-approval policies and procedures established by the audit committee, as long as the audit committee is informed on a timely basis of any engagement entered into on that basis.  The audit committee separately pre-approved all engagements and fees paid to our principal accountant for all periods in 2013 subsequent to our IPO.
 
Audit-Related Fees
 
None.
 
Tax Fees
 
None.
 
 
ITEM 16D.
EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES
 
Not applicable.
 
ITEM 16E.
PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS
 
Not applicable.
 
ITEM 16F.
CHANGE IN REGISTRANTS' CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT
 
Not applicable.
 
 
90

 
 
ITEM 16G.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
 
We have certified to NASDAQ that our corporate governance practices are in compliance with, and are not prohibited by, the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Therefore, we are exempt from many of NASDAQ's corporate governance practices other than the requirements regarding the disclosure of a going concern audit opinion, submission of a listing agreement, notification to NASDAQ of non-compliance with NASDAQ corporate governance practices, prohibition on disparate reduction or restriction of shareholder voting rights, and the establishment of an audit committee satisfying NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(c)(3) and ensuring that such audit committee's members meet the independence requirement of Listing Rule 5605(c)(2)(A)(ii). The practices we follow in lieu of NASDAQ's corporate governance rules applicable to U.S. domestic issuers are as follows:
 
Audit Committee. NASDAQ requires, among other things, that a listed U.S. company have an audit committee with a minimum of three members, all of whom are independent. As permitted by Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act, our audit committee is comprised of two independent directors.
 
Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee. NASDAQ requires that director nominees be selected, or recommended for the board's selection, either by a nominating committee comprised solely of independent directors or by a majority of independent directors. Each listed company also must certify that it has adopted a formal charter or board resolution addressing the nominations process. As permitted under Marshall Islands law and our Partnership Agreement, we do not currently have a nominating or corporate governance committee.
 
Executive Sessions.   NASDAQ requires that non-management directors meet regularly in executive sessions without management. NASDAQ also requires that all independent directors meet in an executive session at least once a year. As permitted under Marshall Islands law and our Partnership Agreement, our non-management directors do not regularly hold executive sessions without management and we do not expect them to do so in the future.
 
Corporate Governance Guidelines.   NASDAQ requires that a listed U.S. Company adopt a code of conduct applicable to all directors, officers and employees, which must provide for an enforcement mechanism. Disclosure of any director or officer's waiver of the code and the reasons for such waiver is required. We are not required to adopt such guidelines under Marshall Islands law and we have adopted such guidelines.
 
Proxies. As a foreign private issuer, we are not required to solicit proxies or provide proxy statements to NASDAQ pursuant to NASDAQ corporate governance rules or Marshall Islands law. Consistent with Marshall Islands law and as provided in our Partnership Agreement, we will notify our unitholders of meetings between 15 and 60 days before the meeting. This notification will contain, among other things, information regarding business to be transacted at the meeting. In addition, our Partnership Agreement provides that unitholders must give us between 150 and 180 days advance notice to properly introduce any business at a meeting of unitholders.
 
Other than as noted above, we are in compliance with all NASDAQ corporate governance standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. We believe that our established corporate governance practices satisfy NASDAQ's listing standards.
 

ITEM 16H.
MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
 
Not applicable.

PART III
 
ITEM 17.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
 
See Item 18.
 
 
ITEM 18.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
 
The following financial statements, together with the related reports of Ernst & Young (Hellas) Certified Auditors Accountants S.A. , Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm thereon, are filed as part of this Annual Report appearing on pages F-1 through F-20.
 
 
91

 
 
ITEM 19.
EXHIBITS
 
The following exhibits are filed as part of this Annual Report:
 
Exhibit
Number
 
 
Description
     
1.1
 
Certificate of Limited Partnership of Dynagas LNG Partners LP*
1.2
 
Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Dynagas LNG Partners LP
1.3
 
Certificate of Formation of Dynagas GP LLC*
1.4
 
Limited Liability Company Agreement of Dynagas GP LLC*
1.5
 
Certificate of Limited Partnership of Dynagas Operating LP*
1.6
 
Limited Partnership Agreement of Dynagas Operating LP*
1.7
 
Certificate of Formation of Dynagas Operating GP LLC*
1.8
 
Limited Liability Company Agreement of Dynagas GP LLC*
4.1
 
Vessel Management Agreement between Lance Shipping S.A., as vessel owner, and Dynagas Ltd., as manager, dated December 21, 2012, as amended by Addendum No. 1 dated October 7, 2013*
4.2
 
Vessel Management Agreement between Pegasus Shipping S.A., as vessel owner, and Dynagas Ltd., as manager, dated December 21, 2012, as amended by Addendum No. 1 dated October 7, 2013 *
4.3
 
Vessel Management Agreement between Seacrown Maritime Ltd., as vessel owner, and Dynagas Ltd., as manager, dated December 21, 2012, as amended by Addendum No. 1 dated October 7, 2013*
4.4
 
Omnibus Agreement, dated November 18, 2013
4.5
 
Contribution Agreement*
4.6
 
$30 Million Revolving Credit Facility with Dynagas Holding Ltd.
4.7
 
Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility
4.8†
 
Charter Agreement by and between Lance Shipping S.A. and Gazprom Global LNG Limited, a subsidiary of Gazprom, dated August 2, 2011, as amended*
4.9†
 
Charter Agreement by and between Seacrown Maritime Ltd. and Methane Services Ltd., a subsidiary of BG Group, dated October 2, 2010, as amended*
4.10†
 
Charter Agreement by and between Pegasus Shipholding S.A. and Methane Services Ltd., a subsidiary of BG Group, dated May 18, 2011, as amended*
4.11
 
Executive Services Agreement
8.1
 
Subsidiaries of Dynagas LNG Partners LP
12.1
 
Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certification of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Principal Executive Officer
12.2
 
Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certification of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Principal Financial and Accounting Officer.
13.1
 
Certification under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 of the Principal Executive Officer
13.2
 
Certification under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 of the Principal Financial and Accounting Officer
 
 
 
Certain portions have been omitted pursuant to a confidential treatment request.  Omitted information has been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
*
Incorporated by reference to the Partnership's Registration Statement on Form F-1, which was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 12, 2013 (Registration No. 333-191653)
 
**
Pursuant to Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, these interactive data files are deemed not filed or part of a registration statement or prospectus for purposes of Sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933 or Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and otherwise are not subject to liability under such sections.
 

 
92

 

SIGNATURES
 
 
The registrant hereby certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form 20-F and that it has duly caused and authorized the undersigned to sign this annual report on its behalf.
 
 
 
DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
 
 
 
 
 
By:
/s/ Michael Gregos
 
 
 
Name:
Michael Gregos 
 
 
Title:
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer) 
       
Date:
March 24, 2014
 
         



 
 

 


DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



 
Page
   
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
F-2
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2013 and 2012
F-3
Consolidated Statements of Income for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011
F-4
Consolidated Statements of Partners' Equity for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011
F-5
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011
F-6
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
F-7





 










 
F-1

 


REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM


The Board of Directors and Partners of Dynagas LNG Partners LP

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Dynagas LNG Partners LP (the "Partnership") as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, and the related consolidated statements of income, Partners' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2013. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Partnership's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Partnership's internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Partnership's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Dynagas LNG Partners LP at December 31, 2013 and 2012, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2013, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.


/s/ Ernst & Young (Hellas) Certified Auditors Accountants S.A.
Athens, Greece
March 24, 2014











 
F-2

 

DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
 
Consolidated Balance Sheets
As of December 31, 2013 and 2012
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. Dollars—except for unit data)

   
2013
   
2012
 
             
ASSETS
           
CURRENT ASSETS:
           
Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 5,677     $  
Restricted cash (Notes 2 & 6)
          6,773  
Trade receivables, net of allowance for doubtful debt
    190       371  
Prepayments and other assets
    283       105  
Due from related party (Note 3)
    1,456        
Deferred charges (Note 5)
          1,732  
                 
Total current assets
    7,606       8,981  
                 
                 
FIXED ASSETS, NET:
               
Vessels, net (Note 4)
    453,175       466,754  
                 
Total fixed assets, net
    453,175       466,754  
                 
OTHER NON CURRENT ASSETS:
               
Restricted Cash (Note 6(d))
    22,000        
Deferred Revenue
    3,627        
Deferred Charges (Note 5)
    1,652        
Due from related party (Note 3(a))
    675       540  
                 
Total assets
  $ 488,735     $ 476,275  
                 
                 
LIABILITIES AND PARTNERS' EQUITY
               
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
               
Current portion of long-term debt (Note 6)
  $     $ 380,715  
Trade payables
    3,743       5,040  
Loan from related party (Note 3(c))
    5,500        
Due to related party (Note 3(a))
          3,859  
Accrued liabilities
    1,041       2,085  
Unearned revenue
    4,619       6,735  
                 
Total current liabilities
    14,903       398,434  
                 
Deferred revenue
    2,048       2,666  
Long—Term Debt, net of current portion (Note 6)
    214,085        
                 
Total non-current liabilities
    216,133       2,666  
                 
                 
Commitments and contingencies (Note 8)
           
                 
PARTNERS' EQUITY:
               
Common unitholders: 14,985,000 units issued and outstanding as at December 31, 2013 and 6,735,000 units issued and outstanding as at December 31, 2012 (Note 9)
    182,969       23,278  
Subordinated unitholders: 14,985,000 units issued and outstanding as at December 31, 2013 and 2012 (Note 9)
    74,580       51,793  
General partner: 30,000 units issued and outstanding as at December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 (Note 9)
    150       104  
                 
Total partners' equity
    257,699       75,175  
                 
Total liabilities and partners' equity
  $ 488,735     $ 476,275  

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 
F-3

 
 
DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
 
Consolidated Statements of Income
For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. Dollars—except for unit and per unit data)

 
 
   
2013
   
2012
   
2011
 
REVENUES:
                 
Voyage revenues
  $ 85,679     $ 77,498       52,547  
EXPENSES:
                       
Voyage expenses
    (675 )     (2,487 )     (715 )
Voyage expenses-related party (Note 3(a))
    (1,011 )     (981 )     (638 )
Vessel operating expenses
    (11,909 )     (15,722 )     (11,350 )
General and administrative expenses
    (387 )     (278 )     (54 )
Management fees-related party (Note 3(a))
    (2,737 )     (2,638 )     (2,529 )
Depreciation (Note 4)
    (13,579 )     (13,616 )     (13,579 )
Dry-docking and special survey costs
          (2,109 )      
                         
Operating income
    55,381       39,667       23,682  
                         
OTHER INCOME/(EXPENSES):
                       
Interest income
          1       4  
Interest and finance costs (Note 6 & 11)
    (9,732 )     (9,576 )     (3,977 )
Loss on derivative financial instruments (Note 7)
          (196 )     (824 )
Other, net
    (29 )     (60 )     (65 )
                         
Total other expenses
    (9,761 )     (9,831 )     (4,862 )
                         
Partnership’s Net Income
  $ 45,620     $ 29,836     18,820  
Common unitholders’ interest in Net Income
  $ 22,787     $ 9,239     $ 5,828  
Subordinated unitholders’ interest in Net Income
  $ 22,787     $ 20,556     12,966  
General Partner’s interest in Net Income
  $ 46     $ 41     26  
Earnings per unit, basic and diluted: (Note 10)
                       
Common unit (basic and diluted)
  $ 2.95     $ 1.37     0.87  
Subordinated unit (basic and diluted)
  $ 1.52     $ 1.37     0.87  
General Partner unit (basic and diluted)
  $ 1.52     $ 1.37     0.87  
Weighted average number of units outstanding, basic and diluted: (Note 10)
                       
Common units
    7,729,521       6,735,000       6,735,000  
Subordinated units
    14,985,000       14,985,000       14,985,000  
General Partner units
    30,000       30,000       30,000  
 
 
 
 


The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 
F-4

 


DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
 
Consolidated Statements of Partners' Equity
For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. Dollars—except for unit data)

                                                       
 
Number of Units
   
Partners' Capital
 
 
General
   
Common
   
Subordinated
   
General
   
Common
   
Subordinated
   
Total
 
BALANCE, December 31, 2010
 
30,000
     
6,735,000
     
14,985,000
   
$
37
   
$
8,211
   
$
18,271
   
$
26,519
 
—Net income
 
     
     
     
26
     
5,828
     
12,966
     
18,820
 
                                                       
BALANCE, December 31, 2011
 
30,000
     
6,735,000
     
14,985,000
     
63
     
14,039
     
31,237
     
45,339
 
—Net income
 
     
     
     
41
     
9,239
     
20,556
     
29,836
 
                                                       
BALANCE, December 31, 2012
 
30,000
     
6,735,000
     
14,985,000
   
$
104
   
$
23,278
   
$
51,793
   
$
75,175
 
—Net income
                         
46
     
22,787
     
22,787
     
45,620
 
—Issuance of common units, net of issuance costs (Note 9)
 
-
     
8,250,000
     
-
     
-
     
136,904
     
-
     
136,904
 
BALANCE, December 31, 2013
 
30,000
     
14,985,000
     
14,985,000
   
$
150
   
$
182,969
   
$
74,580
   
$
257,699
 
                                                       
 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
 

 

 


 
F-5

 


DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
 
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. Dollars)

   
2013
   
2012
   
2011
 
Cash flows from Operating Activities:
                 
Net income:
  $ 45,620     $ 29,836     $ 18,820  
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
                       
Depreciation
    13,579       13,616       13,579  
Amortization and write-off of deferred financing fees
    1,050       590       100  
Deferred revenue
    (4,245 )     2,666        
Change in fair value of derivative financial instruments
          (5,692 )     (11,256 )
Provision for doubtful debt
    63              
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
                       
Trade receivables
    118       126       (322 )
Prepayments and other assets
    (178 )     184       245  
Due from/to related party
    (5,450 )     (18,597 )     6,567  
Trade payables
    (3,156 )     3,804       307  
Accrued liabilities
    (1,081 )     (701 )     (44 )
Unearned revenue
    (2,116 )     2,070       978  
                         
Net cash provided by Operating Activities
    44,204       27,902       28,974  
                         
Cash flows from Investing Activities:
                       
Net cash used in Investing Activities
                 
                         
Cash flows from/(used in) Financing Activities:
                       
Decrease/(increase) in restricted cash
    (15,227 )     (4,453 )     16,982  
Issuance of common units, net of issuance costs
    138,800              
Proceeds from long-term debt
    214,085       220,000        
Repayment of long-term debt
    (380,715 )     (124,890 )     (22,540 )
Loan from related party
    5,500              
Repayment of stockholders' loan
          (116,584 )     (23,416 )
Payment of deferred financing fees
    (970 )     (1,975 )      
                         
Net cash used in Financing Activities
    (38,527 )     (27,902 )     (28,974 )
                         
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
    5,677              
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year
                 
                         
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year
  $ 5,677     $     $  
                         
SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION
                       
Cash paid during the year for interest
  $ 9,487     $ 7,775     $ 3,797  

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statement s

 
F-6

 

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1.           Basis of Presentation and General Information:

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Dynagas LNG Partners LP and its wholly-owned subsidiaries as further discussed below.

Dynagas LNG Partners LP ("Dynagas Partners" or "The Partnership") was incorporated as a limited Partnership on May 30, 2013 under the laws of the Republic of The Marshall Islands as part of reorganization to acquire, directly or indirectly, the interests in three vessel owning companies, Pegasus Shipholding S.A., Lance Shipping S.A. and Seacrown Maritime Ltd, wholly owned subsidiaries of Dynagas Holding Ltd ("Dynagas Holding" or "the Sponsor" a Company beneficially wholly owned by Mr. George Prokopiou, the Partnership's Chairman and major unitholder and his close family members, together the "Family") through the ownership of 100% of the ownership interests in an intermediate holding company, Dynagas Equity Holding Ltd ("Dynagas Equity").

The Partnership is engaged in the seaborne transportation industry through the ownership and operation of liquefied natural gas vessels and is the sole owner of all outstanding shares or units of the following subsidiaries:

 
(a)
Pegasus Shipholding S.A. ("Pegasus"), a Marshall Islands corporation that owns the Marshall Islands flag, 149,700 cubic meters in carrying capacity, class membrane, LNG carrier Clean Energy which was delivered to Pegasus in March 2007.

 
(b)
Lance Shipping S.A. (“Lance”), a Marshall Islands corporation that owns the Marshall Islands flag, 149,700 cubic meters in carrying capacity, class membrane, LNG carrier Ob River (renamed from Clean Power in July 2012) which was built and delivered to Lance in July 2007.

 
(c)
Seacrown Maritime Ltd. ("Seacrown"), a Marshall Islands corporation that owns the Marshall Islands flag, 149,700 cubic meters in carrying capacity, class membrane, LNG carrier Clean Force which was built and delivered to Seacrown in January 2008.

 
(d)
Quinta Group Corp. (“Quinta”), a Nevis holding Company that owns all of the outstanding capital stock of Pegasus.

 
(e)
Pelta Holdings S.A. ("Pelta"), a Nevis holding Company that owns all of the outstanding capital stock of Lance.

 
(f)
Dynagas Equity Holdings Ltd (“Dynagas Equity”), a Liberian holding Company that owns all of the outstanding capital stock of Quinta, Pelta and Seacrown.

 
(g)
Dynagas Operating GP LLC ("Dynagas Operating GP"), a Marshall Islands Limited Liability Company, in which the Partnership holds 100% membership interests.

 
(h)
Dynagas Operating LP ("Dynagas Operating"), a Marshall Islands limited partnership that has 100% percentage interests in the Partnership and the Non-Economic General Partner Interest in Dynagas Operating GP.
 
Dynagas Equity, Quinta, Pelta, Pegasus, Lance and Seacrown are hereinafter referred to as the predecessor companies.

Dynagas Equity was incorporated on July 30, 2012, under the laws of the Republic of Liberia and its only activity is the holding of all the issued and outstanding common stock of Pegasus (through the ownership of all issued and outstanding common stock of Quinta), Lance (through the ownership of all issued and outstanding common stock of Pelta) and Seacrown.

On October 29, 2013, the Family transferred all of the issued and outstanding common stock of Dynagas Equity to Dynagas Holding. On the same date, Dynagas Holding transferred to the Partnership its ownership interest in Dynagas Equity in exchange of a) 6,735,000 of Dynagas Partners' common units, b) 14,985,000 subordinated units and c) 30,000 general partner units, issued to Dynagas GP LLC (the "General Partner"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Dynagas Holding. On November 18 2013, the Partnership and the Sponsor offered to the public 8,250,000 and 4,250,000 common units respectively, successfully completing its initial public offering (the "IPO" or the "Offering") on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, whereas, on December 5, 2013, the Sponsor offered an additional 1,875,000 units in connection with the underwriters' exercise of their over-allotment option. Following the completion of this Offering, Dynagas Holding owns a 52% of the equity interests in Dynagas Partners, including the 0.01% General Partner interest. As the Family is the sole shareholder of Dynagas Holding, and previously owned 100% of the predecessor companies, there is no change in ownership or control of the business, and therefore the transaction constitutes a reorganization of companies under common control, and is accounted for in a manner similar to a pooling of interests. Accordingly, the financial statements of the predecessor companies along with Dynagas Partners, from the date of its inception have been presented using combined historical carrying costs of the assets and liabilities of the predecessor companies, and present the consolidated financial position and results of operations as if Dynagas Partners and the predecessor companies were consolidated for all periods presented.

The technical, administrative and commercial management of the Partnership's vessels is performed by Dynagas Ltd. (the "Manager"), a related company, wholly owned by the Partnership's Chairman of the Board of Directors (Note 3(a)).
 
 
F-7

 

At the closing of the Offering, the Partnership entered into the following agreements: i) an Omnibus agreement with Dynagas Holding that provides the Partnership the right to purchase LNG carrier vessels from the Sponsor at a purchase price to be determined pursuant to the terms and conditions contained therein (Note 3(d)) and ii) a $30 million revolving credit facility with the Sponsor to be used for general partnership purposes (Note 3(c)).
 
 
2.           Significant Accounting Policies and Recent Accounting Pronouncements:

 
(a)
Principles of Consolidation: The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Dynagas Partners and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, on the basis of the reorganization referred to in Note 1, assuming that Dynagas Partners and the predecessor companies were consolidated for all periods presented. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation.

 
(b)
Use of Estimates: The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 
(c)
Other Comprehensive Income: The Partnership follows the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standard Codification ("ASC") 220, "Comprehensive Income" which requires separate presentation of certain transactions, which are recorded directly as components of equity. The Partnership has no such transactions which affect other comprehensive income and, accordingly, for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 comprehensive income equals net income.

 
(d)
Foreign Currency Translation: The functional currency of the Partnership is the U.S. Dollar because the Partnership's vessels operate in international shipping markets, and therefore primarily transact business in U.S. Dollars. The Partnership's books of accounts are maintained in U.S. Dollars. Transactions involving other currencies during the year are converted into U.S. Dollars using the exchange rates in effect at the time of the transactions. At the balance sheet date, monetary assets and liabilities, which are denominated in other currencies, are translated into U.S. Dollars using the balance sheet date exchange rates. Resulting gains or losses are included in Other, net in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.

 
(e)
Cash and Cash Equivalents: The Partnership considers highly liquid investments such as time deposits with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

 
(f)
Restricted cash: Restricted cash comprises of minimum liquidity collateral requirements or minimum required cash deposits, as defined in the Partnership's loan agreements.

 
(g)
Trade Receivables, net: The amount shown as trade receivables, net, at each balance sheet date, includes receivables from charterers for hire net of any provision for doubtful accounts. At each balance sheet date, all potentially uncollectible accounts are assessed individually for purposes of determining the appropriate provision for doubtful accounts primarily based on the aging of such balances and any amounts in disputes. Provision for doubtful accounts as of December 31, 2013 and 2012 was $63 and nil, respectively.

 
(h)
Insurance Claims: The Partnership records insurance claim recoveries for insured losses incurred on damage to fixed assets, loss of hire and for insured crew medical expenses. Insurance claim recoveries are recorded, net of any deductible amounts, at the time the Partnership's vessels suffer insured damages or when crew medical expenses are incurred, when recovery is probable under the related insurance policies, the Partnership can make an estimate of the amount to be reimbursed following submission of the insurance claim and when the claim is not subject to litigation. No significant claims existed in 2013 and 2012.

 
(i)
Vessels, Net: Vessels are stated at cost, which consists of the contract price and any material expenses incurred upon delivery (initial repairs, improvements and delivery expenses, interest expense and on-site supervision costs incurred during the construction periods). Subsequent expenditures for conversions and major improvements are also capitalized when they appreciably extend the life, increase the earning capacity or improve the efficiency or safety of the vessels; otherwise these amounts are charged to expense as incurred. The cost of each of the Partnership's vessels is depreciated beginning when the vessel is ready for her intended use, on a straight-line basis over the vessel's remaining economic useful life, after considering the estimated residual value (a vessel's residual value is estimated as 12% of the initial vessel cost, being approximate to a vessel's light weight multiplied by the then estimated scrap price per metric ton adjusted to reflect the premium from the value of stainless steel material and represents Management's best estimate of the current selling price assuming the vessels are already of age and condition expected at the end of its useful life). Management estimates the useful life of the Partnership's vessels to be 35 years from the date of initial delivery from the shipyard. When regulations place limitations over the ability of a vessel to trade on a worldwide basis, its remaining useful life is adjusted at the date such regulations are adopted.
 
 
F-8

 
 
 
(j)
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets: The Partnership follows ASC 360-10-40 "Impairment or Disposals of Long-Lived Assets", which addresses financial accounting and reporting for the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets. The standard requires that long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangibles held and used by an entity be reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. When the estimate of undiscounted projected operating cash flows, excluding interest charges, expected to be generated by the use of the asset is less than its carrying amount, the Partnership should evaluate the asset for an impairment loss. Measurement of the impairment loss is based on the fair value of the asset. The fair values are determined through Level 2 inputs of the fair value hierarchy as defined in ASC 820 "Fair value measurements and disclosures" based on management's estimates and assumptions and by making use of available market data and taking into consideration third party valuations and other market observable data that allow value to be determined. The Partnership reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances, such as undiscounted projected operating cash flows, business plans to dispose a vessel earlier than the end of its useful life and prevailing market conditions, indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. The Partnership determines undiscounted projected net operating cash flows, for each vessel and compares it to the vessel's carrying value. In developing estimates of future cash flows, the Partnership must make assumptions about future charter rates, vessel operating expenses, fleet utilization, and the estimated remaining useful life of the vessels. These assumptions are based on historical trends as well as future expectations. The projected net operating cash flows are determined by considering the charter revenues from existing time charters for the fixed fleet days and the five-year historical average of charter rates for the unfixed days. Expected outflows for scheduled vessels' maintenance and vessel operating expenses are based on historical data, and adjusted annually assuming an average annual inflation rate prevailing at the time of test. An estimate is also applied to effective fleet utilization, taking into account the period(s) each vessel is expected to undergo her scheduled maintenance (dry-docking and special surveys) and vessels loss of hire from repositioning or other conditions. Estimates for the remaining estimated useful lives of the current fleet and scrap values are identical with those employed as part of the Partnership's depreciation policy. As of December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, the Partnership concluded that there were no events or changes in circumstances indicating that the carrying amount of its vessels may not be recoverable and accordingly no impairment loss was recorded these years.

 
(k)
Accounting for Special Survey and Dry-Docking Costs: The Partnership follows the direct expense method of accounting for dry-docking and special survey costs where such are expensed in the period incurred. The vessels undergo dry-dock or special survey approximately every five years during the first fifteen years of their life and every two and a half years within their following useful life. Costs relating to routine repairs and maintenance are also expensed as incurred. All three vessels in the Partnership's fleet completed their initial scheduled special survey repairs in 2012.

 
(l)
Financing Costs: Costs associated with new loans including fees paid to lenders or required to be paid to third parties on the lender's behalf for obtaining new loans or refinancing existing ones are recorded as deferred charges. Such fees are deferred and amortized to interest and finance costs during the life of the related debt using the effective interest method. Unamortized fees are presented in the accompanied balance sheets as deferred charges. Unamortized fees relating to loans repaid or refinanced as debt extinguishments and loan commitment fees are expensed as interest and finance costs in the period incurred in the accompanying statements of income.

 
(m)
Concentration of Credit Risk: Financial instruments, which potentially subject the Partnership to significant concentrations of credit risk, consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables and derivative contracts (interest rate swaps). The maximum exposure to loss due to credit risk is the book value at the balance sheet date. The Partnership places its cash and cash equivalents, consisting mostly of deposits, with high credit qualified financial institutions. The Partnership performs periodic evaluations of the relative credit standing of those financial institutions. The Partnership limits its credit risk with accounts receivable by performing ongoing credit evaluations of its customers' financial condition and generally does not require collateral for its accounts receivable.

During 2013 and 2012, charterers that individually accounted for more than 10% of the Partnership's revenues were as follows:

Charterer
 
2013
   
2012
   
A
 
61%
   
58%
   
B
 
39%
   
16%
   
C
 
-
   
26%
   
   
100%
   
100%
   
 
 
 
F-9

 
 
 
(n)
Accounting for Revenues and Related Expenses: The Partnership generates its revenues from charterers for the chartering of its vessels. All vessels are chartered under time charters, where a contract is entered into for the use of a vessel for a specific period of time and at a specified daily charter hire rate. If a charter agreement exists and collection of the related revenue is reasonably assured, revenue is recognized, as it is earned ratably over the duration of the period of the time charter. Furthermore, revenues from time chartering of vessels are accounted for as operating leases and are thus recognized on a straight line basis as the average minimum lease revenue over the rental periods of such charter agreements, as service is performed with the residual or excess from actually collected hire based on the time charter agreement for each period being classified as deferred revenue in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Unearned revenue includes cash received prior to the balance sheet date for which all criteria to recognize as revenue have not yet been met as at the balance sheet date and accordingly is related to revenue earned after such date. Voyage expenses, primarily consisting of port, canal and bunker expenses that are unique to a particular charter, are paid for by the charterer under the time charter arrangements or by the Company during periods of off-hire except for commissions, which are always paid for by the Company. All voyage expenses are expensed as incurred, except for commissions. Commissions paid to brokers are deferred and amortized over the related charter period to the extent revenue has been deferred since commissions are earned as the Partnership's revenues are earned.
 
 
(o)
Repairs and Maintenance : All repair and maintenance expenses including underwater inspection expenses are expensed in the period incurred. Such costs are included in vessel operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.

 
(p)
Earnings Per Unit : The Partnership consists of common units, subordinated units, a general partner interest and incentive distribution rights. Our incentive distribution rights are a separate class of non-voting interests that are currently held by our general partner but, subject to certain restrictions, may be transferred or sold apart from general partner’s interest. In this respect the Partnership calculates basic earnings per unit by allocating earnings to the general partner, limited partners and incentive distribution rights holder using the two-class method and by utilizing the contractual terms of the partnership agreement. Basic earnings per unit are computed by dividing net income available to each class of unitholders by the weighted average number of each class of units outstanding during the year. Diluted earnings per unit reflect the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue units were exercised, if any. The Partnership had no dilutive securities outstanding during the three-year period ended December 31, 2013.

 
(q)
Segment Reporting: The Partnership has determined that it operates under one reportable segment relating to its operations as it operates solely LNG vessels. The Partnership reports financial information and evaluates its operations and operating results by type of vessel and not by the length or type of ship employment for its customers. The Partnership's management does not use discrete financial information to evaluate operating results for each type of charter. Although revenue can be identified according to these types of charters or for charters with different duration, management cannot and does not identify expenses, profitability or other financial information for these charters. Furthermore, when the Partnership charters a vessel to a charterer, the charterer is free to trade the vessel worldwide and, as a result, the disclosure of geographic information is impracticable.

 
(r)
Fair Value Measurements: The Partnership adopted ASC 820, "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures", which defines, and provides guidance as to the measurement of fair value. This guidance creates a fair value hierarchy of measurement and indicates that, when possible, fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants in the market in which the reporting entity transacts. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable data that are not corroborated by market data (Level 3), for example, the reporting entity's own data. Observable market based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data are classified under Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. Under the standard, fair value measurements would be separately disclosed by level within the fair value hierarchy. ASC 820 applies when assets or liabilities in the financial statements are to be measured at fair value, but does not require additional use of fair value beyond the requirements in other accounting principles. Upon issuance of guidance on the fair value option in 2007, the Partnership elected not to report the then existing financial assets or liabilities at fair value that were not already reported as such.
 
 
F-10

 

 
(s)
Commitments and Contingencies: Commitments are recognized when the Partnership has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of past events and it is probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will be required to settle this obligation, and a reliable estimate of the amount of the obligation can be made. Provisions are reviewed at each balance sheet date and adjusted to reflect the present value of the expenditure expected to be required to settle the obligation. Contingent liabilities are not recognized in the financial statements but are disclosed unless the possibility of an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits is remote. Contingent assets are not recognized in the financial statements but are disclosed when an inflow of economic benefits is probable.
 
 
(t)
Variable Interest Entities : ASC 810-10, addresses the consolidation of business enterprises (variable interest entities) to which the usual condition (ownership of a majority voting interest) of consolidation does not apply. The guidance focuses on financial interests that indicate control. It concludes that in the absence of clear control through voting interests, a Partnership's exposure (variable interest) to the economic risks and potential rewards from the variable interest entity's assets and activities are the best evidence of control. Variable interests are rights and obligations that convey economic gains or losses from changes in the value of the variable interest entity's assets and liabilities. Additionally, ASU 2009-17, Consolidations (Topic 810) "Improvements to Financial Reporting by Enterprises Involved with Variable Interest Entities" determines when an entity that is insufficiently capitalized or is not controlled through voting (or similar rights) should be consolidated. The determination of whether a reporting entity is required to consolidate another entity is based on, among other things, the other entity's purpose and design and the reporting entity's ability to direct the activities of the other entity that most significantly impact the other entity's economic performance. ASU 2009-17 also requires a reporting entity to provide additional disclosures about its involvement with variable interest entities and any significant changes in risk exposure due to that involvement. The Partnership evaluates financial instruments, service contracts, and other arrangements to determine if any variable interests relating to an entity exist, as the primary beneficiary would be required to include assets, liabilities, and the results of operations of the variable interest entity in its financial statements. The Partnership's evaluation did not result in an identification of variable interest entities as of December 31, 2013 and 2012.

 
(u)
Accounting for Financial Instruments and Derivatives: The principal financial assets of the Partnership consist of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and trade receivables, net. The principal financial liabilities of the Partnership consist of trade payables, accrued liabilities, long-term debt, and interest-rate swaps. Derivative financial instruments are used to manage risk related to fluctuations of interest rates. ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, requires all derivative contracts to be recorded at fair value, as determined in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (Note 7). The changes in fair value of a derivative contract are recognized in earnings unless specific hedging criteria are met.
 
At the inception of a hedge relationship, the Company formally designates and documents the hedge relationship to which the Partnership wishes to apply hedge accounting and the risk management objective and strategy undertaken for the hedge. The documentation includes identification of the hedging instrument, hedged item or transaction, the nature of the risk being hedged and how the entity will assess the hedging instrument's effectiveness in offsetting exposure to changes in the hedged item's cash flows attributable to the hedged risk. A cash flow hedge is a hedge of the exposure to variability in cash flows that is attributable to a particular risk associated with a recognized asset or liability, or a highly probable forecasted transaction that could affect profit or loss. Such hedges are expected to be highly effective in achieving offsetting changes in cash flows and are assessed on an ongoing basis to determine whether they actually have been highly effective throughout the financial reporting periods for which they were designated. All derivatives are recorded on the balance sheet as assets or liabilities and measured at fair value. For derivatives designated as cash flow hedges, the effective portion of the changes in fair value of the derivatives are recorded in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income/(Loss) and subsequently recognized in earnings when the hedged items impact earnings.
 
None of the Company's derivative instruments matured in 2012 (Note 7) met those hedging criteria and, therefore, the changes in fair value were recognized as an increase or decrease in statements of income.

 
(v)
Recent Accounting Pronouncements : There are no recent accounting pronouncements issued in 2013, whose adoption would have a material impact on the Partnership's consolidated financial statements in the current year or are expected to have a material impact in future years.
 
 
F-11

 
 
3.           Transactions with related parties:

 
(a)
Dynagas Ltd.

Dynagas Ltd. (or the "Manager"), is a Company beneficially owned by the Partnership's Chairman. The Manager had entered into a separate management agreement with an original duration up to December 31, 2012 with each of the vessel-owning entities of the Partnership in order to provide technical, administrative and commercial management services to the Partnership in exchange for a fixed daily fee. Beginning on the first calendar year after the commencement of the vessel management agreements and each calendar year thereafter, these fees are adjusted upwards by 4% until expiration of the management agreement. As December 31, 2012, daily management fees per vessel ranged from $2.34 to $2.43. The Manager also provided other services under these agreements for which the Partnership pays additional fees, including (i) a commission of 1.25% over charter-hire agreements arranged by the Manager and (ii) a lump sum new-building supervision fee of $700 for the services rendered by the Manager in respect of the construction of the vessel plus out of pocket expenses. With effect from January 1, 2013, following the expiration of its' previous agreements,  the Manager entered into an eight year term separate management agreement with each vessel-owning entity of the Partnership in order to provide technical, administrative and commercial management services to the Partnership in exchange for a daily management fee of $2.5. Beginning on the first calendar year after the commencement of the vessel management agreements and each calendar year thereafter, these fees will be adjusted upwards by 3% until expiration of the management agreement, subject to further annual increases to reflect material unforeseen costs of providing the management services, by an amount to be agreed between the Partnership and the Manager, which amount will be reviewed and approved by the conflicts committee. As of December 31, 2013, each vessel was charged the basis daily management fee of $2.5, whereas, for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, daily management fees per vessel ranged from $2.34 to $2.43 and $2.25 to $2.34, respectively. The Manager also provides other services under these agreements for which the Partnership pays additional fees, including: (i) a commission of 1.25% over charter-hire agreements arranged by the Manager and (ii) a lump sum new-building supervision fee of $700 for the services rendered by the Manager in respect of the construction of the vessel plus out of pocket expenses. The agreements will terminate automatically after a change of control of the owners and/or of the owner's ultimate parent, in which case an amount equal to the estimated remaining fees but in any case not less than for a period of at the least 36 months and not more than 60 months, will become payable to the Manager.
 
Fees charged in 2013, 2012 and 2011 for technical and administrative services amounted to $2,737, $2,638 and $2,529, respectively, and are separately reflected as Management fees-related party in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. Commissions charged in 2013, 2012 and 2011 for commercial services amounted to $1,011, $981 and $638, respectively, and are separately reflected as Voyage expenses-related party in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. These amounts were fully settled up to December 31, 2013, whereas, in as of December 31, 2012, amounts due to the Manager totaled $3,619 and are included in Due to related party in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets together with $240, relating to liabilities arising out of the fleet operations (current account) As of December 31, 2013, the Partnership had granted to the Manager working capital advances of $1,456 which are separately reflected in Current Assets, Due from related party in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

The management agreements provide for an advance equal to three months of management fees per vessel as security. Pursuant to the terms of the separate management agreements discussed above, the security advance payment, effective January 1, 2013, increased from $180 to $225 per vessel, and other than in the case of termination of the management agreement by reason of default by the Manager, the advance is not refundable. Such advances as of December 31, 2013 and 2012 amounted to $675 and $540, respectively, and are separately reflected in Non-Current Assets as Due from related party in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

 
(b)
Stockholders' Loan

On February 9, 2004, Pegasus, Lance and Seacrown entered into an unsecured, interest free credit loan facility agreement with Gregold Compania Maritima S.A a corporation controlled by members of the of the Chairman's Family for a principal amount up to $140,000 available until December 31, 2012. The amount of $140,000 was drawn at various dates in periods prior to December 31, 2010 and was used to partially finance the vessels' construction cost and to provide Pegasus, Lance and Seacrown working capital for general corporate purposes. Part of the loan ($23,416) was paid in 2011 and the remaining amount of $116,584 was fully paid in April 2012, using the proceeds from the loans' refinancing discussed in Note 6(a) and 6(b).

 
(c)
Loan from related party

On November 18, 2013, concurrently with the completion of its' initial public offering, the Partnership entered into an interest free $30.0 million revolving credit facility with its' Sponsor, Dynagas Holding, with an original term of five years from the closing date, to be used for general partnership purposes including working capital. The loan may be drawn and be prepaid in whole or in part at any time during the life of the facility. As of December 31, 2013, $5.5 million were drawn down under the facility, which are separately reflected in Current Liabilities, Loan from related party in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. In January 2014, the total amount drawn under the respective facility was repaid.
 
 
F-12

 

 
(d)
Omnibus Agreement

On November 18, 2013, the Partnership entered into an agreement with its Sponsor (the "Omnibus Agreement") to govern among other things i) the terms and the extent the Partnership and the Sponsor may compete each other, ii) the procedures to be followed for the exercise of Partnership's options to acquire certain offered optional vessels by its Sponsor, iii) certain rights of first offer to the Sponsor for the acquisition of LNG carriers from the Partnership and iv) Sponsor's provisions of certain indemnities to the Partnership. As of December 31, 2013, no such option was exercised.
 
 
(e)
Cross Collateral Guarantee

Reed Trading Ltd. ("Reed") is a vessel-owning company controlled by members of the Family. One of the Partnership's lenders has registered a first priority mortgage on Reed's vessel, the Felicity, in its favor as a cross collateral guarantee on the loan obtained by Pegasus (Note 6(a)). As of December 31, 2012, there were no balances due to /from Reed whilst subsequent to the loan repayment discussed in Note 6(a), Reed was released from its cross collateral guarantee obligations.

 
(f)
Executive Services Agreement

On March 21, 2014, we entered into an executive services agreement with our Manager with retroactive effect from the IPO closing date, pursuant to which our Manager provides to us the services of our executive officers, who report directly to our Board of Directors. Under the agreement, our Manager is entitled to an executive services fee of €538,000 per annum, payable in equal monthly installments. The agreement has an initial term of five years and automatically renews for successive five year terms unless terminated earlier.
 
4.           Vessels, net:

The amounts in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets are analyzed as follows:

   
Vessel
Cost
   
Accumulated
Depreciation
   
Net Book
Value
 
                   
Balance December 31, 2011
  $ 540,454     $ (60,084 )   $ 480,370  
—Depreciation
          (13,616 )     (13,616 )
Balance December 31, 2012
  $ 540,454     $ (73,700 )   $ 466,754  
—Depreciation
          (13,579 )     (13,579 )
Balance December 31, 2013
  $ 540,454     $ (87,279 )   $ 453,175  

As of December 31, 2013, all of the Partnership's vessels were first priority mortgaged as collateral to secure the bank loan discussed in Note 6.
 
5.           Deferred Charges:

The amounts in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets represent fees paid to the lenders in relation with the bank loans discussed in Note 6 and are analyzed as follows:

   
Amount
 
         
Balance, December 31, 2011 net of accumulated amortization of $529
 
$
347
 
—Additions
   
1,975
 
—Write-offs
   
(105
)
—Amortization
   
(485
)
Balance, December 31, 2012 net of accumulated amortization of $675
 
$
1,732
 
—Additions
   
970
 
—Write-offs
   
(528
)
—Amortization
   
(522
)
Balance, December 31, 2013 net of accumulated amortization of $629
 
$
1,652
 

The amortization and write-off of financing costs is included in Interest and finance costs in the accompanying consolidated statements of income (Note 11).

 
 
F-13

 

6.           Long-Term Debt:

The amounts shown in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets are analyzed as follows:

Borrower(s)
 
Lenders
 
2013
   
2012
 
(a) Pegasus
 
Royal Bank of Scotland
 
$
   
$
 
 Pegasus
 
Credit Suisse AG
   
     
139,500
 
(b) Lance
 
Royal Bank of Scotland
   
     
153,590
 
(c) Seacrown
 
Royal Bank of Scotland
   
     
87,625
 
(d) Pegasus-Lance-Seacrown
 
Credit Suisse AG
   
214,085
     
­
 
Total
     
$
214,085
   
$
380,715
 
Less current portion
     
$
   
$
380,715
 
Long-term portion
     
$
214,085
   
$
 

 
(a)
Pegasus:   During the period from May 2005 to February 2007, Pegasus borrowed $129,750 to partially finance the construction cost of the Clean Energy , under a ten year term credit facility, repayable in forty equal consecutive quarterly installments of $1,800 each, plus a balloon installment of $57,750 payable together with the last installment. On January 30, 2012, Pegasus entered into a five-year term loan facility with Credit Suisse AG for $150,000 (the "Credit Suisse Facility") for the purpose of refinancing the then outstanding balance of the loan obtained in February 2007 and for general corporate purposes, repayable in twenty equal consecutive quarterly installments of $3,500 each plus a balloon payment of $80,000 payable together with the last installment in March 2017. The amount was fully drawn in March 2012 and was secured by, amongst other things, a cross collateralized first priority mortgage over the Clean Energy and a panama tanker vessel named Felicity, owned by a related vessel-owning company.  On November 18, 2013, the then outstanding loan balance of $129 million was fully repaid from the proceeds of the Offering and  the Credit Suisse Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility (the "Revolving Credit Facility") discussed under Note 6(d) below and the respective vessel mortgages were released.

 
(b)
Lance:   In July 2007, Lance borrowed the amount of $123,000 to partially finance the construction cost of the Clean Power , under a ten-year term credit facility, repayable in forty equal consecutive quarterly installments of $1,710 each, plus a balloon installment of $54,600 payable together with the last installment. On February 29, 2012, Lance entered an amendatory agreement with the same bank for the purpose of refinancing the then outstanding balance of the loan obtained in July 2007. As a result of the amendatory agreements an additional principal amount of $70,000 was drawn in April 2012 for general corporate purposes, payable in twenty equal consecutive quarterly installments of $3,500, each. On November 18, 2013, the then outstanding loan balance of $138.0 million was fully repaid from the proceeds of the Offering and the Credit Suisse Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) discussed under Note 6(d) below and the vessel’s mortgage was released.

 
(c)
Seacrown:   In January 2008,  Seacrown borrowed $128,000, to partially finance the construction cost of the Clean Force , under a twelve-year term credit facility, repayable in forty eight equal consecutive quarterly installments of $2,125 each plus a balloon payment of $26,000 payable together with the last installment in January 2020. On November 18, 2013, the then outstanding loan balance of $79.1 million was fully repaid from the proceeds of the Offering and the Credit Suisse Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility (the "Revolving Credit Facility") discussed under Note 6(d) below and the vessel's mortgage was released.

The above loans were, amongst others, secured by a first priority mortgage over the vessels, corporate guarantees, and assignments of all charters, earnings and insurances. The loans also contained certain financial covenants relating to the Partnership's financial position and operating performance including maintaining liquidity above $30.0 million or, if higher, 10% of the total aggregate indebtedness to The Royal Bank of Scotland. In addition, all loan agreements also included a requirement for the value of the vessel secured against the related loan to be in a range of at least 125%-130%, and imposed restrictions on the Partnership's ability to pay distributions.
 
As of December 31, 2012, the Partnership was not in compliance with certain restrictive and financial covenants imposed by the above loan agreements:
 
 
·
The issuance of the guarantees discussed in Note 8(c) below without the prior consent of the lenders which resulted in a breach of the respective restrictive covenant under the loan agreements discussed n (a), (b) and (c) above.
 
 
·
The repayment of the loan discussed in Note 3(b) above without the prior consent of the Partnership's lenders which resulted in a breach of the respective restrictive covenant under the loan agreements discussed in (b) and (c) above.
 
 
·
The Partnership was also not in compliance with the minimum liquidity covenant of $30.0 million contained in its loan agreement discussed in (b) above.
 
 
F-14

 

On July 19, 2013, one of the Partnership's lenders declared an event of default under one of its credit facilitie s . Although the Partnership believed that the lenders would not demand payment of the loans before their maturity, provided that the Partnership was to pay scheduled loan installments and interest as they fall due under the existing credit facilities, the lenders could have required immediate repayment of the loans. As a result of such events of non-compliance, the Partnership has classified the total outstanding balance of its debt at December 31, 2012 of $380,715 as current liabilities.

On October 29, 2013, subject to satisfactory execution of the relevant documentation, the Partnership's lenders granted their consent to the issuance of guarantees and the repayment of shareholders' loan, and waived their rights in respect of the Partnership's non-compliance with the minimum liquidity requirement of $30.0 million discussed above. As of December 31, 2013, all the loans discussed under Note 6(a), (b) and (c) above, were fully repaid from the proceeds of the IPO and the Revolving Credit Facility discussed under Note 6(d) below.

 
(d)
Credit Suisse Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility: On November 14, 2013, the Partnership's shipowning subsidiaries, entered, on a joint and several basis, into a new Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility ("Revolving Credit Facility" or "Facility") with an affiliate of Credit Suisse for $262,125 in order to partially refinance its existing outstanding indebtedness as discussed above.  Of this amount, $214,085 was drawn on November 18, 2013 and, together with part of the net proceeds of the initial public offering discussed in Note 9, was used to fully repay the then outstanding principal and interest of the loans discussed in Note 6 under (a), (b) and (c). The Revolving Credit Facility is guaranteed by the Partnership and is secured by, among other things, a first priority or preferred cross-collateralized mortgage on each of the Partnership's vessels and bears interest at LIBOR plus margin. The Partnership may draw down this facility no more than four times each year, and only so long as the asset cover ratio, which is the ratio of the aggregate market value of its vessels to its outstanding indebtedness under the facility, is not less than 130%. The amount available under the Facility will be reduced each quarter for 14 consecutive quarters by $5,000 for the first 13 quarters and by approximately $197,125 for the fourteenth quarter ending on June 30, 2017. In case that the aggregate outstanding amount of the Facility is greater than the amount available under the Facility as reducing from time to time, the amount exceeded shall be repaid at that point of time. In accordance with the Facility, the Partnership will be required to:

   
(i)
maintain total consolidated liabilities of less than 65% of the total consolidated market value  of its adjusted total assets;

   
(ii)
maintain an interest coverage ratio of at least 3.0 times,

   
(iii)
maintain at all times non restricted as to withdrawal minimum liquidity equal to at least $22.0 million. Such amount is reflected under Non-Current Restricted Cash in the accompanying balance sheets and

   
(iv)
maintain a hull cover ratio, being the aggregate of the vessels' market values and the net realizable value of any additional security, no less than 130%.

In addition, the Prokopiou Family is required to own or control at least 30% of the Partnership's capital and voting rights and 100% of the General Partner's capital and voting rights and the Manager is required to continue to carry out the Partnership's commercial and technical management. Finally, the Facility restricts the Partnership from paying any distributions if an event of default occurs. Pursuant to the terms of the Revolving Credit Facility, no principal repayments are required to be made during the 2014 and 2015.

As of December 31, 2013, the Partnership was in compliance with all financial debt covenants under the respective facility.

The annual principal payments for the outstanding banks' debt as of December 31, 2013 required to be made after the balance sheet date were as follows:

Year ending December 31,
 
Amount
 
2014
 
$
-
 
2015
   
-
 
2016
   
11,960
 
2017
   
202,125
 
2018 and thereafter
   
-
 
   
$
214,085
 
 
The weighted average interest rate of the Partnership's long-term debt for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 was 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively.

Total interest incurred on long-term debt for 2013, 2012 and 2011 amounted to $8,248, $8,551 and $3,794, respectively. Interest expense on long-term debt, is included in Interest and finance costs (Note 11) in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.

As of December 31, 2013, the Partnership had an unused line of credit under its' Credit Suisse Revolving Credit Facility of $48.0 million. As of December 31, 2013, the Partnership incurred $327 commitment fees in connection with the undrawn amounts under the respective facility with Credit Suisse. Commitment fees incurred for 2012 and 2011 amounted to $372 and $54, respectively.
 
 
F-15

 

7.           Fair Value Measurements and Financial Instruments:

The Partnership is exposed to interest rate fluctuations associated with its variable rate borrowings and its objective is to manage the impact of such fluctuations on earnings and cash flows of its borrowings. In this respect, from time to time the Partnership uses interest rate swaps to manage net exposure to interest rate fluctuations related to its borrowings.

ASC 815, "Derivatives and Hedging" requires companies to recognize all derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities at fair value in the statement of financial position. The Partnership recognizes all derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities at fair value on its consolidated balance sheets. The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, trade receivables and trade payables reported in the consolidated balance sheets approximate their respective fair values because of the short-term nature of these accounts. The fair values of long-term bank loans approximate the recorded values due to the variable interest rates payable. The fair value of loan from related party is not practicable to be estimated due to the absence of the fixed repayment terms. The fair value of non-current portion of amounts due from related party is not practicable to be estimated given the terms of the management agreements which provide for periodic adjustment of the working capital advance per vessel in line with the changes in the vessels' daily operating costs. Additionally, the Partnership considers its creditworthiness in determining the fair value of the credit facilities. The carrying value approximates the fair market value for the floating rate loans.

As of December 31, 2011, the Partnership was a party to three interest rate swap agreements of $285.6 million notional amount, which did not qualify for hedge accounting and, as such, the changes in their fair values were recognized in the statement of income. The Partnership made quarterly payments to the counterparties based on decreasing notional amounts at fixed rates of 4.31%, 4.35% and 4.35%, respectively, net of the floating-rate payments at LIBOR due from the counterparty to the Partnership. The swaps matured in June, July and March 2012, respectively, and as such the fair value of derivative financial instruments as of December 31, 2013 and 2012 was nil.

The guidance for fair value measurements applies to all assets and liabilities that are being measured and reported on a fair value basis. This guidance enables the reader of the financial statements to assess the inputs used to develop those measurements by establishing a hierarchy for ranking the quality and reliability of the information used to determine fair values. The statement requires that assets and liabilities carried at fair value be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

 
Level 1:
Quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

 
Level 2:
Observable market-based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data.

 
Level 3:
Unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data.

The fair values of the Partnership's derivative financial instruments equate to the amount that would be paid or received by the Partnership if the agreements were cancelled at the reporting date, taking into account current market data per instrument and the Partnership's or counterparty's creditworthiness, as appropriate. The Partnership's derivative financial instruments are valued using pricing models that are used to value similar instruments by market participants. Where possible, the Partnership verifies the values produced by its pricing models to market prices. Valuation models require a variety of inputs, including contractual terms, market prices, yield curves, credit spreads, measures of volatility and correlations of such inputs. The Partnership's derivatives trade in liquid markets, and as such, model inputs can generally be verified and do not involve significant management judgment. Such instruments are typically classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

The change in the fair value of the Partnership's interest rate swaps for each of the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 resulted in nil, $5,692 and $11,256 unrealized gains, respectively, and is separately reflected as adjustment in net income in the accompanying consolidated statements of cash flows. The settlements on the interest rate swaps for the year ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 resulted in nil, $5,888 and $12,080 realized losses, respectively. The total change in fair value and settlements for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 aggregate to nil, $196 and $824 losses, respectively, and is separately reflected in Loss on derivative financial instruments in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.
 
 
8.           Commitments and Contingencies:

 
(a)
Long-term time charters:

As at December 31, 2013, the Partnership has entered into time charter arrangements on all of its vessels. The minimum contractual charter revenues, based on these non-cancelable long-term time charter contracts as of December 31, 2013, gross of brokerage commissions, without taking into consideration any assumed off-hire, are as analyzed below:
 
Year ending December 31,
 
Amount
 
2014
   
85,775
 
2015
   
85,775
 
2016
   
78,522
 
2017
   
31,524
 
2018 and thereafter
   
-
 
   
$
281,596
 
 
 
F-16

 

 
(b)
Other: Various claims, suits, and complaints, including those involving government regulations and product liability, arise in the ordinary course of the shipping business. In addition, losses may arise from disputes with charterers, agents, insurance and other claims with suppliers relating to the operations of the Partnership's vessels. Currently, management is not aware of any such claims not covered by insurance or contingent liabilities, which should be disclosed, or for which a provision should be established in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
 
The Partnership accrues for the cost of environmental liabilities when management becomes aware that a liability is probable and is able to reasonably estimate the probable exposure. Currently, management is not aware of any such claims or contingent liabilities, which should be disclosed, or for which a provision should be established in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. The Partnership is covered for liabilities associated with the individual vessels' actions to the maximum limits as provided by Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Clubs, members of the International Group of P&I Clubs.

 
(c)
Technical and Commercial Management Agreement: As further disclosed in Note 3 the Partnership has contracted the commercial, administrative and technical management of its' vessels to Dynagas Ltd. For the commercial services provided under this agreement the Partnership pays a commission of 1.25% over the charter-hire revenues arranged by the Manager. The estimated commission payable to the Manager over the minimum contractual charter revenues, discussed under (a) above, is $3,520. For administrative and technical management fees the Partnership pays a daily management fee of $2.5 per vessel (Note 3(a)). Such management fees for the period from January 1, 2014 to the expiration of the agreements on December 31, 2020, adjusted for 3% inflation as per agreement, are estimated to be $21,623 and are analyzed as follows:
 
 
Year ending December 31,
 
Amount
 
2014
 
$
2,820
 
2015
   
2,904
 
2016
   
3,000
 
2017
   
3,081
 
2018
   
3,173
 
2019 and on
   
6,645
 
   
$
21,623
 


9.           Partners' Equity:

As described in Note 1, on October 29, 2013, the Partnership issued i) to Dynagas Holding Ltd, 6,735,000 common units and 14,985,000 subordinated units and ii) to Dynagas GP LLC (the "General Partner"), a Company owned and controlled by Dynagas Holding Ltd, 30,000 General Partner Units  and all of its incentive distribution rights, which entitle the General Partner to increasing percentages of the cash the Partnership's distributable cash; in exchange for their beneficial ownership interest in the predecessor companies.

The unit and per unit data included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements have been restated to reflect the issuance of the above units, for all periods presented.
 
On November 18, 2013, the Partnership completed its' initial public offering of 8,250,000 common units at a price of $18.00 per unit on the NASDAQ Global Marker and raised gross proceeds of $148.5 million. The net IPO proceeds amounted to$136.9 million, after deducting underwriting commission of $8.9 million and equity raising expenditures of $2.7 million are separately reflected in the 2013 statement of partners' equity. Equity raising expenditures paid up to December 31, 2013 amounts to $0.8 million which along with the underwriting commission have been deducted from proceeds of issuance of common units are presented in the statement of cash flows as of December 31, 2013. Concurrently with the sale of the Partnership's common units and at the same price per unit, Dynagas Holding Ltd. sold 4,250,000 common units. The Partnership did not receive any proceeds from this sale. On December 5, 2013, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option granted to them by Dynagas Holding, following which, the Sponsor offered 1,875,000 additional common units to the public on the same terms as in the initial offering. The Partnership did not receive any proceeds from the sale of these additional common units.

There were no distributions to the partners during the year ended 2013. On February 14, 2014 the Partnership paid a cash distribution for the fourth quarter of 2013 of $0.1746 per unit, pro-rated from the Offering closing date through December 31, 2013, which amounted to $5.2 million, to all unitholders on record as of February 10, 2013, pursuant to a decision taken by the Board of Directors on January 31, 2014 (Note 13(a)).

 
F-17

 
 
Voting Rights

The following is a summary of the unitholder vote required for the approval of the matters specified below. Matters that require the approval of a "unit majority" require:
 
 
·
during the subordination period, the approval of a majority of the common units, excluding those common units held by the General Partner and its affiliates, voting as a class and a majority of the subordinated units voting as a single class; and
 
 
·
after the subordination period, the approval of a majority of the common units voting as a single class.

In voting their common units and subordinated units, the General Partner and its affiliates will have no fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to the Partnership or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of the Partnership or the limited partners.

Each outstanding common unit is entitled to one vote on matters subject to a vote of common unitholders. However, to preserve the Partnership's ability to be exempt from U.S. federal income tax under Section 883 of the Code, if at any time, any person or group owns beneficially more than 4.9% of any class of units then outstanding, any such units owned by that person or group in excess of 4.9% may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes (except for purposes of nominating a person for election to the board), determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes under the Partnership Agreement, unless otherwise required by law. The voting rights of any such unitholders in excess of 4.9% will effectively be redistributed pro rata among the other common unitholders holding less than 4.9% of the voting power of all classes of units entitled to vote. The General Partner, its affiliates and persons who acquired common units with the prior approval of the board of directors will not be subject to this 4.9% limitation except with respect to voting their common units in the election of the elected directors.

The Partnership will hold a meeting of the limited partners every year to elect one or more members of the board of directors and to vote on any other matters that are properly brought before the meeting. The General Partner has the right to appoint two of the five members of the board of directors with the remaining three directors being elected by the Partnership's common unitholders beginning with the 2014 annual meeting of unitholders. Subordinated units will not be voted in the election of the three directors elected by the Partnership's common unitholders.

Distributions

General Partner Interest

The Partnership Agreement provides that the General Partner initially will be entitled to 0.1% of all distributions that the Partnership makes prior to its liquidation. The General Partner has the right, but not the obligation, to contribute a proportionate amount of capital to the Partnership to maintain its 0.1% General Partner interest if the Partnership issues additional units. The General Partner's 0.1% interest, and the percentage of the Partnership's cash distributions to which it is entitled, will be proportionately reduced if the Partnership issues additional units in the future and the General Partner does not contribute a proportionate amount of capital to the Partnership in order to maintain its 0.1% General Partner interest. The General Partner will be entitled to make a capital contribution in order to maintain its 0.1% General Partner interest in the form of the contribution to the Partnership of common units based on the current market value of the contributed common units.
 
Incentive Distribution Rights

Incentive distribution rights represent the right to receive an increasing percentage of quarterly distributions of available cash from operating surplus after the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels have been achieved. Currently, the General Partner holds the incentive distribution rights following completion of the offering. The incentive distribution rights may be transferred separately from the General Partner interest, subject to restrictions in the Partnership Agreement. Except for transfers of incentive distribution rights to an affiliate or another entity as part of the General Partner's merger or consolidation with or into, or sale of substantially all of its assets to such entity, the approval of a majority of the Partnership's common units (excluding common units held by the General Partner and its affiliates), voting separately as a class, generally is required for a transfer of the incentive distribution rights to a third party prior to December 31, 2016. Any transfer by the General Partner of the incentive distribution rights would not change the percentage allocations of quarterly distributions with respect to such rights.

 
F-18

 

The following table illustrates the percentage allocations of the additional available cash from operating surplus among the unitholders, our General Partner and the holders of the incentive distribution rights up to the various target distribution levels:

   
Total Quarterly
Distribution Target
Amount
 
Unitholders
   
General
Partner
   
Holders
of IDRs
 
Minimum Quarterly Distribution
 
$0.365
   
99.9
%
   
0.1
%
   
0.0
%
First Target Distribution
 
up to $0.420
   
99.9
%
   
0.1
%
   
0.0
%
Second Target Distribution
 
above $0.420 up to $0.456
   
85.0
%
   
0.1
%
   
14.9
%
Third Target Distribution
 
Above $0.456 up to $0.548
   
75.0
%
   
0.1
%
   
24.9
%
Thereafter
 
above $0.548
   
50.0
%
   
0.1
%
   
49.9
%
 
 
10.         Earnings per Unit:

The Partnership calculates earnings per unit by allocating reported net income for each period to each class of units based on the distribution waterfall for cash available for distribution specified in Dynagas Partners' partnership agreement, as generally prescribed in Note 9 above.

Under the partnership agreement, the holder of the incentive distribution rights in the Partnership, which is currently the General Partner, assuming that there are no cumulative arrearages on common unit distributions, has the right to receive an increasing percentage of cash distributions after the first target distribution (Note 9).

The calculations of the basic and diluted earnings per unit, allocated to each class of partnership interests based on the number of units held by each class of unit holders, are presented below:

Year ended December 31, 2013
 
Unitholders
 
   
General Partner
   
Common
   
Subordinated
 
Net income
 
$
46
   
$
22,787
   
$
22,787
 
Earnings per unit basic and diluted
 
$
1.52
   
$
2.95
   
$
1.52
 
Weighted average number of units outstanding, basic and diluted
   
30,000
     
7,729,521
     
14,985,000
 

Year ended December 31, 2013
 
Unitholders
 
   
General Partner
   
Common
   
Subordinated
 
Net income
 
$
41
   
$
9,239
   
$
20,556
 
Earnings per unit basic and diluted
 
$
1.37
   
$
1.37
   
$
1.37
 
Weighted average number of units outstanding, basic and diluted
   
30,000
     
6,735,000
     
14,985,000
 

Year ended December 31, 2013
 
Unitholders
 
   
General Partner
   
Common
   
Subordinated
 
Net income
 
$
26
   
$
5,828
   
$
12,966
 
Earnings per unit basic and diluted
 
$
0.87
   
$
0.87
   
$
0.87
 
Weighted average number of units outstanding, basic and diluted
   
30,000
     
6,735,000
     
14,985,000
 

 
 
F-19

 

11.         Interest and Finance Costs:

The amounts in the accompanying consolidated statements of income are analyzed as follows:

   
2013
   
2012
    2011        
Interest expense (Note 6)
  $ 8,248     $ 8,551     $ 3,794  
Amortization and write off of financing costs (Note 5)
    1,050       590       100  
Commitment fees
    327       372       54  
Other
    107       63       29  
Total
  $ 9,732     $ 9,576     $ 3,977  

 
12.         Taxes:

Under the laws of the countries of the companies' incorporation and / or vessels' registration, the companies are not subject to tax on international shipping income; however, they are subject to registration and tonnage taxes, which are included in Vessel operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. In addition, effective January 1, 2013, each foreign flagged vessel managed in Greece by Greek or foreign ship management companies is subject to Greek tonnage tax, under the laws of the Greek Republic. The technical manager of the Partnership's vessel's, Dynagas Ltd an affiliate (Note 3(a)) which is established in Greece under Greek Law 89/67 is responsible for the filing and payment of the respective tonnage tax was on behalf the Partnership. These tonnage taxes amounted to $96 and have also been included in Vessel operating expenses in the 2013 consolidated statement of income.

Pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of the United States (the "Code"), U.S. source income from the international operations of ships is generally exempt from U.S. tax if the Partnership operating the ships meets both of the following requirements, (a) the Partnership is organized in a foreign country that grants an equivalent exception to corporations organized in the United States and exempts the type of income earned by the vessel owing Partnership and (b) either (i) more than 50% of the value of the Partnership's stock is owned, directly or indirectly, by individuals who are "residents" of the Partnership's country of organization or of another foreign country that grants an "equivalent exemption" to corporations organized in the United States (50% Ownership Test) or (ii) the Partnership's stock is "primarily and regularly traded on an established securities market" in its country of organization, in another country that grants an "equivalent exemption" to United States corporations, or in the United States (Publicly-Traded Test). Additionally, the Partnership must meet all of the documentation requirements as outlined in the regulations.

The Partnership and each of its subsidiaries expects to qualify for this statutory tax exemption for the 2013, 2012 and 2011 taxable years, and the Partnership takes this position for United States federal income tax return reporting purposes. In the absence of an exemption under Section 883, based on its U.S. source Shipping Income, the Partnership would be subject to U.S. federal income tax approximately nil for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 and $31 for the year ended December 31, 2011.
 
13.         Subsequent Events:
 
On February 14, 2014 the Partnership paid cash distribution for the fourth quarter of 2013 of $0.1746 per unit, pro-rated from the IPO closing date through December 31, 2013 to all unitholders on record as of February 10, 2013 based on the Board of Directors decision made on January 31, 2014. This distribution corresponds to a quarterly distribution of $0.365 per outstanding unit, or $1.46 per outstanding unit on an annualized basis.
 
 
 
F-20

 
 
Exhibit 1.2
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 

 
SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
OF
DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS
 
Section 1.1
Definitions
 1
Section 1.2
Construction
14
 
ARTICLE II
ORGANIZATION
 
Section 2.1
Formation
14
Section 2.2
Name
15
Section 2.3
Registered Office; Registered Agent; Principal Office; Other Offices
 15
Section 2.4
Purpose and Business
 15
Section 2.5
Powers
15
Section 2.6
Term
15
Section 2.7
Title to Partnership Assets
15
 
ARTICLE III
RIGHTS OF LIMITED PARTNERS
 
Section 3.1
Limitation of Liability
 16
Section 3.2
Management of Business
 16
Section 3.3
Outside Activities of the Limited Partners
 16
Section 3.4
Rights of Limited Partners
 16
 
ARTICLE IV
CERTIFICATES; RECORD HOLDERS; TRANSFER OF PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS
 
Section 4.1
Certificates
 17
Section 4.2
Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Certificates
 17
Section 4.3
Record Holders
 18
Section 4.4
Transfer Generally
 18
Section 4.5
Registration and Transfer of Limited Partner Interests
 18
Section 4.6
Transfer of the General Partner's General Partner Interest
 19
Section 4.7
Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights
19
Section 4.8
Restrictions on Transfers
20
 
ARTICLE V
CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND ISSUANCE OF PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS
 
Section 5.1
Contributions and Initial Unit Issuances Prior to the Closing Date
20
Section 5.2
Tax Election
20
Section 5.3
Interest and Withdrawal
20
Section 5.4
Issuances of Additional Partnership Interests
20

 
i

 
 
Section 5.5
Limitations on Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests
21
Section 5.6
Conversion of Subordinated Units to Common Units
21
Section 5.7
Limited Preemptive Right
22
Section 5.8
Splits and Combinations
22
Section 5.9
Fully Paid and Non-Assessable Nature of Limited Partner Interests
22
Section 5.10
Issuance of Common Units in Connection with Reset of Incentive Distribution Rights
23
 
ARTICLE VI
DISTRIBUTIONS
 
Section 6.1
Requirement and Characterization of Distributions; Distributions to Record Holders
24
Section 6.2
Distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus
24
Section 6.3
Distributions of Available Cash from Capital Surplus
26
Section 6.4
Adjustment of Minimum Quarterly Distribution and Target Distribution Levels
26
Section 6.5
Special Provisions Relating to the Holders of Subordinated Units
26
Section 6.6
Special Provisions Relating to the Holders of Incentive Distribution Rights
26
 
ARTICLE VII
MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF BUSINESS
 
Section 7.1
Management
27
Section 7.2
The Board of Directors; Election and Appointment; Term; Manner of Acting
27
Section 7.3
Nominations of Elected Directors
28
Section 7.4
Removal of Members of Board of Directors
28
Section 7.5
Resignations of Members of the Board of Directors
29
Section 7.6
Vacancies on the Board of Directors
29
Section 7.7
Meetings; Committees; Chairman
29
Section 7.8
Officers
30
Section 7.9
Compensation of Directors
30
Section 7.10
Certificate of Limited Partnership
30
Section 7.11
Restrictions on the Authority of the Board of Directors and the General Partner
31
Section 7.12
Reimbursement of the General Partner
31
Section 7.13
Outside Activities
32
Section 7.14
Loans from the General Partner; Loans or Contributions from the Partnership or Group Members
32
Section 7.15
Indemnification
33
Section 7.16
Liability of Indemnitees
34
Section 7.17
Resolution of Conflicts of Interest; Standards of Conduct and Modification of Duties
35
Section 7.18
Other Matters Concerning the General Partner and the Board of Directors
36
Section 7.19
Section 7.19 Purchase or Sale of Partnership Interests
37
Section 7.20
Registration Rights of the General Partner and its Affiliates
37


 
ii

 


Section 7.21
Reliance by Third Parties
39
 
ARTICLE VIII
BOOKS, RECORDS, ACCOUNTING AND REPORTS
 
Section 8.1
Records and Accounting
39
Section 8.2
Fiscal Year
39
Section 8.3
Reports
39
 
ARTICLE IX
TAX MATTERS
 
Section 9.1
Tax Elections and Information
40
Section 9.2
Withholding
40
Section 9.3
Conduct of Operations
40
 
ARTICLE X
ADMISSION OF PARTNERS
 
Section 10.1
Admission of Initial Limited Partners
40
Section 10.2
Admission of Additional Limited Partners
40
Section 10.3
Admission of Successor General Partner
41
Section 10.4
Amendment of Agreement and Certificate of Limited Partnership
41
 
ARTICLE XI
WITHDRAWAL OR REMOVAL OF PARTNERS
 
Section 11.1
Withdrawal of the General Partner
41
Section 11.2
Section 11.2 Removal of the General Partner
43
Section 11.3
Interest of Departing General Partner and Successor General Partner
43
Section 11.4
Termination of Subordination Period, Conversion of Subordinated Units and Extinguishment of Cumulative Common Unit Arrearages
44
Section 11.5
Withdrawal of Limited Partners
44
 
ARTICLE XII
DISSOLUTION AND LIQUIDATION
 
Section 12.1
Dissolution
44
Section 12.2
Continuation of the Business of the Partnership After Dissolution
45
Section 12.3
Liquidating Trustee
45
Section 12.4
Liquidation
46
Section 12.5
Cancellation of Certificate of Limited Partnership
47
Section 12.6
Return of Contributions
47
Section 12.7
Waiver of Partition
47
 
ARTICLE XIII
AMENDMENT OF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT; MEETINGS; RECORD DATE
 
Section 13.1
Amendments to be Adopted Without Approval of the Limited Partners or the General Partner
47


 
iii

 


Section 13.2
Amendment Procedures
49
Section 13.3
Amendment Requirements
49
Section 13.4
Special Meetings
50
Section 13.5
Notice of a Meeting
50
Section 13.6
Record Date
50
Section 13.7
Adjournment
50
Section 13.8
Waiver of Notice; Approval of Meeting; Approval of Minutes
50
Section 13.9
Quorum and Voting
51
Section 13.10
Conduct of a Meeting
51
Section 13.11
Action Without a Meeting
51
Section 13.12
Right to Vote and Related Matters
52
 
ARTICLE XIV
MERGER, CONSOLIDATION OR CONVERSION
 
Section 14.1
Authority
52
Section 14.2
Procedure for Merger, Consolidation or Conversion
52
Section 14.3
Approval by Limited Partners of Merger, Consolidation or Conversion
54
Section 14.4
Certificate of Merger or Conversion
54
Section 14.5
Amendment of Partnership Agreement
54
Section 14.6
Effect of Merger, Consolidation or Conversion
55
 
ARTICLE XV
RIGHT TO ACQUIRE LIMITED PARTNER INTERESTS
 
Section 15.1
Right to Acquire Limited Partner Interests
55
 
ARTICLE XVI
GENERAL PROVISIONS
 
Section 16.1
Addresses and Notices
56
Section 16.2
Further Action
57
Section 16.3
Binding Effect
57
Section 16.4
Integration
57
Section 16.5
Creditors
57
Section 16.6
Waiver
57
Section 16.7
Counterparts
57
Section 16.8
Applicable Law; Forum, Venue and Jurisdiction
57
Section 16.9
Invalidity of Provisions
58
Section 16.10
Consent of Partners
58
Section 16.11
Facsimile Signatures
58
Section 16.12
Third-Party Beneficiaries
58
 
 
iv

 


SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED
AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP OF DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
 
THIS SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED AGREEMENT OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP OF DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP, dated as of November 18, 2013, is entered into by and between Dynagas GP LLC, a Marshall Islands limited liability company, as the General Partner, and Dynagas Holding Ltd., a Marshall Islands company, as the Organizational Limited Partner, together with any other Persons who become Partners in the Partnership or parties hereto as provided herein. In consideration of the covenants, conditions and agreements contained herein, the parties agree as follows:
 
ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

Section 1.1     Definitions. The following definitions shall be for all purposes, unless otherwise clearly indicated to the contrary, applied to the terms used in this Agreement.
 
" Acquisition " means any transaction in which any Group Member acquires (through an asset acquisition, merger, stock acquisition or other form of investment) control over all or a portion of the assets, properties or business of another Person for the purpose of increasing the operating capacity and/or asset base of the Partnership Group from the operating capacity and/or asset base of the Partnership Group existing immediately prior to such transaction; provided , however , that any acquisition of properties or assets of another Person that is made solely for investment purposes shall not constitute an Acquisition under this Agreement.
 
" Adjusted Operating Surplus " means, with respect to any period, Operating Surplus generated with respect to such period (a) less (i) the amount of any net increase in Working Capital Borrowings (or the Partnership's proportionate share of any net increase in Working Capital Borrowings in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned) with respect to such period and (ii) the amount of any net decrease in cash reserves for Operating Expenditures (or the Partnership's proportionate share of any net decrease in cash reserves for Operating Expenditures in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned) over such period to the extent such reduction does not relate to an Operating Expenditure made with respect to such period, and (b) plus (i) the amount of any net decrease in Working Capital Borrowings (or the Partnership's proportionate share of any net decrease in Working Capital Borrowings in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned) with respect to such period; (ii) the amount of any net increase in cash reserves (or the Partnership's proportionate share of any net increase in cash reserves in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned) for Operating Expenditures over such period to the extent such reserve is required by any debt instrument for the repayment of principal, interest or premium; and (iii) the amount of any net decrease made in subsequent periods in cash reserves for Operating Expenditures initially established with respect to such period to the extent such decrease results in a reduction in Adjusted Operating Surplus in subsequent periods pursuant to clause (a)(ii) above. Adjusted Operating Surplus does not include that portion of Operating Surplus included in clause (a)(i) of the definition of Operating Surplus. Adjusted Operating Surplus includes that portion of Operating Surplus in clause (a)(ii) of the definition of Operating Surplus only to the extent that cash is received by the Partnership Group.
 
" Affiliate " means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries controls, is controlled by or is under common control with, the Person in question. As used herein, the term "control" means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.
 
" Aggregate Quantity of IDR Reset Common Units " has the meaning set forth in Section 5.10(a).
 
" Agreed Value " means the fair market value of the applicable property or other consideration at the time of contribution or distribution, as the case may be, as determined by the Board of Directors.
 
" Agreement " means this Agreement of Limited Partnership of Dynagas LNG Partners LP, as it may be amended, supplemented or restated from time to time.
 

 
 

 

" Annual Meeting " means the meeting of Limited Partners to be held every year, commencing in 2014, to elect the Elected Directors as provided in Section 7.2 and to vote on any other matters brought before the meeting in accordance with this Agreement.
 
" Appointed Directors " means the members of the Board of Directors appointed by the General Partner in accordance with the provisions of Article VII.
 
" Associate " means, when used to indicate a relationship with any Person: (a) any corporation or organization of which such Person is a director, officer or partner or is, directly or indirectly, the owner of 20% or more of any class of voting stock or other voting interest; (b) any trust or other estate in which such Person has at least a 20% beneficial interest or as to which such Person serves as trustee or in a similar fiduciary capacity; and any relative or spouse of such Person, or any relative of such spouse, who has the same principal residence as such Person.
 
" Audit Committee " means a committee of the Board of Directors composed of a minimum of one member of the Board of Directors then serving who meet the independence standards required of directors who serve on an audit committee of a board of directors established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and meet the standards for audit committee composition established by the National Securities Exchange on which the Common Units are listed or admitted to trading.
 
" Available Cash " means, with respect to any Quarter ending prior to the Liquidation Date:
 
(a)           the sum of (i) all cash and cash equivalents of the Partnership Group (or the Partnership's proportionate share of cash and cash equivalents in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned) on hand at the end of such Quarter, (ii) all additional cash and cash equivalents of the Partnership Group (or the Partnership's proportionate share of cash and cash equivalents in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned) on hand on the date of determination of Available Cash with respect to such Quarter resulting from Working Capital Borrowings made subsequent to the end of such Quarter, and (iii) all cash and cash equivalents on hand on the date of determination of Available Cash resulting from cash distributions received after the end of such Quarter from any Group Member's equity interest in any Person (other than a Subsidiary), which distributions are paid by such Person in respect of operations conducted by such Person during such Quarter, less
 
(b)           the amount of any cash reserves (or the Partnership's proportionate share of cash reserves in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned) established by the Board of Directors to (i) provide for the proper conduct of the business of the Partnership Group (including reserves for future capital expenditures and for anticipated future credit needs of the Partnership Group) subsequent to such Quarter, (ii) comply with applicable law or any loan agreement, security agreement, mortgage, debt instrument or other agreement or obligation to which any Group Member is a party or by which it is bound or its assets are subject or (iii) provide funds for distributions under Sections 6.2 or 6.3 in respect of any one or more of the next four Quarters; provided , however , that the Board of Directors may not establish cash reserves pursuant to (iii) above if the effect of establishing such reserves would be that the Partnership is unable to distribute the Minimum Quarterly Distribution on all Common Units, plus any Cumulative Common Unit Arrearage on all Common Units, with respect to such Quarter; and, provided further , that disbursements made by a Group Member or cash reserves established, increased or reduced after the end of such Quarter but on or before the date of determination of Available Cash with respect to such Quarter shall be deemed to have been made, established, increased or reduced, for purposes of determining Available Cash, within such Quarter if the Board of Directors so determines.
 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, "Available Cash" with respect to the Quarter in which the Liquidation Date occurs and any subsequent Quarter shall equal zero.
 
" Board of Directors " means the board of directors of the Partnership, composed of Appointed Directors and Elected Directors appointed or elected, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of Article VII and a majority of whom are not United States citizens or residents, which, pursuant to Section 7.1, and subject to
 

 
2

 

Section 7.11, oversees and directs the operations, management and policies of the Partnership. The Board of Directors shall constitute a committee within the meaning of Section 30(2)(g) of the Marshall Islands Act.
 
" Business Day " means Monday through Friday of each week, except that a legal holiday recognized as such by the government of the United States of America or the State of New York shall not be regarded as a Business Day.
 
" Capital Contribution " means (a) with respect to any Partner, any cash, cash equivalents or the Net Agreed Value of Contributed Property that a Partner contributes to the Partnership or that is contributed to the Partnership on behalf of a Partner (including, in the case of an underwritten offering of Units, the amount of any underwriting discounts or commissions) or (b) with respect to the General Partner only, (i) distributions of cash that the General Partner is entitled to receive but otherwise waives such that the Partnership retains such cash or (ii) Common Units that the General Partner contributes to the Partnership.
 
" Capital Improvement " means any (a) addition or improvement to the capital assets owned by any Group Member, (b) acquisition of existing, construction of new or improvement or replacement of existing, capital assets or (c) capital contribution by a Group Member to a Person that is not a Subsidiary, in which a Group Member has, or after such capital contribution will have, an equity interest, to fund the Group Member's pro rata share of the cost of the addition or improvement to or the acquisition of existing, or the construction of new, or the improvement or replacement of existing, capital assets by such Person, in each case if such addition, improvement, replacement, acquisition or construction is made to increase the operating capacity and/or asset base of the Partnership Group from the operating capacity and/or asset base of the Partnership Group or such Person, as the case may be, existing immediately prior to such addition, improvement, replacement, acquisition or construction; provided , however , that any such addition, improvement, acquisition or construction that is made solely for investment purposes shall not constitute a Capital Improvement.
 
" Capital Surplus " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.1(a).
 
" Cause " means a court of competent jurisdiction has entered a final, non-appealable judgment finding a Person liable for actual fraud or willful misconduct in its capacity as a general partner of the Partnership or as a member of the Board of Directors, as the case may be.
 
" Certificate " means a certificate (i) substantially in the form of Exhibit A to this Agreement, (ii) issued in global or book entry form in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Depositary or (iii) in such other form as may be adopted by the Board of Directors, issued by the Partnership evidencing ownership of one or more Common Units or a certificate, in such form as may be adopted by the Board of Directors, issued by the Partnership evidencing ownership of one or more other Partnership Interests.
 
" Certificate of Limited Partnership " means the Certificate of Limited Partnership of the Partnership filed with the Registrar of Corporations of The Marshall Islands as referenced in Section 7.10 as such Certificate of Limited Partnership may be amended, supplemented or restated from time to time.
 
" claim " (as used in Section 7.20(c)) has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.20(c).
 
" Closing Date " means the first date on which Common Units are sold by the Partnership and Dynagas Holding Ltd. to the Underwriters pursuant to the provisions of the Underwriting Agreement.
 
" Closing Price " means, in respect of any class of Limited Partner Interests, as of the date of determination, the last sale price on such day, regular way, or in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on such day, regular way, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal National Securities Exchange on which the respective Limited Partner Interests are listed or admitted to trading or, if such Limited Partner Interests are not listed or admitted to trading on any National Securities Exchange, the last quoted price on such day or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices on such day in the over-the-counter market, as reported by any quotation system then in use with respect to such Limited Partner Interests, or, if on any such day such Limited
 

 
3

 

Partner Interests of such class are not quoted by any such system, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on such day as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in such Limited Partner Interests of such class selected by the Board of Directors, or if on any such day no market maker is making a market in such Limited Partner Interests of such class, the fair value of such Limited Partner Interests on such day as determined by the Board of Directors.
 
" Code " means the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and in effect from time to time. Any reference herein to a specific section or sections of the Code shall be deemed to include a reference to any corresponding provision of any successor law.
 
" Combined Interest " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 11.3(a).
 
" Commences Commercial Service " and " Commenced Commercial Service " shall mean the date a Capital Improvement is first put into commercial service by a Group Member following, if applicable, completion of construction, acquisition, development and testing.
 
" Commission " means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
" Common Unit " means a Partnership Interest representing a fractional part of the Partnership Interests of all Limited Partners, and having the rights and obligations specified with respect to Common Units in this Agreement. The term "Common Unit" does not refer to a Subordinated Unit prior to its conversion into a Common Unit pursuant to the terms hereof.
 
" Common Unit Arrearage " means, with respect to any Common Unit, whenever issued, as to any Quarter within the Subordination Period, the excess, if any, of (a) the Minimum Quarterly Distribution with respect to a Common Unit in respect of such Quarter over (b) the sum of all Available Cash distributed with respect to a Common Unit in respect of such Quarter pursuant to Section 6.2(a)(i).
 
" Conflicts Committee " means a committee of the Board of Directors composed entirely of two or more directors who are not (a) security holders, officers or employees of the General Partner, (b) officers, directors or employees of any Affiliate of the General Partner or (c) holders of any ownership interest in the Partnership Group (other than Common Units or awards granted to such director under any long-term incentive plan of any Group Member) and who also meet the independence standards required of directors who serve on an audit committee of a board of directors established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and by the National Securities Exchange on which the Common Units are listed or admitted to trading.
 
" Contributed Property " means each property or other asset, in such form as may be permitted by the Marshall Islands Act, but excluding cash, contributed to the Partnership.
 
" Contribution Agreement " means, collectively, that certain Contribution and Conveyance Agreement, dated as of October 29, 2013, among the General Partner, the Partnership, the Operating Company, Dynagas Operating GP LLC, Dynagas Holding Ltd. and Dynagas Equity Holding Ltd., together with the additional conveyance documents and instruments contemplated or referenced thereunder or entered into in connection therewith.
 
" Cumulative Common Unit Arrearage " means, with respect to any Common Unit, whenever issued, and as of the end of any Quarter, the excess, if any, of (a) the sum of the Common Unit Arrearage as to an Initial Common Unit for each of the Quarters within the Subordination Period ending on or before the last day of such Quarter over (b) the sum of any distributions theretofore made pursuant to Section 6.2(a)(ii) and the second sentence of Section 6.3 with respect to an Initial Common Unit (including any distributions to be made in respect of the last of such Quarters).
 
" Current Market Price " means, in respect of any class of Limited Partner Interests, as of the date of determination, the average of the daily Closing Prices per Limited Partner Interest of such class for the 20 consecutive Trading Days immediately prior to such date.
 

 
4

 

" Departing General Partner " means a former General Partner from and after the effective date of any withdrawal or removal of such former General Partner pursuant to Sections 11.1 or 11.2.
 
" Depositary " means, with respect to any Units issued in global form, The Depository Trust Company and its successors and permitted assigns.
 
" Elected Directors " means the members of the Board of Directors who are elected as such in accordance with the provisions of Article VII and at least three of whom are not (a) security holders, officers or employees of the General Partner, (b) officers or employees of any Affiliate of the General Partner, (c) holders of any ownership interest in the Partnership Group (other than Common Units or awards granted to such director under any long-term incentive plan of any Group Member) and who also meet the independence standards required of directors who serve on an audit committee of a board of directors established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and by the National Securities Exchange on which the Common Units are listed or admitted to trading or (d) United States citizens or residents.
 
" Estimated Maintenance Capital Expenditures " means an estimate made in good faith by the Board of Directors (with the concurrence of the Conflicts Committee) of the average quarterly Maintenance Capital Expenditures that the Partnership will need to incur to maintain over the long-term the operating capacity and/or asset base of the Partnership Group (including the Partnership's proportionate share of the average quarterly Maintenance Capital Expenditures of its Subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned) existing at the time the estimate is made. The Board of Directors (with the concurrence of the Conflicts Committee) will be permitted to make such estimate in any manner it determines reasonable. Beginning after the Closing Date, the estimate will be made at least annually and whenever an event occurs that is likely to result in a material adjustment to the amount of Maintenance Capital Expenditures on a long-term basis. The Partnership shall disclose to its Partners any change in the amount of Estimated Maintenance Capital Expenditures in its reports made in accordance with Section 8.3 to the extent not previously disclosed. Any adjustments to Estimated Maintenance Capital Expenditures shall be prospective only.
 
" Event of Withdrawal " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 11.1(a).
 
" Expansion Capital Expenditures " means cash expenditures for Acquisitions or Capital Improvements. Expansion Capital Expenditures shall not include Maintenance Capital Expenditures or Investment Capital Expenditures. Expansion Capital Expenditures shall include interest payments (and related fees) on debt incurred and distributions on equity issued, in each case, to fund the construction of a Capital Improvement and paid in respect of the period beginning on the date that a Group Member enters into a binding obligation to commence construction of the Capital Improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date that such Capital Improvement Commences Commercial Service or the date that such Capital Improvement is abandoned or disposed of. Debt incurred or equity issued to fund any such construction period interest payments, or such construction period distributions on equity paid in respect of such period shall also be deemed to be debt incurred or equity issued, as the case may be, to fund the construction of a Capital Improvement, and the Incremental Incentive Distributions paid in respect of such newly issued equity shall be deemed to be distributions paid on equity issued to finance the construction of a Capital Improvement.
 
" First Target Distribution " means $0.420 per Unit per Quarter (or, with respect to the period commencing on the Closing Date and ending on December 31, 2013, it means the product of $0.420 multiplied by a fraction of which the numerator is the number of days in such period, and of which the denominator is the total number of days in the Quarter in which the Closing Date occurs), subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 6.4.
 
" Forecasted Distributions " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.6(b).
 
" Fully Diluted Weighted Average Basis " means, when calculating the number of Outstanding Units for any period, a basis that includes (1) the weighted average number of Outstanding Units plus (2) all Partnership Interests and options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to an equity interest in the Partnership (a) that are convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Units that are senior to or pari passu with the Subordinated Units, (b) whose conversion, exercise or exchange price is less than the Current Market Price on the date of such calculation, (c) that may be converted into or exercised or exchanged for such Units prior to or during the Quarter immediately following the end of the period for which the calculation is being made without the satisfaction of any
 

 
5

 

contingency beyond the control of the holder other than the payment of consideration and the compliance with administrative mechanics applicable to such conversion, exercise or exchange and (d) that were not converted into or exercised or exchanged for such Units during the period for which the calculation is being made; provided , however , that for purposes of determining the number of Outstanding Units on a Fully Diluted Weighted Average Basis when calculating whether the Subordination Period has ended, such Partnership Interests, options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights shall be deemed to have been Outstanding Units only for the four Quarters that comprise the last four Quarters of the measurement period; and provided , further , that if consideration will be paid to any Group Member in connection with such conversion, exercise or exchange, the number of Units to be included in such calculation shall be that number equal to the difference between (i) the number of Units issuable upon such conversion, exercise or exchange and (ii) the number of Units that such consideration would purchase at the Current Market Price.
 
" General Partner " means Dynagas GP LLC, a Marshall Islands limited liability company, and its successors and permitted assigns that are admitted to the Partnership as general partner of the Partnership, in its capacity as general partner of the Partnership (except as the context otherwise requires).
 
" General Partner Interest " means the ownership interest of the General Partner in the Partnership (in its capacity as a general partner and without reference to any Limited Partner Interest held by it), which is evidenced by General Partner Units and includes any and all benefits to which the General Partner is entitled as provided in this Agreement, together with all obligations of the General Partner to comply with the terms and provisions of this Agreement.
 
" General Partner Unit " means a fractional part of the General Partner Interest having the rights and obligations specified with respect to the General Partner Interest. A General Partner Unit is not a Unit.
 
" Group " means a Person that with or through any of its Affiliates or Associates has any agreement, arrangement, understanding or relationship for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except voting pursuant to a revocable proxy or consent given to such Person in response to a proxy or consent solicitation made to 10 or more Persons), exercising investment power over or disposing of any Partnership Interests with any other Person that beneficially owns, or whose Affiliates or Associates beneficially own, directly or indirectly, Partnership Interests.
 
" Group Member " means a member of the Partnership Group.
 
" Group Member Agreement " means the partnership agreement of any Group Member, other than the Partnership, that is a limited or general partnership, the limited liability company agreement of any Group Member that is a limited liability company, the certificate of incorporation and bylaws (or similar organizational documents) of any Group Member that is a corporation, the joint venture agreement or similar governing document of any Group Member that is a joint venture and the governing or organizational or similar documents of any other Group Member that is a Person other than a limited or general partnership, limited liability company, corporation or joint venture, in each case as such may be amended, supplemented or restated from time to time.
 
" Hedge Contract " means any exchange, swap, forward, future, cap, floor, collar or other similar agreement or arrangement entered into for the purpose of hedging the Partnership Group's exposure to fluctuations in the price of interest rates, currencies or commodities in their operations and not for speculative purposes.
 
" Historical Distributions " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.6(b). " Holder " as used in Section 7.20, has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.20(a). " IDR Reset Election " has the meaning set forth in Section 5.10(a).
 
" Incentive Distribution Right " means a non-voting Limited Partner Interest, which Partnership Interest will confer upon the holder thereof only the rights and obligations specifically provided in this Agreement with respect to Incentive Distribution Rights (and no other rights otherwise available to or other obligations of a holder of a Partnership Interest). Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the holder of an Incentive
 

 
6

 

Distribution Right shall not be entitled to vote such Incentive Distribution Right on any Partnership matter except as may otherwise be required by law.
 
" Incentive Distributions " means any amount of cash distributed to the holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights pursuant to Section 6.2.
 
" Incremental Incentive Distributions " means, with respect to any newly issued equity securities of the Partnership, the incremental amount of any Incentive Distributions payable under Section 6.2 based solely upon the amount of distributions paid in respect of such newly issued equity securities.
 
" Indemnified Persons " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.20(c).
 
" Indemnitee " means (a) the General Partner, (b) any Departing General Partner, (c) any Person who is or was an Affiliate of the General Partner or any Departing General Partner, (d) any Person who is or was a member, partner, director, officer, fiduciary or trustee of any Person which any of the preceding clauses of this definition describes, (e) any Person who is or was serving at the request of the General Partner or any Departing General Partner or any Affiliate of the General Partner or any Departing General Partner as an officer, director, member, partner, fiduciary or trustee of another Person ( provided , however , that a Person shall not be an Indemnitee by reason of providing, on a fee-for-services basis, trustee, fiduciary or custodial services), (f) the members of the Board of Directors, (g) the Officers, and (h) any other Person the Board of Directors designates as an "Indemnitee" for purposes of this Agreement.
 
" Initial Common Units " means the Common Units sold in the Initial Offering.
 
" Initial Limited Partners " means Dynagas Holding Ltd. and the General Partner (with respect to the Incentive Distribution Rights received by the General Partner pursuant to Section 5.2(b)) and the Underwriters, in each case upon being admitted as Partners to the Partnership in accordance with Section 10.1.
 
" Initial Offering " means the initial public offering and sale of Common Units to the public, as described in the Registration Statement, including any Common Units sold pursuant to the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option.
 
" Initial Unit Price " means (a) with respect to the Common Units and the Subordinated Units, the initial public offering price per Common Unit at which the Underwriters first offered the Common Units to the public for sale as set forth on the cover page of the prospectus included as part of the Registration Statement and first issued at or after the time the Registration Statement first became effective or (b) with respect to any other class or series of Units, the price per Unit at which such class or series of Units is initially sold by the Partnership, as determined by the Board of Directors, in each case adjusted as the Board of Directors determines to be appropriate to give effect to any distribution, subdivision or combination of Units.
 
" Interim Capital Transactions " means the following transactions if they occur prior to the Liquidation Date: (a) borrowings, refinancings or refundings of indebtedness (other than Working Capital Borrowings and other than for items purchased on open account in the ordinary course of business) by any Group Member and sales of debt securities of any Group Member; (b) sales of equity interests of any Group Member; (c) sales or other voluntary or involuntary dispositions of any assets of any Group Member (including assets acquired using Investment Capital Expenditures) other than (i) sales or other dispositions of inventory, accounts receivable and other assets in the ordinary course of business and (ii) sales or other dispositions of assets as part of normal retirements or replacements; (d) capital contributions received; and (e) corporate reorganizations or restructurings.
 
" Investment Capital Expenditures " means capital expenditures other than Maintenance Capital Expenditures and Expansion Capital Expenditures.
 
" Limited Partner " means, unless the context otherwise requires, the Organizational Limited Partner, each Initial Limited Partner, each additional Person that becomes a Limited Partner pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and any Departing General Partner upon the change of its status from General Partner to Limited Partner
 

 
7

 

pursuant to Section 11.3, in each case, in such Person's capacity as a limited partner of the Partnership; provided , however , that when the term "Limited Partner" is used herein in the context of any vote or other approval, including Articles XIII and XIV, such term shall not, solely for such purpose, include any holder of an Incentive Distribution Right (solely with respect to its Incentive Distribution Rights and not with respect to any other Limited Partner Interest held by such Person) except as may otherwise be required by law. Limited Partners may include custodians, nominees or any other individual or entity in its own or any representative capacity.
 
" Limited Partner Interest " means the ownership interest of a Limited Partner in the Partnership, which may be evidenced by Common Units, Subordinated Units, Incentive Distribution Rights or other Partnership Interests or a combination thereof or interest therein, and includes any and all benefits to which such Limited Partner is entitled as provided in this Agreement, together with all obligations of such Limited Partner to comply with the terms and provisions of this Agreement; provided , however , that when the term "Limited Partner Interest" is used herein in the context of any vote or other approval, including Articles XIII and XIV, such term shall not, solely for such purpose, include any Incentive Distribution Right except as may otherwise be required by law.
 
" Liquidation Date " means (a) in the case of an event giving rise to the dissolution of the Partnership of the type described in clauses (a) and (b) of the first sentence of Section 12.2, the date on which the applicable time period during which the holders of Outstanding Units have the right to elect to continue the business of the Partnership has expired without such an election being made, and (b) in the case of any other event giving rise to the dissolution of the Partnership, the date on which such event occurs.
 
" Liquidating Trustee " means one or more Persons selected by the Board of Directors to perform the functions described in Section 12.4.
 
" Maintenance Capital Expenditures " means cash expenditures (including expenditures for the addition or improvement to, or the replacement of, the capital assets owned by any Group Member or for the acquisition of existing, or the construction of new, capital assets) if such expenditure is made to maintain, including over the long term, the operating capacity and/or asset base of the Partnership Group. Maintenance Capital Expenditures shall not include Expansion Capital Expenditures or Investment Capital Expenditures. Maintenance Capital Expenditures shall include interest payments (and related fees) on debt incurred and distributions on equity issued, in each case, to finance the acquisition or the construction of a replacement asset and paid in respect of the period beginning on the date that the Group Member enters into a binding obligation to acquire or to construct a replacement asset and ending on the earlier to occur of the date that such replacement asset Commences Commercial Service or the date that such replacement asset is abandoned or disposed of. Debt incurred to pay or equity issued to fund the construction period interest payments, or such construction period distributions on equity shall also be deemed to be debt incurred or equity issued, as the case may be, to finance the construction of a replacement asset, and the Incremental Incentive Distributions paid in respect of such newly issued equity shall be deemed to be distributions paid on equity issued to finance the construction of a replacement asset.
 
" Marshall Islands Act " means the Limited Partnership Act of The Republic of the Marshall Islands, as amended, supplemented or restated from time to time, and any successor to such statute.
 
" Measurement Period " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.6(b). " Merger Agreement " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 14.1.
 
" Minimum Quarterly Distribution " means $0.365 per Unit per Quarter (or with respect to the period commencing on the Closing Date and ending on December 31, 2013, it means the product of $0.365 multiplied by a fraction of which the numerator is the number of days in such period and of which the denominator is the total number of days in the Quarter in which the Closing Date occurs), subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 6.4.
 
" National Securities Exchange " means an exchange registered with the Commission under Section 6(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, supplemented or restated from time to time, and any successor to such statute.
 

 
8

 

" Net Agreed Value " means, (a) in the case of any Contributed Property, the Agreed Value of such property reduced by any liabilities either assumed by the Partnership upon such contribution or to which such property is subject when contributed, and (b) in the case of any property distributed to a Partner by the Partnership, the Agreed Value of such property, reduced by any indebtedness either assumed by such Partner upon such distribution or to which such property is subject at the time of distribution.
 
" Notice of Election to Purchase " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 15.1(b). " Officers " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.8(a).
 
" Omnibus Agreement " means that Omnibus Agreement, dated as of the Closing Date, among the Partnership, the General Partner, Dynagas Operating LP, Dynagas Operating GP LLC, and Dynagas Holding Ltd.
 
" Operating Company " means Dynagas Operating L.P., a Marshall Islands limited liability company, and any successors thereto.
 
" Operating Company Agreement " means the Limited Partnership Agreement of the Operating Company, as it may be amended, supplemented or restated from time to time.
 
" Operating Expenditures " means all Partnership Group expenditures (or the Partnership's proportionate share of expenditures in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly owned), including taxes, employee and director compensation, reimbursements of expenses of the General Partner, repayment of Working Capital Borrowings, debt service payments, capital expenditures, payments made in the ordinary course of business under any Hedge Contracts (provided (i) with respect to amounts paid in connection with the initial purchase of any Hedge Contract, such amounts shall be amortized over the life of the Hedge Contract and (ii) that payments made in connection with the termination of any Hedge Contract prior to the expiration of its stipulated settlement or termination date shall be included in Operating Expenditures in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such Hedge Contract), subject to the following:
 
(a)           deemed repayments of Working Capital Borrowings deducted from Operating Surplus pursuant to clause (b)(iii) of the definition of Operating Surplus shall not constitute Operating Expenditures when actually repaid;
 
(b)           payments (including prepayments and prepayment penalties) of principal of and premium on indebtedness other than Working Capital Borrowings shall not constitute Operating Expenditures; and
 
(c)           Operating Expenditures shall not include (i) Expansion Capital Expenditures, Investment Capital Expenditures or actual Maintenance Capital Expenditures, but shall include Estimated Maintenance Capital Expenditures, (ii) payment of transaction expenses (including taxes) relating to Interim Capital
 
Transactions or (iii) distributions to Partners,
 
where capital expenditures consist of both (x) Maintenance Capital Expenditures and (y) Expansion Capital Expenditures and/or Investment Capital Expenditures, the Board of Directors (with the concurrence of the Conflicts Committee) shall determine the allocation between the amounts paid for each.
 
" Operating Surplus " means, with respect to any period ending prior to the Liquidation Date, on a cumulative basis and without duplication:
 
(a)           the sum of (i) $27,000,000, (ii) all cash receipts of the Partnership Group (or the Partnership's proportionate share of cash receipts in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned) for the period beginning on the Closing Date and ending on the last day of such period, other than cash receipts from Interim Capital Transactions (excluding return on capital from Investment Capital Expenditures); provided , that cash receipts from the termination of a Hedge Contract prior to its specified termination date shall be included in Operating Surplus in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such Hedge Contract, (iii) all cash receipts of the Partnership Group (or the Partnership's proportionate share of
 

 
9

 

cash receipts in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned) after the end of such period but on or before the date of determination of Operating Surplus with respect to such period resulting from Working Capital Borrowings and (iv) the amount of cash distributions paid on equity issued (including Incremental Incentive Distributions) in connection with the construction of a Capital Improvement or replacement of a capital asset and paid in respect of the period beginning on the date that the Group Member enters into a binding obligation to commence the construction of such Capital Improvement or replacement of such capital asset and ending on the earlier to occur of the date that such Capital Improvement or replacement capital asset Commences Commercial Service or the date that it is abandoned or disposed of (equity issued to fund the construction period interest payments on debt incurred (including periodic net payments under related Hedge Contracts), or construction period distributions on equity issued (including Incremental Incentive Distributions), to finance the construction of a Capital Improvement or replacement of a capital asset shall also be deemed to be equity issued to finance the construction of a Capital Improvement or replacement of such capital asset for purposes of this clause (iv)), less
 
(b)           the sum of (i) Operating Expenditures for the period beginning immediately after the Closing Date and ending on the last day of such period, (ii) the amount of cash reserves (or the Partnership's proportionate share of cash reserves in the case of Subsidiaries that are not wholly owned) established by the Board of Directors to provide funds for future Operating Expenditures, (iii) all Working Capital Borrowings not repaid within twelve months after having been incurred and (iv) any cash loss realized on disposition of an Investment Capital Expenditure; provided , however , that disbursements made (including contributions to a Group Member or disbursements on behalf of a Group Member) or cash reserves established, increased or reduced after the end of such period but on or before the date of determination of Available Cash with respect to such period shall be deemed to have been made, established, increased or reduced, for purposes of determining Operating Surplus, within such period if the Board of Directors so determines.
 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, " Operating Surplus " with respect to the Quarter in which the Liquidation Date occurs and any subsequent Quarter shall equal zero. Cash receipts from Investment Capital Expenditures shall be treated as cash receipts only to the extent they are a return on capital, but in no event shall a return of capital be treated as cash receipts.
 
" Opinion of Counsel " means a written opinion of counsel (who may be regular counsel to the Partnership or the General Partner or any of its Affiliates) acceptable to the Board of Directors.
 
" Organizational Limited Partner " means Dynagas Holding Ltd. in its capacity as the organizational limited partner of the Partnership pursuant to this Agreement.
 
" Outstanding " means, with respect to Partnership Interests, all Partnership Interests that are issued by the Partnership and reflected as outstanding on the Partnership's books and records as of the date of determination; provided , however , that if at any time any Person or Group beneficially owns more than 4.9% of the Outstanding Partnership Interests of any class then Outstanding (or would own such percentage in the event this limitation were applied to other Persons or Groups), all Partnership Interests owned by such Person or Group in excess of such limitation shall not be voted on any matter and shall not be considered to be Outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of Limited Partners to vote on any matter (unless otherwise required by law), calculating required votes (except for purposes of nominating a Person for election to the Board of Directors pursuant to Section 7.3), determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes under this Agreement, except that Partnership Interests so owned shall be considered to be Outstanding for purposes of Section 11.1(b)(iv) (such Partnership Interests shall not, however, be treated as a separate class of Partnership Interests for purposes of this Agreement); provided , further , that the foregoing limitation shall not apply to (i) the General Partner or its Affiliates or (ii) any Person or Group who acquired more than 4.9% of any Partnership Interests with the prior approval of the Board of Directors after considering the potential effects of such approval on the Partnership, except, in each case, such limitation shall remain applicable with respect to the voting of Common Units in the election of the Elected Directors as provided in Section 7.2(a)(ii).
 
" Over-Allotment Option " means the over-allotment option granted to the Underwriters pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement.
 

 
10

 

" Partners " means the General Partner and the Limited Partners.
 
" Partnership " means Dynagas LNG Partners LP, a Marshall Islands limited partnership, and any successors thereto.
 
" Partnership Group " means the Partnership and its Subsidiaries, including the Operating Company, treated as a single consolidated entity.
 
" Partnership Interest " means any class or series of equity interest in the Partnership (but excluding any options, rights, warrants, restricted units and appreciation rights relating to an equity interest in the Partnership), including Common Units, Subordinated Units, General Partner Units and Incentive Distribution Rights.
 
" Percentage Interest " means as of any date of determination (a) as to the General Partner with respect to General Partner Units and as to any Unitholder with respect to Units, the product obtained by multiplying (i) 100% less the percentage applicable to clause (b) below by (ii) the quotient obtained by dividing (A) the number of Units held by such Unitholder or the number of General Partner Units held by the General Partner, as the case may be, by (B) the total number of all Outstanding Units and General Partner Units, and (b) as to the holders of other Partnership Interests issued by the Partnership in accordance with Section 5.4, the percentage established as a part of such issuance. The Percentage Interest with respect to an Incentive Distribution Right shall at all times be zero.
 
" Person " means an individual or a corporation, firm, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, unincorporated organization, association, governmental agency or political subdivision thereof or other entity.
 
" Plan of Conversion " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 14.1.
 
" Pro Rata " means (a) when used with respect to Units or any class thereof, apportioned equally among all designated Units in accordance with their relative Percentage Interests, (b) when used with respect to Partners or Record Holders, apportioned among all Partners or Record Holders in accordance with their relative Percentage Interests and (c) when used with respect to holders of Incentive Distribution Rights, apportioned equally among all holders of Incentive Distribution Rights in accordance with the relative number or percentage of Incentive Distribution Rights held by each such holder.
 
" Purchase Date " means the date determined by the General Partner as the date for purchase of all Outstanding Limited Partner Interests of a certain class (other than Limited Partner Interests owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates) pursuant to Article XV.
 
" Quarter " means, unless the context requires otherwise, a fiscal quarter, or, with respect to the first fiscal quarter including the Closing Date, the portion of such fiscal quarter after the Closing Date, of the Partnership.
 
" Record Date " means the date established by the Board of Directors or otherwise in accordance with this Agreement for determining (a) the identity of the Record Holders entitled to notice of, or to vote at, any meeting of Limited Partners or entitled to vote by ballot or give approval of Partnership action in writing without a meeting or entitled to exercise rights in respect of any lawful action of Limited Partners or (b) the identity of Record Holders entitled to receive any report or distribution or to participate in any offer.
 
" Record Holder " means (a) the Person in whose name a Common Unit is registered on the books of the Transfer Agent as of the opening of business on a particular Business Day, or (b) with respect to other Partnership Interests, the Person in whose name any such other Partnership Interest is registered on the books that the Board of Directors has caused to be kept as of the opening of business on such Business Day.
 
" Registration Statement " means the Partnership's Registration Statement on Form F-1 (Registration No. 333-191653) as it has been or as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, filed by the Partnership with the Commission under the Securities Act to register the offering and sale of the Common Units in the Initial Offering.
 

 
11

 

" Reset MQD " has the meaning set forth in Section 5.10(e). " Reset Notice " has the meaning set forth in Section 5.10(b).
 
" Second Target Distribution " means $0.456 per Unit per Quarter (or, with respect to the period
 
commencing on the Closing Date and ending on December 31, 2013, it means the product of $0.456 multiplied by a fraction of which the numerator is equal to the number of days in such period and of which the denominator is the total number of days in the Quarter in which the Closing Date occurs), subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 6.4.
 
" Securities Act " means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, supplemented or restated from time to time and any successor to such statute.
 
" Special Approval " means approval by a majority of the members of the Conflicts Committee.
 
" Subordinated Unit " means a Unit representing a fractional part of the Partnership Interests of all Limited Partners and having the rights and obligations specified with respect to Subordinated Units in this Agreement. The term "Subordinated Unit" does not include a Common Unit. A Subordinated Unit that is convertible into a Common Unit shall not constitute a Common Unit until such conversion occurs.
 
" Subordination Period " means the period commencing on the Closing Date and ending on the first to occur of the following dates:
 
(a)           the second Business Day following the distribution of Available Cash to Partners pursuant to Section 6.1(a) in respect of any Quarter ending on or after December 31, 2016, in respect of which (i)(A) distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus on each of the Outstanding Common Units, Subordinated Units, General Partner Units and any other Outstanding Units that are senior or equal in right of distribution to the Subordinated Units equaled or exceeded the Minimum Quarterly Distribution during each of the three consecutive, non-overlapping four-Quarter periods immediately preceding such date and (B) the Adjusted Operating Surplus for each of the three consecutive, non-overlapping four-Quarter periods immediately preceding such date equaled or exceeded the sum of the Minimum Quarterly Distribution on all of the Common Units, Subordinated Units, General Partner Units and any other Units that are senior or equal in right of distribution to the Subordinated Units that were Outstanding during such periods on a Fully Diluted Weighted Average Basis with respect to each such period and (ii) there are no Cumulative Common Unit Arrearages;
 
(b)           at any time on or after December 31, 2016, the date on which the holder or holders of a majority of the Outstanding Subordinated Units elect to convert the Outstanding Subordinated Units into Common Units in accordance with the provisions of Section 5.6(b); and
 
(c)           the date on which the General Partner is removed as general partner of the Partnership upon the requisite vote by holders of Outstanding Units under circumstances where Cause does not exist and no Units held by the General Partner and its Affiliates are voted in favor of such removal.
 
" Subsidiary " means, with respect to any Person, (a) a corporation of which more than 50% of the voting power of shares entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors or other governing body of such corporation is owned, directly or indirectly, at the date of determination, by such Person, by one or more Subsidiaries (as defined, but excluding subsection (d) of this definition) of such Person or a combination thereof, (b) a partnership (whether general or limited) in which such Person or a Subsidiary (as defined, but excluding subsection (d) of this definition) of such Person is, at the date of determination, a general or limited partner of such partnership, but only if more than 50% of the partnership interests of such partnership (considering all of the partnership interests of the partnership as a single class) is owned, directly or indirectly, at the date of determination, by such Person, by one or more Subsidiaries (as defined, but excluding subsection (d) of this definition) of such Person, or a combination thereof, (c) any other Person (other than a corporation or a partnership) in which such Person, one or more Subsidiaries (as defined, but excluding subsection (d) of this definition) of such
 

 
12

 

Person, or a combination thereof, directly or indirectly, at the date of determination, has (i) at least a majority ownership interest or (ii) the power to elect or direct the election of a majority of the directors or other governing body of such Person, or (d) any other Person in which such Person, one or more Subsidiaries (as defined, but excluding this subsection (d) of this definition) of such Person, or a combination thereof, directly or indirectly, at the date of determination, has (i) less than a majority ownership interest or (ii) less than the power to elect or direct the election of a majority of the directors or other governing body of such Person, provided , that (A) such Person, one or more Subsidiaries (as defined, but excluding this subsection (d) of this definition) of such Person, or a combination thereof, directly or indirectly, at the date of the determination, has at least a 20% ownership interest in such other Person, (B) such Person accounts for such other Person (under U.S. GAAP, as in effect on the later of the date of investment in such other Person or material expansion of the operations of such other Person) on a consolidated or equity accounting basis, (C) such Person has directly or indirectly material negative control rights regarding such other Person including over such other Person's ability to materially expand its operations beyond that contemplated at the date of investment in such other Person, and (D) such other Person is (i) other than with respect to the Operating Company, formed and maintained for the sole purpose of owning or leasing, operating and chartering no more than 10 vessels for a period of no more than 40 years, and (ii) obligated under its constituent documents, or as a result of a unanimous agreement of its owners, to distribute to its owners all of its income on at least an annual basis (less any cash reserves that are approved by such Person).
 
" Surviving Business Entity " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 14.2(b).
 
" Third Target Distribution " means $0.548 per Unit per Quarter (or, with respect to the period commencing on the Closing Date and ending on December 31, 2013, it means the product of $0.548 multiplied by a fraction of which the numerator is equal to the number of days in such period and of which the denominator is the total number of days in the Quarter in which the Closing Date occurs), subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 6.4.
 
" Trading Day " means, for the purpose of determining the Current Market Price of any class of Limited Partner Interests, a day on which the principal National Securities Exchange on which such class of Limited Partner Interests is listed is open for the transaction of business or, if Limited Partner Interests of a class are not listed on any National Securities Exchange, a day on which banking institutions in New York City generally are open.
 
" transfer " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 4.4(a).
 
" Transfer Agent " means such bank, trust company or other Person (including the General Partner or one of its Affiliates) as shall be appointed from time to time by the Partnership to act as registrar and transfer agent for the Common Units; provided , however , that if no Transfer Agent is specifically designated for any other Partnership Interests, the Partnership shall act in such capacity.
 
" Underwriter " means each Person named as an underwriter in Schedule I to the Underwriting Agreement who purchases Common Units pursuant thereto.
 
" Underwriting Agreement " means the Underwriting Agreement dated                                                                                                                     , 2013 among the
 
Underwriters, Dynagas Holdings Ltd., the Partnership, the General Partner, the Operating Company, Dynagas Operating GP LLC and Dynagas Equity Holding Ltd. providing for the purchase of Common Units from Dynagas Holding Ltd. by such Underwriters in connection with the Initial Offering.
 
" Unit " means a Partnership Interest that is designated as a "Unit" and shall include Common Units and Subordinated Units, but shall not include (i) General Partner Units (or the General Partner Interest represented thereby) or (ii) the Incentive Distribution Rights.
 
" Unitholders " means the holders of Units.
 
" Unit Majority " means (i) during the Subordination Period, at least (a) a majority of the Outstanding Common Units (excluding Common Units owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates) voting as a single class and (b) a majority of the Outstanding Subordinated Units, voting as a single class, and (ii) after the end of the Subordination Period, at least a majority of the Outstanding Common Units, voting as a single class.
 

 
13

 

" Unit Register " means the register of the Partnership for the registration and transfer of Limited Partnership Interests as provided in Section 4.5.
 
" Unrecovered Capital " means at any time, with respect to a Unit, the Initial Unit Price less the sum of all distributions constituting Capital Surplus theretofore made in respect of an Initial Common Unit and any distributions of cash (or the Net Agreed Value of any distributions in kind) in connection with the dissolution and liquidation of the Partnership theretofore made in respect of an Initial Common Unit, adjusted as the Board of Directors determines to be appropriate to give effect to any distribution, subdivision or combination of such Units.
 
" U.S. GAAP " means United States generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied.
 
" Vessel Interests " means the capital stock and other equity interests in Dynagas Equity Holding Ltd., a Liberian corporation, which owns all of the issued and outstanding share capital of each of (i) Quinta Group Corp., a Nevis corporation, which owns all of the issued and outstanding share capital of Pegasus Shipholding S.A., a Marshall Islands corporation, which owns the liquefied natural gas ("LNG") carrier the Clean Energy ; (ii) Seacrown Maritime Ltd., a Marshall Islands corporation, which owns the LNG carrier, the Clean Force ; and (iii) Pelta Holdings S.A., a Nevis corporation, which owns all of the issued and outstanding share capital of Lance Shipping S.A., a Marshall Islands corporation, which owns the LNG carrier, the Ob River .
 
" Volume-Weighted Average Market Price " means, for a specified period of consecutive Trading Days for the Common Units, an amount equal to (i) the cumulative sum of the products of (x) the sale price for each trade of Common Units occurring during such period multiplied by (y) the number of Common Units sold at such price, divided by (ii) the total number of Common Units so traded during such period.
 
" Withdrawal Opinion of Counsel " has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 11.1(b)(i).
 
" Working Capital Borrowings " means borrowings used solely for working capital purposes or to pay distributions to Partners made pursuant to a credit facility, commercial paper facility or similar financing arrangement available to a Group Member, provided , that when such borrowing is incurred it is the intent of the borrower to repay such borrowing within 12 months from the date of such borrowings other than from additional Working Capital Borrowings.
 
Section 1.2     Construction. Unless the context requires otherwise: (a) any pronoun used in this Agreement shall include he corresponding masculine, feminine or neuter forms, and the singular form of nouns, pronouns and verbs shall include the plural and vice versa; (b) references to Articles and Sections refer to Articles and Sections of this Agreement; (c) the term "include" or "includes" means includes, without limitation, and "including" means including, without limitation; and (d) the terms "hereof", "herein" and "hereunder" refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement. The table of contents and headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only, and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.
 
ARTICLE II

ORGANIZATION

Section 2.1     Formation. The General Partner and the Organizational Limited Partner previously formed the Partnership as a limited partnership pursuant to the provisions of the Marshall Islands Act and hereby amend and restate the original Agreement of Limited Partnership of Dynagas LNG Partners LP in its entirety. This amendment and restatement shall become effective as of the date hereof. Except as expressly provided to the contrary in this Agreement, the rights, duties (including fiduciary duties), liabilities and obligations of the Partners and the administration, dissolution and termination of the Partnership shall be governed by the Marshall Islands Act. All Partnership Interests shall constitute personal property of the owner thereof for all purposes and a Partner has no interest in specific Partnership property.
 

 
14

 

Section 2.2     Name. The name of the Partnership shall be "Dynagas LNG Partners LP" The Partnership's business may be conducted under any other name or names as determined by the Board of Directors. The words "Limited Partnership" or the letters "LP" or similar words or letters shall be included in the Partnership's name where necessary for the purpose of complying with the laws of any jurisdiction that so requires. The Board of Directors may change the name of the Partnership at any time and from time to time in compliance with the requirements of the Marshall Islands Act and shall notify the General Partner and the Limited Partners of such change in the next regular communication to the Limited Partners.
 
Section 2.3             Registered Office; Registered Agent; Principal Office; Other Offices. Unless and until changed by the Board of Directors, the registered office of the Partnership in The Marshall Islands shall be located at Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Island, Ajeltake Road, Majuro, Marshall Islands MH 96960 and the registered agent for service of process on the Partnership in The Marshall Islands at such registered office shall be The Trust Company of the Marshall Islands, Inc. The principal office of the Partnership shall be located at 97 Poseidonos Avenue & 2 Foivis Street, Glyfada, 16674, Greece, or such other place as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate by notice to the General Partner and the Limited Partners. The Partnership may maintain offices at such other place or places within or outside The Marshall Islands as the Board of Directors determines to be necessary or appropriate. The address of the General Partner shall be at 97 Poseidonos Avenue & 2 Foivis Street, Glyfada, 16674, Greece, or such other place as the General Partner may from time to time designate by notice to the Limited Partners.
 
Section 2.4             Purpose and Business. The purpose and nature of the business to be conducted by the Partnership shall be to (a) engage directly in, or enter into or form any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company or other arrangement to engage indirectly in, any business activity that lawfully may be conducted by a limited partnership organized pursuant to the Marshall Islands Act and, in connection therewith, to exercise all of the rights and powers conferred upon the Partnership pursuant to the agreements relating to such business activity, and (b) do anything necessary or appropriate to the foregoing, including the making of capital contributions or loans to a Group Member.
 
Section 2.5             Powers. The Partnership shall be empowered to do any and all acts and things necessary and appropriate for the furtherance and accomplishment of the purposes and business described in Section 2.4 and for the protection and benefit of the Partnership.
 
Section 2.6             Term. The term of the Partnership commenced upon the filing of the Certificate of Limited Partnership in accordance with the Marshall Islands Act and shall continue in existence until the dissolution of the Partnership in accordance with the provisions of Article XII. The existence of the Partnership as a separate legal entity shall continue until the cancellation of the Certificate of Limited Partnership as provided in the Marshall Islands Act.
 
Section 2.7             Title to Partnership Assets. Title to Partnership assets, whether real, personal or mixed and whether tangible or intangible, shall be deemed to be owned by the Partnership as an entity, and no Partner, individually or collectively, shall have any ownership interest in such Partnership assets or any portion thereof. Title to any or all of the Partnership assets may be held in the name of the Partnership, the General Partner, one or more of its Affiliates or one or more nominees, as the Board of Directors may determine. The General Partner hereby declares and warrants that any Partnership assets for which record title is held in the name of the General Partner or one or more of its Affiliates or one or more nominees shall be held by the General Partner or such Affiliate or nominee for the use and benefit of the Partnership in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement; provided , however , that the General Partner shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause record title to such assets (other than those assets in respect of which the Board of Directors determines that the expense and difficulty of conveyancing makes transfer of record title to the Partnership impracticable) to be vested in the Partnership as soon as reasonably practicable; and, provided , further , that, prior to the withdrawal or removal of the General Partner or as soon thereafter as practicable, the General Partner shall use reasonable efforts to effect the transfer of record title to the Partnership and, prior to any such transfer, will provide for the use of such assets in a manner satisfactory to the Board of Directors. All Partnership assets shall be recorded as the property of the Partnership in its books and records, irrespective of the name in which record title to such Partnership assets is held.
 

 
15

 

ARTICLE III

RIGHTS OF LIMITED PARTNERS

Section 3.1            Limitation of Liability. The Limited Partners shall have no liability under this Agreement except as expressly provided in this Agreement or the Marshall Islands Act.
 
Section 3.2             Management of Business. No Limited Partner, in its capacity as such, shall participate in the operation, management or control (within the meaning of the Marshall Islands Act) of the Partnership's business, transact any business in the Partnership's name or have the power to sign documents for or otherwise bind the Partnership. Any action taken by any Affiliate of the General Partner or any officer, director, employee, manager, member, general partner, agent or trustee of the General Partner or any of its Affiliates, or any officer, director, employee, manager, member, general partner, agent or trustee of a Group Member, in its capacity as such, shall not be deemed to be participation in the control of the business of the Partnership by a limited partner of the Partnership (within the meaning of Section 30 of the Marshall Islands Act) and shall not affect, impair or eliminate the limitations on the liability of the Limited Partners under this Agreement.
 
Section 3.3             Outside Activities of the Limited Partners. Subject to the provisions of Section 7.13 and the Omnibus Agreement, which shall continue to be applicable to the Persons referred to therein, regardless of whether such Persons shall also be Limited Partners, each Limited Partner shall be entitled to and may have business interests and engage in business activities in addition to those relating to the Partnership, including business interests and activities in direct competition with the Partnership Group. Neither the Partnership nor any of the other Partners shall have any rights by virtue of this Agreement in any business ventures of any Limited Partner.
 
Section 3.4             Rights of Limited Partners .
 
(a)           In addition to other rights provided by this Agreement or by the Marshall Islands Act, and except as limited by Section 3.4(b), each Limited Partner shall have the right, for a purpose reasonably related to such Limited Partner's interest as a Limited Partner in the Partnership, upon reasonable written demand stating the purpose of such demand and at such Limited Partner's own expense, to:
 
(i)           have furnished to him a current list of the name and last known business, residence or mailing address of each Partner;
 
(ii)           obtain true and full information regarding the amount of cash and a description and statement of the Net Agreed Value of any other Capital Contribution by each Partner and which each Partner has agreed to contribute in the future, and the date on which each became a Partner;
 
(iii)           have furnished to him a copy of this Agreement and the Certificate of Limited Partnership and all amendments thereto;
 
(iv)           obtain true and full information regarding the status of the business and financial condition of the Partnership Group; and
 
(v)           obtain such other information regarding the affairs of the Partnership as is just and reasonable.
 
(b)           The Board of Directors may keep confidential from the Limited Partners, for such period of time as the Board of Directors deems reasonable, (i) any information that the Board of Directors reasonably believes to be in the nature of trade secrets or (ii) other information the disclosure of which the Board of Directors in good faith believes (A) is not in the best interests of the Partnership Group, (B) could damage the Partnership Group or its business or (C) that any Group Member is required by law or by agreement with any third party to keep confidential (other than agreements with Affiliates of the Partnership the primary purpose of which is to circumvent the obligations set forth in this Section 3.4).
 

 
16

 

ARTICLE IV

CERTIFICATES; RECORD HOLDERS; TRANSFER OF PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS

Section 4.1             Certificates. Notwithstanding anything otherwise to the contrary herein, unless the General Partner shall determine otherwise in respect of some or all of any or all classes of Partnership Interests, Partnership Interests shall not be evidenced by certificates. Certificates that may be issued shall be executed on behalf of the Partnership by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, President, Chief Executive Officer or any Executive Vice President or Vice President and the Chief Financial Officer or the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the General Partner. If a Transfer Agent has been appointed for a class of Partnership Interests, no Certificate for such class of Partnership Interests shall be valid for any purpose until it has been countersigned by the Transfer Agent; provided , however , that if the General Partner elects to cause the Partnership to issue Partnership Interests of such class in global form, the Certificate shall be valid upon receipt of a certificate from the Transfer Agent certifying that the Partnership Interests have been duly registered in accordance with the directions of the Partnership. If Common Units are evidenced by Certificates, on or after the date on which Subordinated Units are converted into Common Units pursuant to the terms of Section 5.6, the Record Holders of such Subordinated Units (i) if the Subordinated Units are evidenced by Certificates, may exchange such Certificates for Certificates evidencing Common Units or (ii) if the Subordinated Units are not evidenced by Certificates, shall be issued Certificates evidencing Common Units.
 
Section 4.2             Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Certificates .
 
(a)           If any mutilated Certificate is surrendered to the Transfer Agent (for Common Units) or the Partnership (for Partnership Interests other than Common Units), the appropriate Officers on behalf of the Partnership shall execute, and the Transfer Agent (for Common Units) shall countersign and deliver in exchange therefor, a new Certificate evidencing the same number and type of Partnership Interests as the Certificate so surrendered.
 
(b)           The appropriate Officers on behalf of the Partnership shall execute and deliver, and the Transfer Agent (for Common Units) shall countersign, a new Certificate in place of any Certificate previously issued, or issue uncertificated Units, if the Record Holder of the Certificate:
 
(i)           makes proof by affidavit, in form and substance satisfactory to the Partnership, that a previously issued Certificate has been lost, destroyed or stolen;
 
(ii)           requests the issuance of a new Certificate or the issuance of uncertificated Units before the Partnership has notice that the Certificate has been acquired by a purchaser for value in good faith and without notice of an adverse claim;
 
(iii)           if requested by the Partnership, delivers to the Partnership a bond, in form and substance satisfactory to the Partnership, with surety or sureties and with fixed or open penalty as the Board of Directors may direct to indemnify the Partnership, the Partners, the General Partner and the Transfer Agent against any claim that may be made on account of the alleged loss, destruction or theft of the Certificate; and
 
(iv)           satisfies any other reasonable requirements imposed by the Board of Directors.
 
If a Limited Partner fails to notify the Partnership within a reasonable period of time after he has notice of the loss, destruction or theft of a Certificate, and a transfer of the Limited Partner Interests represented by the Certificate is registered before the Partnership, the General Partner or the Transfer Agent receives such notification, the Limited Partner shall be precluded from making any claim against the Partnership, the General Partner or the Transfer Agent for such transfer or for a new Certificate or uncertificated Units.
 
(c)           As a condition to the issuance of any new Certificate or uncertificated Units under this Section 4.2, the Partnership may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental
 

 
17

 

charge that may be imposed in relation thereto and any other expenses (including the fees and expenses of the Transfer Agent) reasonably connected therewith.
 
Section 4.3             Record Holders. The Partnership shall be entitled to recognize the Record Holder as the Partner with respect to any Partnership Interest and, accordingly, shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to, or interest in, such Partnership Interest on the part of any other Person, regardless of whether the Partnership shall have actual or other notice thereof, except as otherwise provided by law or any applicable rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any National Securities Exchange on which such Partnership Interests are listed or admitted to trading. Without limiting the foregoing, when a Person (such as a broker, dealer, bank, trust company or clearing corporation or an agent of any of the foregoing) is acting as nominee, agent or in some other representative capacity for another Person in acquiring and/or holding Partnership Interests, as between the Partnership on the one hand, and such other Persons on the other, such representative Person (a) shall be the Record Holder of such Partnership Interest and (b) shall be bound by this Agreement and shall have the rights and obligations of a Partner hereunder and as, and to the extent, provided for herein.
 
Section 4.4             Transfer Generally .
 
(a)           The term "transfer," when used in this Agreement with respect to a Partnership Interest, shall mean a transaction (i) by which the General Partner assigns its General Partner Units to another Person or by which a holder of Incentive Distribution Rights assigns its Incentive Distribution Rights to another Person, and includes a sale, assignment, gift, pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation, mortgage, exchange or any other disposition by law or otherwise or (ii) by which the holder of a Limited Partner Interest (other than an Incentive Distribution Right) assigns such Limited Partner Interest to another Person who is or becomes a Limited Partner, and includes a sale, assignment, gift, exchange or any other disposition by law or otherwise, excluding a pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation or mortgage, but including any transfer upon foreclosure of any pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation or mortgage.
 
(b)           No Partnership Interest shall be transferred, in whole or in part, except in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Article IV. Any transfer or purported transfer of a Partnership Interest not made in accordance with this Article IV shall be null and void.
 
(c)           Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent a disposition by any stockholder, member, partner or other owner of the General Partner of any or all of the shares of stock, membership interests, partnership interests or other ownership interests in the General Partner, and the term "transfer" shall not mean any such disposition.
 
Section 4.5             Registration and Transfer of Limited Partner Interests .
 
(a)           The General Partner shall keep or cause to be kept on behalf of the Partnership a register in which, subject to such reasonable regulations as it may prescribe and subject to the provisions of Section 4.5(b), the Partnership will provide for the registration and transfer of Limited Partner Interests. The Transfer Agent is hereby appointed registrar and transfer agent for the purpose of registering Common Units and transfers of such Common Units as herein provided. The Partnership shall not recognize transfers of Certificates evidencing Limited Partner Interests unless such transfers are effected in the manner described in this Section 4.5. Upon surrender of a Certificate for registration of transfer of any Limited Partner Interests evidenced by a Certificate, and subject to the provisions of Section 4.5(b), the appropriate Officers on behalf of the Partnership shall execute and deliver, and in the case of Common Units, the Transfer Agent shall countersign and deliver, in the name of the holder or the designated transferee or transferees, as required pursuant to the holder's instructions, one or more new Certificates evidencing the same aggregate number and type of Limited Partner Interests as was evidenced by the Certificate so surrendered.
 
(b)           The Partnership shall not recognize any transfer of Limited Partner Interests until the Certificates evidencing such Limited Partner Interests are surrendered for registration of transfer. No charge shall be imposed by the Partnership for such transfer; provided , however , that as a condition to the issuance of any new Certificate under this Section 4.5, the Partnership may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed with respect thereto.
 

 
18

 

(c)           By acceptance of the transfer of a Limited Partner Interest in accordance with this Section 4.5 and except as otherwise provided in Section 4.8, each transferee of a Limited Partner Interest (including any nominee holder or an agent or representative acquiring such Limited Partner Interests for the account of another Person)  (i) shall be admitted to the Partnership as a Limited Partner with respect to the Limited Partner Interests so transferred to such Person when any such transfer or admission is reflected in the books and records of the Partnership and such Limited Partner becomes the Record Holder of the Limited Partner Interests so transferred, (ii) shall become bound, and shall be deemed to have agreed to be bound, by the terms of this Agreement, (iii) represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and (iv) makes the consents, acknowledgments and waivers contained in this Agreement, all with or without execution of this Agreement by such Person. The transfer of any Limited Partner Interests and the admission of any new Limited Partner shall not constitute an amendment to this Agreement.
 
(d)           Subject to the provisions set forth in this Article IV, Limited Partner Interests shall be freely transferable.
 
(e)           The General Partner and its Affiliates shall have the right at any time to transfer their Subordinated Units and Common Units (whether issued upon conversion of the Subordinated Units or otherwise) to one or more Persons.
 
Section 4.6             Transfer of the General Partner's General Partner Interest .
 
(a)           Subject to Section 4.6(c) below, prior to December 31, 2023, the General Partner shall not transfer all or any part of its General Partner Interest (represented by General Partner Units) to a Person unless such transfer (i) has been approved by the prior written consent or vote of the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Common Units (excluding Common Units held by the General Partner and its Affiliates) or (ii) is of all, but not less than all, of its General Partner Interest to (A) an Affiliate of the General Partner (other than an individual) or (B) another Person (other than an individual) in connection with (1) the merger or consolidation of the General Partner with or into such other Person or (2) the transfer by the General Partner of all or substantially all of its assets to such other Person.
 
(b)           Subject to Section 4.6(c) below, on or after December 31, 2023, the General Partner may transfer all or any of its General Partner Interest without Unitholder approval.
 
(c)           Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, no transfer by the General Partner of all or any part of its General Partner Interest to another Person shall be permitted unless (i) the transferee agrees to assume the rights and duties of the General Partner under this Agreement and to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement, (ii) the Partnership receives an Opinion of Counsel that such transfer would not result in the loss of limited liability of any Limited Partner or of any limited partner or member of any other Group Member under the laws of any such entity's jurisdiction of formation and (iii) such transferee also agrees to purchase all (or the appropriate portion thereof, if applicable) of the partnership or membership interest of the General Partner as the general partner or managing member, if any, of each other Group Member. In the case of a transfer pursuant to and in compliance with this Section 4.6, the transferee or successor (as the case may be) shall, subject to compliance with the terms of Section 10.3, be admitted to the Partnership as the General Partner immediately prior to the transfer of the General Partner Interest, and the business of the Partnership shall continue without dissolution.
 
Section 4.7             Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights. Prior to December 31, 2016, a holder of Incentive Distribution Rights may transfer any or all of the Incentive Distribution Rights held by such holder without any consent of the Unitholders to (a) an Affiliate of such holder (other than an individual) or (b) another Person (other than an individual) in connection with (i) the merger or consolidation of such holder of Incentive Distribution Rights with or into such other Person or (ii) the transfer by such holder of all or substantially all of its assets to such other Person. Any other transfer of the Incentive Distribution Rights prior to December 31, 2016, shall require the prior approval of holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Common Units (excluding Common Units held by the General Partner and its Affiliates). On or after December 31, 2016, the General Partner or any other holder of Incentive Distribution Rights may transfer any or all of its Incentive Distribution Rights without Unitholder approval. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (i) the transfer of Common Units issued pursuant to Section 5.10 shall not be treated as a transfer of all or any part of the Incentive Distribution Rights and
 

 
19

 

(ii) no transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights to another Person shall be permitted unless the transferee agrees to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement. The General Partner and any transferee or transferees of the Incentive Distribution Rights may agree in a separate instrument as to the General Partner's exercise of its rights with respect to the Incentive Distribution Rights under Section 11.3.
 
Section 4.8             Restrictions on Transfers.
 
(a)           Except as provided in Section 4.8(b) below, but notwithstanding the other provisions of this Article IV, no transfer of any Partnership Interests shall be made if such transfer would (i) violate the then applicable U.S. federal or state securities laws, laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands or rules and regulations of the Commission, any state securities commission or any other governmental authority with jurisdiction over such transfer or (ii) terminate the existence or qualification of the Partnership or any Group Member under the laws of the jurisdiction of its formation.
 
(b)           Nothing contained in this Article IV, or elsewhere in this Agreement, shall preclude the settlement of any transactions involving Partnership Interests entered into through the facilities of any National Securities Exchange on which such Partnership Interests are listed or admitted to trading.
 
ARTICLE V

CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND ISSUANCE OF PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS

Section 5.1             Contributions and Initial Unit Issuances Prior to the Closing Date .
 
(a)           In connection with the formation of the Partnership under the Marshall Islands Act (i) Dynagas Holding Ltd. made an initial Capital Contribution of the Vessel Interests to the Partnership in exchange for 6,735,000 Common Units and 14,985,000 Subordinated Units pursuant to the Contribution Agreement and (ii) the Partnership issued to the General Partner 30,000 General Partner Units (the General Partner Units, together with the issued common units and subordinated units represent all of the outstanding interests in us) in the Partnership) and 100% of the Incentive Distribution Rights.
 
Section 5.2             Tax Election .
 
(a)           Effective on or before the Closing Date, the Partnership shall elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
 
Section 5.3             Interest and Withdrawal . No interest shall be paid by the Partnership on Capital Contributions. No Partner shall be entitled to the withdrawal or return of its Capital Contribution, except to the extent, if any, that distributions made pursuant to this Agreement or upon dissolution of the Partnership may be considered and permitted as such by law and then only to the extent provided for in this Agreement. Except to the extent expressly provided in this Agreement, no Partner shall have priority over any other Partner either as to the return of Capital Contributions or as to profits, losses or distributions.
 
Section 5.4             Issuances of Additional Partnership Interests .
 
(a)           The Partnership may issue additional Partnership Interests and options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to the Partnership Interests for any Partnership purpose at any time and from time to time to such Persons for such consideration and on such terms and conditions as the Board of Directors shall determine, all without the approval of any Partners.
 
(b)           Each additional Partnership Interest authorized to be issued by the Partnership pursuant to Section 5.4(a) may be issued in one or more classes, or one or more series of any such classes, with such designations, preferences, rights, powers and duties (which may be senior to existing classes and series of Partnership Interests), as shall be fixed by the Board of Directors, including (i) the right to share in Partnership distributions; (ii) the rights upon dissolution and liquidation of the Partnership; (iii) whether, and the terms and
 

 
20

 

conditions upon which, the Partnership may or shall be required to redeem the Partnership Interest (including sinking fund provisions); (iv) whether such Partnership Interest is issued with the privilege of conversion or exchange and, if so, the terms and conditions of such conversion or exchange; (v) the terms and conditions upon which each Partnership Interest will be issued, evidenced by certificates and assigned or transferred; (vi) the method for determining the Percentage Interest as to such Partnership Interest; and (vii) the right, if any, of each such Partnership Interest to vote on Partnership matters, including matters relating to the relative rights, preferences and privileges of such Partnership Interest.
 
(c)           The Board of Directors shall take all actions that it determines to be necessary or appropriate in connection with (i) each issuance of Partnership Interests and options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to Partnership Interests pursuant to this Section 5.4, (ii) the conversion of the General Partner Interest (represented by General Partner Units) or any Incentive Distribution Rights into Units pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, (iii) the issuance of Common Units pursuant to Section 5.10, (iv) the admission of additional Limited Partners and (v) all additional issuances of Partnership Interests. The Board of Directors shall determine the relative rights, powers and duties of the holders of the Units or other Partnership Interests being so issued. The Board of Directors shall do all things necessary to comply with the Marshall Islands Act and is authorized and directed to do all things that it determines to be necessary or appropriate in connection with any future issuance of Partnership Interests or in connection with the conversion of the General Partner Interest or any Incentive Distribution Rights into Units pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, including compliance with any statute, rule, regulation or guideline of any federal, state or other governmental agency or any National Securities Exchange on which the Units or other Partnership Interests are listed or admitted to trading.
 
Section 5.5             Limitations on Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests. The Partnership may issue an unlimited number of Partnership Interests (or options, rights, warrants or appreciation rights related thereto) pursuant to Section 5.4 without the approval of the Partners; provided , however , that no fractional units shall be issued by the Partnership; and provided , further , that without the approval of the General Partner, the Partnership shall not issue any equity where such issuance may have a material adverse impact on the General Partner, the General Partner Interest or the ability of the Partnership to satisfy the tests set forth in the definition of Subordination Period.
 
Section 5.6             Conversion of Subordinated Units to Common Units .
 
(a)           If the Subordination Period expires in accordance with the provisions of Section 5.6(b), the Subordinated Units shall convert into such number of Common Units as is prescribed by Section 5.6(b) upon such expiration of the Subordination Period. If the Subordination Period expires in accordance with any provisions of this Agreement other than Section 5.6(b), then the Subordinated Units shall convert into Common Units on a one-for-one basis upon such expiration of the Subordination Period.
 
(b)           At any time on or after December 31, 2016, provided that there are no Cumulative Common Unit Arrearages in respect of the Quarter immediately preceding such date and with the approval of the Conflicts Committee, the holder or holders of a majority of the Outstanding Subordinated Units may elect to convert each Outstanding Subordinated Unit into a number of Common Units to be determined by multiplying the number of Outstanding Subordinated Units by a fraction, (i) the numerator of which is equal to the aggregate amount of distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus (not to exceed Adjusted Operating Surplus) on the outstanding Subordinated Units (" Historical Distributions ") for the four fiscal Quarters preceding the date of conversion (the " Measurement Period ") and (ii) the denominator of which is equal to the aggregate amount of distributions that would have been required during the Measurement Period to pay the Minimum Quarterly Distribution on all Outstanding Subordinated Units during such four-Quarter period; provided, that if the forecasted distributions to be paid from forecasted Operating Surplus (not to exceed forecasted Adjusted Operating Surplus) on the Outstanding Subordinated Units for the four fiscal Quarter period immediately following the Measurement Period (" Forecasted Distributions "), as determined by the Conflicts Committee, is less than Historical Distributions, then the numerator shall be Forecasted Distributions; provided, further, however, that the Outstanding Subordinated Units may not convert into Common Units at a ratio that is greater than one-to-one.
 
(c)           Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Subordinated Units will automatically convert into Common Units on a one-for-one basis as set forth in, and pursuant to the terms of, Section 11.4.
 

 
21

 

Section 5.7             Limited Preemptive Right .
 
(a)           Except as provided in this Section 5.7, no Person shall have any preemptive, preferential or other similar right with respect to the issuance of any Partnership Interest, whether unissued, held in the treasury or hereafter created. The General Partner shall have the right, which it may from time to time assign in whole or in part to any of its Affiliates, to purchase Partnership Interests from the Partnership whenever, and on the same terms that, the Partnership issues Partnership Interests to Persons other than the General Partner and its Affiliates, to the extent necessary to maintain the Percentage Interests of the General Partner and its Affiliates equal to that which existed immediately prior to the issuance of such Partnership Interests.
 
(b)           Upon the issuance of any additional Limited Partner Interests by the Partnership (other than Common Units issued pursuant to Section 5.2(a) and Common Units issued in connection with a reset of the Incentive Distribution target levels or the issuance of Limited Partner Interests upon conversion of outstanding Limited Partner Interests), the General Partner may, in exchange for a proportionate number of General Partner Units, make additional Capital Contributions in an amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying (i) the quotient determined by dividing (A) the General Partner's Percentage Interest immediately prior to such issuance by (B) 100 less the General Partner's Percentage Interest immediately prior to such issuance by (ii) the amount contributed to the Partnership by the Limited Partners in exchange for such additional Limited Partner Interests. The General Partner shall not be obligated to make additional Capital Contributions to the Partnership.
 
Section 5.8             Splits and Combinations .
 
(a)           Subject to Sections 5.8(d) and 6.4 (dealing with adjustments of distribution levels), the Partnership may make a Pro Rata distribution of Partnership Interests to all Record Holders or may effect a subdivision or combination of Partnership Interests so long as, after any such event, each Partner shall have the same Percentage Interest in the Partnership as before such event, and any amounts calculated on a per Unit basis (including any Common Unit Arrearage or Cumulative Common Unit Arrearage) or stated as a number of Units are proportionately adjusted.
 
(b)           Whenever such a Pro Rata distribution, subdivision or combination of Partnership Interests is declared, the Board of Directors shall select a Record Date as of which the distribution, subdivision or combination shall be effective and shall send notice thereof at least 20 days prior to such Record Date to each Record Holder as of a date not less than 10 days prior to the date of such notice. The Board of Directors also may cause a firm of independent public accountants selected by it to calculate the number of Partnership Interests to be held by each Record Holder after giving effect to such distribution, subdivision or combination. The Board of Directors shall be entitled to rely on any certificate provided by such firm as conclusive evidence of the accuracy of such calculation.
 
(c)           Promptly following any such distribution, subdivision or combination, the Partnership may issue Certificates or uncertificated Partnership Interests to the Record Holders of Partnership Interests as of the applicable Record Date representing the new number of Partnership Interests held by such Record Holders, or the Board of Directors may adopt such other procedures that it determines to be necessary or appropriate to reflect such changes. If any such combination results in a smaller total number of Partnership Interests Outstanding, the Partnership shall require, as a condition to the delivery to a Record Holder of such new Certificate or uncertificated Partnership Interest, the surrender of any Certificate held by such Record Holder immediately prior to such Record Date.
 
(d)           The Partnership shall not issue fractional Units upon any distribution, subdivision or combination of Units. If a distribution, subdivision or combination of Units would result in the issuance of fractional Units but for the provisions of this Section 5.8(d), each fractional Unit shall be rounded to the nearest whole Unit (and a 0.5 Unit shall be rounded to the next higher Unit).
 
Section 5.9             Fully Paid and Non-Assessable Nature of Limited Partner Interests . All Limited Partner Interests issued pursuant to, and in accordance with the requirements of, this Article V shall be fully paid and non-assessable Limited Partner Interests in the Partnership, except as such non-assessability may be affected by the Marshall Islands Act.
 

 
22

 

Section 5.10           Issuance of Common Units in Connection with Reset of Incentive Distribution Rights .
 
(a)           Subject to the provisions of this Section 5.10, the holder of the Incentive Distribution Rights (or, if there is more than one holder of the Incentive Distribution Rights, the holders of a majority in interest of the Incentive Distribution Rights) shall have the right, at any time when there are no Subordinated Units and the Partnership has made a distribution pursuant to Section 6.2(b)(v) for each of the four most recently completed Quarters and the amount of each such distribution did not exceed Adjusted Operating Surplus for such Quarter, to make an election (the " IDR Reset Election ") to cause the Minimum Quarterly Distribution and the Target Distributions to be reset in accordance with the provisions of Section 5.10(e) and, in connection therewith, the holder or holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights will become entitled to receive their respective proportionate shares of a number of Common Units (" IDR Reset Common Units ") derived by dividing (i) the average of the aggregate amount of cash distributions made by the Partnership for each of the two full Quarters immediately preceding the giving of the Reset Notice in respect of the Incentive Distribution Rights by (ii) the average of the cash distributions made by the Partnership in respect of each Common Unit for each of the two full Quarters immediately preceding the giving of the Reset Notice (the number of Common Units determined by such quotient is referred to herein as the " Aggregate Quantity of IDR Reset Common Units "). If at the time of any IDR Reset Election the General Partner and its Affiliates are not the holders of a majority interest of the Incentive Distribution Rights, then the IDR Reset Election shall be subject to the prior approval of the Board of Directors that the conditions described in the immediately preceding sentence have been satisfied. Upon the issuance of such IDR Reset Common Units, the Partnership will issue to the General Partner that number of additional General Partner Units equal to the product of (x) the quotient obtained by dividing (A) the Percentage Interest of the General Partner immediately prior to such issuance by (B) a percentage equal to 100% less such Percentage Interest and (y) the number of such IDR Reset Common Units, and the General Partner shall not be obligated to make any additional Capital Contribution to the Partnership in exchange for such issuance. The making of the IDR Reset Election in the manner specified in Section 5.10(b) shall cause the Minimum Quarterly Distribution and the Target Distributions to be reset in accordance with the provisions of Section 5.10(c) and, in connection therewith, the holder or holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights will become entitled to receive IDR Reset Common Units and the General Partner will become entitled to receive General Partner Units on the basis specified above, without any further approval required by the General Partner or the Unitholders, at the time specified in Section 5.10(c), unless the IDR Reset Election is rescinded pursuant to Section 5.10(d).
 
(b)           To exercise the right specified in Section 5.10(a), the holder of the Incentive Distribution Rights (or, if there is more than one holder of the Incentive Distribution Rights, the holders of a majority in interest of the Incentive Distribution Rights) shall deliver a written notice (the " Reset Notice ") to the Partnership. Within 10 Business Days after the receipt by the Partnership of such Reset Notice, the Partnership shall deliver a written notice to the holder or holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights of the Partnership's determination of the aggregate number of Common Units that each holder of Incentive Distribution Rights will be entitled to receive.
 
(c)           The holder or holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights will be entitled to receive the Aggregate Quantity of IDR Reset Common Units and the General Partner will become entitled to receive the related additional General Partner Units on the fifteenth Business Day after receipt by the Partnership of the Reset Notice, and the Partnership may issue Certificates for the Common Units or uncertificated Partnership Interests to the holder or holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights.
 
(d)           If the principal National Securities Exchange upon which the Common Units are then traded has not approved the listing or admission for trading of the Common Units to be issued pursuant to this Section 5.10 on or before the 30th calendar day following the Partnership's receipt of the Reset Notice and such approval is required by the rules and regulations of such National Securities Exchange, then the holder of the Incentive Distribution Rights (or, if there is more than one holder of the Incentive Distribution Rights, the holders of a majority in interest of the Incentive Distribution Rights) shall have the right to either rescind the IDR Reset Election or elect to receive other Partnership Interests having such terms as the General Partner may approve, with the approval of the Conflicts Committee, that will provide (i) the same economic value, in the aggregate, as the Aggregate Quantity of IDR Reset Common Units would have had at the time of the Partnership's receipt of the Reset Notice, as determined by the General Partner, and (ii) for the subsequent conversion (on terms acceptable to the National Securities Exchange upon which the Common Units are then traded) of such Partnership Interests into Common Units within not more than 12 months following the Partnership's receipt of the Reset Notice upon the satisfaction of one or more
 

 
23

 

conditions that are reasonably acceptable to the holder of the Incentive Distribution Rights (or, if there is more than one holder of the Incentive Distribution Rights, the holders of a majority in interest of the Incentive Distribution Rights).
 
(e)           The Minimum Quarterly Distribution, First Target Distribution, Second Target Distribution and Third Target Distribution shall be adjusted at the time of the issuance of Common Units or other Partnership Interests pursuant to this Section 5.10 such that (i) the Minimum Quarterly Distribution shall be reset to equal to the average cash distribution amount per Common Unit for the two Quarters immediately prior to the Partnership's receipt of the Reset Notice (the " Reset MQD "), (ii) the First Target Distribution shall be reset to equal 115% of the Reset MQD, (iii) the Second Target Distribution shall be reset to equal to 125% of the Reset MQD and (iv) the Third Target Distribution shall be reset to equal 150% of the Reset MQD.
 
ARTICLE VI

DISTRIBUTIONS

Section 6.1             Requirement and Characterization of Distributions; Distributions to Record Holders .
 
(a)           Within 45 days following the end of each Quarter commencing with the Quarter ending on December 31, 2013, an amount equal to 100% of Available Cash with respect to such Quarter shall, subject to Section 51 of the Marshall Islands Act, be distributed in accordance with this Article VI by the Partnership to the Partners as of the Record Date selected by the Board of Directors. All amounts of Available Cash distributed by the Partnership on any date following the Closing Date from any source shall be deemed to be Operating Surplus until the sum of all amounts of Available Cash theretofore distributed by the Partnership to the Partners following the Closing Date pursuant to Section 6.2 equals the Operating Surplus from the Closing Date through the close of the immediately preceding Quarter. Any remaining amounts of Available Cash distributed by the Partnership on such date shall, except as otherwise provided in Section 6.3, be deemed to be " Capital Surplus ." Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in this Agreement, the Partnership shall not make a distribution to any Partner on account of its interest in the Partnership if such distribution would violate the Marshall Islands Act or any other applicable law.
 
(b)           Notwithstanding the first three sentences of Section 6.1(a), in the event of the dissolution and liquidation of the Partnership, all receipts received during or after the Quarter in which the Liquidation Date occurs, other than from borrowings described in (a)(ii) of the definition of Available Cash, shall be applied and distributed solely in accordance with, and subject to the terms and conditions of, Section 12.4.
 
(c)           Each distribution in respect of a Partnership Interest shall be paid by the Partnership, directly or through the Transfer Agent or through any other Person or agent, only to the Record Holder of such Partnership Interest as of the Record Date set for such distribution. Such payment shall constitute full payment and satisfaction of the Partnership's liability in respect of such payment, regardless of any claim of any Person who may have an interest in such payment by reason of an assignment or otherwise.
 
Section 6.2             Distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus .
 
(a)            During Subordination Period . Available Cash with respect to any Quarter or portion thereof within the Subordination Period that is deemed to be Operating Surplus pursuant to the provisions of Sections 6.1 or 6.3 shall, subject to Section 51 of the Marshall Islands Act, be distributed as follows, except as otherwise contemplated by Section 5.4 in respect of other Partnership Interests issued pursuant thereto:
 
(i)           First, (x) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest and (y) 99.9% to all the Unitholders holding Common Units, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the General Partner's Percentage Interest, until there has been distributed in respect of each Common Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution for such Quarter;
 

 
24

 

(ii)           Second, (x) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest and (y) 99.9% to all Unitholders holding Common Units, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the General Partner's Percentage Interest, until there has been distributed in respect of each Common Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the Cumulative Common Unit Arrearage existing with respect to such Quarter;
 
(iii)           Third, (x) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest and (y) 99.9% to all Unitholders holding Subordinated Units, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the General Partner's Percentage Interest, until there has been distributed in respect of each Subordinated Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution for such Quarter;
 
(iv)           Fourth, to the General Partner and all Unitholders in accordance with their respective Percentage Interests, until there has been distributed in respect of each Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the excess of the First Target Distribution over the Minimum Quarterly Distribution for such Quarter;
 
(v)           Fifth, (A) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest; (B) 14.9% to the holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights, Pro Rata; and (C) to all Unitholders, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the sum of the percentages applicable to subclauses (A) and (B) of this clause (v) until there has been distributed in respect of each Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the excess of the Second Target Distribution over the First Target Distribution for such Quarter;
 
(vi)           Sixth, (A) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest, (B) 24.9% to the holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights, Pro Rata; and (C) to all Unitholders, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the sum of the percentages applicable to subclauses (A) and (B) of this subclause (vi), until there has been distributed in respect of each Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the excess of the Third Target Distribution over the Second Target Distribution for such Quarter; and
 
(vii)           Thereafter, (A) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest; (B) 49.9% to the holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights, Pro Rata; and (C) to all Unitholders, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the sum of the percentages applicable to subclauses (A) and (B) of this clause (vii);
 
provided , however , that if the Minimum Quarterly Distribution, the First Target Distribution, the Second Target Distribution and the Third Target Distribution have been reduced to zero pursuant to the second sentence of Section 6.4, the distribution of Available Cash that is deemed to be Operating Surplus with respect to any Quarter will be made solely in accordance with Section 6.2(a)(vii).
 
 (b)            After Subordination Period . Available Cash with respect to any Quarter after the SubordinationPeriod that is deemed to be Operating Surplus pursuant to the provisions of Sections 6.1 or 6.3, shall subject to Section 51 of the Marshall Islands Act, be distributed as follows, except as otherwise required by Section 5.4(b) in respect of additional Partnership Interests issued pursuant thereto:
 
(i)           First, 100% to the General Partner and the Unitholders Pro Rata, until there has been distributed in respect of each Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution for such Quarter;
 
(ii)           Second, 100% to the General Partner and the Unitholders Pro Rata, until there has been distributed in respect of each Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the excess of the First Target Distribution over the Minimum Quarterly Distribution for such Quarter;
 
(iii)           Third, (A) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest; (B) 14.9% to the holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights, Pro Rata; and (C) to all Unitholders, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the sum of the percentages applicable to subclauses (A) and (B) of this clause (iii), until
 

 
25

 

there has been distributed in respect of each Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the excess of the Second Target Distribution over the First Target Distribution for such Quarter;
 
(iv)           Fourth, (A) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest; (B) 24.9% to the holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights, Pro Rata; and (C) to all Unitholders, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the sum of the percentages applicable to subclause (A) and (B) of this clause (iv), until there has been distributed in respect of each Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the excess of the Third Target Distribution over the Second Target Distribution for such Quarter; and
 
(v)           Thereafter, (A) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest; (B) 49.9% to the holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights, Pro Rata; and (C) to all Unitholders, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the sum of the percentages applicable to subclauses (A) and (B) of this clause (v); provided , however , that if the Minimum Quarterly Distribution, the First Target Distribution, the Second Target Distribution and the Third Target Distribution have been reduced to zero pursuant to the second sentence of Section 6.4, the distribution of Available Cash that is deemed to be Operating Surplus with respect to any Quarter will be made solely in accordance with Section 6.2(b)(v).
 
Section 6.3             Distributions of Available Cash from Capital Surplus . Available Cash that is deemed to be Capital Surplus pursuant to the provisions of Section 6.1(a) shall, subject to Section 51 of the Marshall Islands Act, be distributed, unless the provisions of Section 6.1 require otherwise, 100% to the General Partner and the Unitholders Pro Rata, until the Minimum Quarterly Distribution is reduced to zero pursuant to the second sentence of Section 6.4. Available Cash that is deemed to be Capital Surplus shall then be distributed (a) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest and (b) to all Unitholders holding Common Units their Pro Rata share of a percentage equal to 100% less the General Partner's Percentage Interest, until there has been distributed in respect of each Common Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the Cumulative Common Unit Arrearage. Thereafter, all Available Cash shall be distributed as if it were Operating Surplus and shall be distributed in accordance with Section 6.2.
 
Section 6.4             Adjustment of Minimum Quarterly Distribution and Target Distribution Levels . The Minimum Quarterly Distribution, First Target Distribution, Second Target Distribution, Third Target Distribution, Common Unit Arrearages and Cumulative Common Unit Arrearages shall be proportionately adjusted in the event of any distribution, combination or subdivision (whether effected by a distribution payable in Units or otherwise) of Units or other Partnership Interests in accordance with Section 5.8. In the event of a distribution of Available Cash that is deemed to be from Capital Surplus, the then applicable Minimum Quarterly Distribution, First Target Distribution, Second Target Distribution and Third Target Distribution, shall be reduced in the same proportion that the distribution had to the fair market value of the Common Units prior to the announcement of the distribution. If the Common Units are publicly traded on a National Securities Exchange, the fair market value will be the Current Market Price before the announcement of the distribution. If the Common Units are not publicly traded, the fair market value will be determined by the Board of Directors.
 
Section 6.5             Special Provisions Relating to the Holders of Subordinated Units . Except with respect to the right to vote on or approve matters requiring the vote or approval of a percentage of the holders of Outstanding Common Units and the right to participate in distributions made with respect to Common Units, the holder of a Subordinated Unit shall have all of the rights and obligations of a Unitholder holding Common Units hereunder; provided, however, that immediately upon the conversion of Subordinated Units into Common Units, the Unitholder holding a Subordinated Unit shall possess all of the rights and obligations of a Unitholder holding Common Units hereunder, including the right to vote as a Common Unitholder and the right to participate in distributions made with respect to Common Units.
 
Section 6.6             Special Provisions Relating to the Holders of Incentive Distribution Rights . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Agreement, the holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights (a) shall possess the rights and obligations provided in this Agreement with respect to a Limited Partner pursuant to Articles III and VII and (b) shall not (i) be entitled to vote on any matters requiring the approval or vote of the holders of Outstanding Units, except as provided by law, or (ii) be entitled to any distributions other than as provided in Sections 6.2(a)(v), 6.2(a)(vi) and 6.2(a)(vii), 6.2(b)(iii), 6.2(b)(iv) and 6.2(b)(v), and 12.4.
 

 
26

 

ARTICLE VII

MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF BUSINESS

Section 7.1             Management .
 
(a)           Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, all management powers over the business and affairs of the Partnership shall be vested exclusively in the Board of Directors and, subject to the direction of the Board of Directors and in accordance with the provisions of Section 7.8, the Officers. Neither the General Partner (except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement) nor any Limited Partner shall have any management power or control over the business and affairs of the Partnership. Thus, except as expressly provided in this Agreement, the business and affairs of the Partnership shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors, and the day-to-day activities of the Partnership shall be conducted on the Partnership's behalf by the Officers. In order to enable the Board of Directors to manage the business and affairs of the Partnership, the General Partner, except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, hereby irrevocably delegates to the Board of Directors all management powers over the business and affairs of the Partnership that it may now or hereafter possess under applicable law. The General Partner further agrees to take any and all action necessary and appropriate, in the sole discretion of the Board of Directors, to effect any duly authorized actions by the Board of Directors, including executing or filing any agreements, instruments or certificates, delivering all documents, providing all information and taking or refraining from taking action as may be necessary or appropriate to achieve the effective delegation of power described in this Section 7.1(a). Each of the Partners and each Person who may acquire an interest in a Partnership Interest hereby approves, consents to, ratifies and confirms such delegation. The delegation by the General Partner to the Board of Directors of management powers over the business and affairs of the Partnership pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement shall not cause the General Partner to cease to be a general partner of the Partnership nor shall it cause the Board of Directors or any member thereof to be a general partner of the Partnership or to have or be subject to the liabilities of a general partner of the Partnership.
 
(b)           Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement, the Marshall Islands Act or any applicable law, rule or regulation, each of the Partners and each other Person who may acquire an interest in Partnership Interests hereby (i) approves, consents to, ratifies and confirms the General Partner's delegation of management powers to the Board of Directors pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Section 7.1; (ii) approves, ratifies and confirms the execution, delivery and performance by the parties thereto of this Agreement, the Underwriting Agreement, the Omnibus Agreement, the Contribution Agreement, any Group Member Agreement of any other Group Member and the other agreements described in or filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement that are related to the transactions contemplated by the Registration Statement; (iii) agrees that the General Partner (on behalf of the Partnership) is authorized to execute, deliver and perform the agreements referred to in clause (i) of this sentence and the other agreements, acts, transactions and matters described in or contemplated by the Underwriting Agreement or described in or filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement, in each case, on behalf of the Partnership without any further act, approval or vote of the Partners or the other Persons who may acquire an interest in Partnership Interests; and (iv) agrees that the execution, delivery or performance by the Board of Directors, the General Partner, any Group Member or any Affiliate of any of them of this Agreement or any agreement authorized or permitted under this Agreement (including the exercise by the General Partner or any Affiliate of the General Partner of the rights accorded pursuant to Article XV) shall not constitute a breach by the Board of Directors or the General Partner of any duty that the Board of Directors or the General Partner may owe the Partnership or the Limited Partners or any other Persons under this Agreement (or any other agreements) or of any duty stated or implied by law or equity.
 
Section 7.2             The Board of Directors; Election and Appointment; Term; Manner of Acting .
 
(a)           The initial Board of Directors shall consist of the following five individuals, all of whom shall be Appointed Directors and serve until the 2014 Annual Meeting: George Prokopiou, Tony Lauritzen, Levon Dedegian, Alexios Rodopoulos, Evangelos Vlahoulis. Following the 2014 Annual Meeting, the Board of Directors shall consist of five individuals, two of whom shall be Appointed Directors and three of whom shall be Elected Directors. The Elected Directors shall be divided into three classes: Class I, comprising one Elected Director, Class II, comprising one Elected Director, and Class III, comprising one Elected Director. Any vacancy among the Appointed Directors
 

 
27

 

shall be filled as if an Appointed Director had resigned, in accordance with Section 7.6. The successors of the initial members of the Board of Directors shall be appointed or elected, as the case may be, as follows:
 
(i)           The Appointed Directors shall be appointed by the General Partner on the date of the 2014 Annual Meeting, and each Appointed Director shall hold office until his successor is duly appointed by the General Partner and qualified or until his earlier death, resignation or removal; and
 
(ii)           The Class I Elected Director shall be elected at the 2014 Annual Meeting for a one-year term expiring on the date of the first succeeding Annual Meeting, the Class II Elected Director shall be elected at the 2014 Annual Meeting for a two-year term expiring on the second succeeding Annual Meeting and the Class III Elected Director shall be elected at the 2014 Annual Meeting for a three-year term expiring on the third succeeding Annual Meeting, in each case by a plurality of the votes of the Outstanding Common Units present in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting with each Outstanding Common Unit having one vote.
 
(b)           Except as provided in paragraph (a)(ii) above with respect to the Elected Directors elected at the 2014 Annual Meeting, each member of the Board of Directors appointed or elected, as the case may be, at an Annual Meeting shall hold office until the third succeeding Annual Meeting and until his successor is duly elected or appointed, as the case may be, and qualified, or until his earlier death, resignation or removal.
 
(c)           Each member of the Board of Directors shall have one vote. The vote of the majority of the members of the Board of Directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board of Directors. A majority of the number of members of the Board of Directors then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Board of Directors, but if less than a quorum is present at a meeting, a majority of the members of the Board of Directors present at such meeting may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be present.
 
Section 7.3             Nominations of Elected Directors. The Board of Directors shall be entitled to nominate individuals to stand for election as Elected Directors at an Annual Meeting. In addition, any Limited Partner or Group of Limited Partners that beneficially owns 15% or more of the Outstanding Common Units shall be entitled to nominate one or more individuals to stand for election as Elected Directors at an Annual Meeting by providing written notice thereof to the Board of Directors not more than 120 days and not less than 90 days prior to the date of such Annual Meeting; provided , however , that in the event that the date of the Annual Meeting was not publicly announced by the Partnership by mail, press release or otherwise more than 100 days prior to the date of such meeting, such notice, to be timely, must be delivered to the Board of Directors not later than the close of business on the tenth day following the date on which the date of the Annual Meeting was announced. Such notice shall set forth (i) the name and address of the Limited Partner or Limited Partners making the nomination or nominations, (ii) the number of Common Units beneficially owned by such Limited Partner or Limited Partners, (iii) such information regarding the nominee(s) proposed by the Limited Partner or Limited Partners as would be required to be included in a proxy statement relating to the solicitation of proxies for the election of directors filed pursuant to the proxy rules of the Commission had the nominee(s) been nominated or intended to be nominated to the Board of Directors (iv) the written consent of each nominee to serve as a member of the Board of Directors if so elected and (v) a certification that such nominee(s) qualify as Elected Directors.
 
Section 7.4             Removal of Members of Board of Directors. Members of the Board of Directors may only be removed as follows:
 
(a)           Any Appointed Director may be removed at any time, (i) without Cause, only by the General Partner and, (ii) with Cause, by (x) the General Partner, (y) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Outstanding Units at a properly called meeting of the Limited Partners or (z) by the affirmative vote of a majority of the other members of the Board of Directors.
 
(b)           Any Elected Director may be removed at any time, with Cause, only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the other members of the Board of Directors or at a properly called meeting of the Limited Partners only by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Outstanding Common Units.
 

 
28

 

Section 7.5             Resignations of Members of the Board of Directors . Any member of the Board of Directors may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Board of Directors. Such resignation shall take effect at the time specified therein.
 
Section 7.6             Vacancies on the Board of Directors . Vacancies on the Board of Directors may be filled only as follows:
 
(a)           If any Appointed Director is removed, resigns or is otherwise unable to serve as a member of the Board of Directors, the General Partner shall, in its individual capacity, appoint an individual to fill the vacancy.
 
(b)           If any Elected Director is removed, resigns or is unable to serve as a member of the Board of Directors, the vacancy shall be filled by the Board of Directors then serving.
 
(c)           A director appointed or elected pursuant to this Section 7.6 to fill a vacancy shall be appointed or elected, as the case may be, for no more than the unexpired term of his predecessor in office.
 
Section 7.7             Meetings; Committees; Chairman .
 
(a)           Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at such times and places as shall be designated from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the Chairman of the Board of Directors and shall be called by the Secretary upon the written request of two members of the Board of Directors, on at least 48 hours prior written notice to the other members. Any such notice, or waiver thereof, need not state the purpose of such meeting except as may otherwise be required by law. Attendance of a member of the Board of Directors at a meeting (including pursuant to the penultimate sentence of this Section 7.7(a)) shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except where such member attends the meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business on the ground that the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Any action required or permitted to be taken at a meeting of the Board of Directors may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by all the members of the Board of Directors. Members of the Board of Directors may participate in and hold meetings by means of conference telephone, videoconference or similar communications equipment by means of which all Persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation in such meetings shall constitute presence in person at the meeting. The Board of Directors may establish any additional rules governing the conduct of its meetings that are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement.
 
(b)           The Board of Directors shall appoint the members of the Audit Committee and the Conflicts Committee. The Audit Committee and the Conflicts Committee shall, in each case, perform the functions delegated to it pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and such other matters as may be delegated to it from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors, by a majority of the whole Board of Directors, may appoint one or more additional committees of the Board of Directors to consist of one or more members of the Board of Directors, which committee(s) shall have and may exercise such of the powers and authority of the Board of Directors (including in respect of Section 7.1) with respect to the management of the business and affairs of the Partnership as may be provided in a resolution of the Board of Directors. Any committee designated pursuant to this Section 7.7(b) shall choose its own chairman, shall keep regular minutes of its proceedings and report the same to the Board of Directors when requested, shall fix its own rules or procedures and shall meet at such times and at such place or places as may be provided by such rules or by resolution of such committee or resolution of the Board of Directors. At every meeting of any such committee, the presence of a majority of all the members thereof shall constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of a majority of the members present shall be necessary for the taking of any action. Subject to the first sentence of this Section 7.7(b), the Board of Directors may designate one or more members of the Board of Directors as alternate members of any committee who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of such committee. Subject to the first sentence of this Section 7.7(b), in the absence or disqualification of a member of a committee, the member or members present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not constituting a quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the Board of Directors to act at the meeting in the place of the absent or disqualified member.
 

 
29

 

(c)           The Appointed Directors may designate one of the members of the Board of Directors as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Initial Chairman of the Board of Directors shall be George Prokopiou. The Chairman of the Board of Directors, if any, and if present and acting, shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors. In the absence of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, another member of the Board of Directors chosen by the Appointed Directors shall preside. If, at any time, the Board of Directors consists solely of Elected Directors, the Board of Directors may elect one of its members as Chairman of the Board of Directors and shall, in the absence of the Chairman of the Board of Directors at a meeting of the Board of Directors, choose another member of the Board of Directors to preside at the meeting.
 
Section 7.8             Officers.
 
(a)           The Board of Directors, as set forth below, shall appoint or designate agents of the Partnership, referred to as " Officers " of the Partnership as described in this Section 7.8. Such Officers may be employed by any Group Member directly or may be employed by one or more third parties, including Dynagas Holding Ltd. and its Affiliates, and designated by the Board of Directors to perform officer functions for the benefit of the Partnership.
 
(b)           The Board of Directors shall appoint or designate such Officers and agents as may from time to time appear to be necessary or advisable in the conduct of the affairs of the Partnership, who shall hold such titles, exercise such powers and authority and perform such duties as shall be determined from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors. The Officers may include a Chairman of the Board of Directors, an Executive Vice Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Chief Financial Officer, any and all Vice Presidents, a Secretary, any and all Assistant Secretaries, a Treasurer, any and all Assistant Treasurers and any other Officers appointed or designated by the Board of Directors pursuant to this Section 7.8. Any person may hold two or more offices.
 
(c)           The Officers, including any Officer employed by a third party and designated by the Board of Directors to perform officer services for the benefit of the Partnership, shall be appointed by the Board of Directors at such time and for such terms as the Board of Directors shall determine. Any Officer may be removed, with or without Cause, only by the Board of Directors. Vacancies in any office may be filled only by the Board of Directors.
 
(d)           The Board of Directors may grant powers of attorney or other authority as appropriate to establish and evidence the authority of the Officers and other Persons.
 
(e)           Unless otherwise provided by resolution of the Board of Directors, no Officer shall have the power or authority to delegate to any Person such Officer's rights and powers as an Officer to manage the business and affairs of the Partnership.
 
Section 7.9             Compensation of Directors. The members of the Board of Directors who are not employees of the Partnership, the General Partner or its Affiliates shall receive such compensation for their services as members of the Board of Directors or members of a committee of the Board of Directors shall determine. In addition, the members of the Board of Directors shall be entitled to be reimbursed for out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred in the course of their service hereunder.
 
Section 7.10           Certificate of Limited Partnership. The General Partner has caused the Certificate of Limited Partnership to be filed with the Registrar of Corporations of The Marshall Islands as required by the Marshall Islands Act. The General Partner shall use all commercially reasonable efforts to cause to be filed such other certificates or documents that the Board of Directors determines to be necessary or appropriate for the formation, continuation, qualification and operation of a limited partnership (or a partnership or other entity in which the limited partners have limited liability) in The Marshall Islands or any other jurisdiction in which the Partnership may elect to do business or own property. To the extent the Board of Directors determines such action to be necessary or appropriate, the General Partner shall file amendments to and restatements of the Certificate of Limited Partnership and do all things to maintain the Partnership as a limited partnership (or a partnership or other entity in which the limited partners have limited liability) under the laws of The Marshall Islands or of any other jurisdiction in which the Partnership may elect to do business or own property. Subject to the terms of Section 3.4(a), the General Partner shall not be required, before or after filing, to deliver or mail a copy of the Certificate of Limited Partnership, any qualification document or any amendment thereto to any Limited Partner.
 

 
30

 

Section 7.11           Restrictions on the Authority of the Board of Directors and the General Partner .
 
(a)           Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, neither the Board of Directors nor the General Partner may, without written approval of the specific act by holders of all of the Outstanding Limited Partner Interests or by other written instrument executed and delivered by holders of all of the Outstanding Limited Partner Interests subsequent to the date of this Agreement, take any action in contravention of this Agreement.
 
(b)           Except as provided in Articles XII and XIV, the Board of Directors may not sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the assets of the Partnership Group, taken as a whole, in a single transaction or a series of related transactions (including by way of merger, consolidation, other combination or sale of ownership interests in the Partnership's Subsidiaries) without the approval of holders of a Unit Majority and the General Partner; provided , however , that this provision shall not preclude or limit the ability of the Board of Directors to mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of the assets of the Partnership Group and shall not apply to any forced sale of any or all of the assets of the Partnership Group pursuant to the foreclosure of, or other realization upon, any such encumbrance. The transfer of the General Partner Interest to and the election of a successor general partner of the Partnership shall be made in accordance with Sections 4.6, 11.1 and 11.2.
 
Section 7.12           Reimbursement of the General Partner .
 
(a)           Except as provided in this Section 7.12 and elsewhere in this Agreement, the General Partner shall not be compensated for its services as a general partner or managing member of any Group Member.
 
(b)           The General Partner shall be reimbursed on a monthly basis, or such other basis as the Board of Directors may determine, for any direct and indirect expenses it incurs that are allocable to the Partnership Group or payments it makes on behalf of the Partnership Group (including salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other amounts paid to any Person, including Affiliates of the General Partner, to perform services for the Partnership Group or for the General Partner in the discharge of its duties to the Partnership Group, which amounts shall also include reimbursement for any Common Units purchased to satisfy obligations of the Partnership under any of its equity compensation plans). The Board of Directors shall determine the expenses that are allocable to the Partnership Group. Reimbursements pursuant to this Section 7.12 shall be in addition to any reimbursement to the General Partner as a result of indemnification pursuant to Section 7.15.
 
(c)           Subject to the applicable rules and regulations of the National Securities Exchange on which the Common Units are listed, the Board of Directors, without the approval of the Partners (who shall have no right to vote in respect thereof), may propose and adopt on behalf of the Partnership employee benefit plans, employee programs and employee practices (including plans, programs and practices involving the issuance of Partnership Interests or options to purchase or rights, warrants or appreciation rights or phantom or tracking interests relating to Partnership Interests), or cause the Partnership to issue Partnership Interests in connection with, or pursuant to, any employee benefit plan, employee program or employee practice maintained or sponsored by the Partnership, the General Partner or any of its Affiliates, in each case for the benefit of employees and directors of the Partnership, the General Partner, any Group Member or any Affiliate thereof, or any of them, in respect of services performed, directly or indirectly, for the benefit of the Partnership Group. The Partnership agrees to issue and sell to the General Partner or any of its Affiliates any Partnership Interests that the General Partner or such Affiliates are obligated to provide to any employees and directors pursuant to any such employee benefit plans, employee programs or employee practices. Expenses incurred by the General Partner in connection with any such plans, programs and practices (including the net cost to the General Partner or such Affiliates of Partnership Interests purchased by the General Partner or such Affiliates from the Partnership or otherwise to fulfill options or awards under such plans, programs and practices) shall be reimbursed in accordance with Section 7.12(b). Any and all obligations of the General Partner under any employee benefit plans, employee programs or employee practices adopted by the General Partner as permitted by this Section 7.12(c) shall constitute obligations of the General Partner hereunder and shall be assumed by any successor General Partner approved pursuant to Sections 11.1 or 11.2 or the transferee of or successor to all of the General Partner's General Partner Interest pursuant to Section 4.6.
 

 
31

 

Section 7.13           Outside Activities .
 
(a)           After the Closing Date, the General Partner, for so long as it is the General Partner of the Partnership (i) agrees that its sole business will be to act as a general partner or managing member, as the case may be, of the Partnership and any other partnership or limited liability company of which the Partnership is, directly or indirectly, a partner or member and to undertake activities that are ancillary or related thereto (including being a limited partner in the Partnership), (ii) shall not engage in any business or activity or incur any debts or liabilities except in connection with or incidental to (A) its performance as general partner or managing member, if any, of one or more Group Members or as described in or contemplated by the Registration Statement or (B) the acquiring, owning or disposing of debt or equity securities in any Group Member and (iii) except to the extent permitted in the Omnibus Agreement, shall not acquire, own or operate any Four-Year Vessels (as such term is defined in the Omnibus Agreement).
 
(b)           Dynagas Holding Ltd., the Partnership, the General Partner and the Operating Company have entered into the Omnibus Agreement, which agreement sets forth certain restrictions on the ability of Dynagas Holding Ltd. and certain of their Affiliates to acquire, own or operate any Four-Year Vessels (as such term is defined in the Omnibus Agreement).
 
(c)           Except as specifically restricted by Section 7.13(a) or the Omnibus Agreement, each Indemnitee (other than the General Partner) shall have the right to engage in businesses of every type and description and other activities for profit and to engage in and possess an interest in other business ventures of any and every type or description, whether in businesses engaged in or anticipated to be engaged in by any Group Member, independently or with others, including business interests and activities in direct competition with the business and activities of any Group Member, and none of the same shall constitute a breach of this Agreement or any duty expressed or implied by law to any Group Member or any Partner. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, (i) the possessing of competitive interests and engaging in competitive activities by any Indemnitees (other than the General Partner) in accordance with the provisions of this Section 7.13 is hereby approved by the Partnership and all Partners and (ii) it shall be deemed not to be a breach of any fiduciary duty or any other obligation of any type whatsoever of the General Partner or of any Indemnitee for the Indemnitees (other than the General Partner) to engage in such business interests and activities in preference to or to the exclusion of the Partnership.
 
(d)           Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the doctrine of corporate opportunity, or any analogous doctrine, shall not apply to an Indemnitee (including the General Partner) and, subject to the terms of Section 7.13(a), Section 7.13(b), Section 7.13(c) and the Omnibus Agreement, no Indemnitee (including the General Partner) who acquires knowledge of a potential transaction, agreement, arrangement or other matter that may be an opportunity for the Partnership shall have any duty to communicate or offer such opportunity to the Partnership, and, subject to the terms of Section 7.13(a), Section 7.13(b), Section 7.13(c) and the Omnibus Agreement, such Indemnitee (including the General Partner) shall not be liable to the Partnership, to any Limited Partner or any other Person for breach of any fiduciary or other duty by reason of the fact that such Indemnitee (including the General Partner) pursues or acquires such opportunity for itself, directs such opportunity to another Person or does not communicate such opportunity or information to the Partnership; provided, that such Indemnitee (including the General Partner) does not engage in such business or activity as a result of using confidential or proprietary information provided by or on behalf of the Partnership to such Indemnitee (including the General Partner).
 
(e)           The General Partner and each of its Affiliates may own and acquire Units or other Partnership Interests in addition to those acquired on the Closing Date and, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, shall be entitled to exercise, at their option, all rights relating to all Units or other Partnership Interests acquired by them. The term "Affiliates" as used in this Section 7.13(e) with respect to the General Partner shall not include any Group Member.
 
Section 7.14           Loans from the General Partner; Loans or Contributions from the Partnership or Group Members .
 
(a)           The General Partner or any of its Affiliates may lend to any Group Member, and any Group Member may borrow from the General Partner or any of its Affiliates, funds needed or desired by the Group
 

 
32

 

Member for such periods of time and in such amounts as the General Partner and the Board of Directors may determine; provided , however , that in any such case the lending party may not charge the borrowing party interest at a rate greater than the rate that would be charged the borrowing party or impose terms less favorable to the borrowing party than would be charged or imposed on the borrowing party by unrelated lenders on comparable loans made on an arms'-length basis (without reference to the lending party's financial abilities or guarantees), all as determined by the General Partner and the Board of Directors. The borrowing party shall reimburse the lending party for any costs (other than any additional interest costs) incurred by the lending party in connection with the borrowing of such funds. For purposes of this Section 7.14(a) and Section 7.14(b), the term " Group Member " shall include any Affiliate of a Group Member that is controlled by the Group Member.
 
(b)           The Partnership may lend or contribute to any Group Member, and any Group Member may borrow from the Partnership, funds on terms and conditions determined by the Board of Directors. No Group Member may lend funds to the General Partner or any of its Affiliates (other than another Group Member).
 
(c)           No borrowing by any Group Member or the approval thereof by the General Partner or the Board of Directors shall be deemed to constitute a breach of any duty, expressed or implied, of the General Partner or its Affiliates or the Board of Directors to the Partnership or the Limited Partners by reason of the fact that the purpose or effect of such borrowing is directly or indirectly to (i) enable distributions to the General Partner or its Affiliates (including in their capacities as Limited Partners) to exceed the General Partner's Percentage Interest of the total amount distributed to all partners or (ii) hasten the expiration of the Subordination Period or the conversion of any Subordinated Units into Common Units.
 
Section 7.15           Indemnification .
 
(a)           To the fullest extent permitted by the Marshall Islands Act but subject to the limitations expressly provided in this Agreement, all Indemnitees shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Partnership from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, joint or several, expenses (including legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, penalties, interest, settlements or other amounts arising from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, in which any Indemnitee may be involved, or is threatened to be involved, as a party or otherwise, by reason of its status as an Indemnitee; provided , however , that the Indemnitee shall not be indemnified and held harmless if there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that, in respect of the matter for which the Indemnitee is seeking indemnification pursuant to this Section 7.15, the Indemnitee acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that the Indemnitee's conduct was unlawful; and, provided , further , that no indemnification pursuant to this Section 7.15 shall be available to the General Partner or its Affiliates (other than a Group Member) with respect to its or their obligations incurred pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, the Omnibus Agreement or the Contribution Agreement (other than obligations incurred by the General Partner on behalf of the Partnership). Any indemnification pursuant to this Section 7.15 shall be made only out of the assets of the Partnership, it being agreed that the General Partner shall not be personally liable for such indemnification and shall have no obligation to contribute or loan any monies or property to the Partnership to enable it to effectuate such indemnification.
 
(b)           To the fullest extent permitted by the Marshall Islands Act, expenses (including legal fees and expenses) incurred by an Indemnitee who is indemnified pursuant to Section 7.15(a) in defending any claim, demand, action, suit or proceeding shall, from time to time, be advanced by the Partnership prior to a determination that the Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified upon receipt by the Partnership of any undertaking by or on behalf of the Indemnitee to repay such amount if it shall be determined that the Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified as authorized in this Section 7.15.
 
(c)           The indemnification provided by this Section 7.15 shall be in addition to any other rights to which an Indemnitee may be entitled under any agreement, pursuant to any vote of the holders of Outstanding Limited Partner Interests, as a matter of law or otherwise, both as to actions in the Indemnitee's capacity as an Indemnitee and as to actions in any other capacity (including any capacity under the Underwriting Agreement), and shall continue as to an Indemnitee who has ceased to serve in such capacity and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, successors, assigns and administrators of the Indemnitee.
 

 
33

 

(d)           The Partnership may purchase and maintain (or reimburse the General Partner or its Affiliates for the cost of) insurance, on behalf of the Board of Directors and the General Partner, its Affiliates and such other Persons as the Board of Directors shall determine, against any liability that may be asserted against, or expense that may be incurred by, such Person in connection with the Partnership's activities or such Person's activities on behalf of the Partnership, regardless of whether the Partnership would have the power to indemnify such Person against such liability under the provisions of this Agreement or law.
 
(e)           For purposes of this Section 7.15, the Partnership shall be deemed to have requested an Indemnitee to serve as fiduciary of an employee benefit plan whenever the performance by the Indemnitee of its duties to the Partnership also imposes duties on, or otherwise involves services by, it to the plan or participants or beneficiaries of the plan; excise taxes assessed on an Indemnitee with respect to an employee benefit plan pursuant to applicable law shall constitute "fines" within the meaning of Section 7.15(a); and action taken or omitted by the Indemnitee with respect to any employee benefit plan in the performance of its duties for a purpose reasonably believed by it to be in the best interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the plan shall be deemed to be for a purpose that is in the best interests of the Partnership.
 
(f)           In no event may an Indemnitee subject the Limited Partners to personal liability by reason of the indemnification provisions set forth in this Agreement.
 
(g)           An Indemnitee shall not be denied indemnification in whole or in part under this Section 7.15 because the Indemnitee had an interest in the transaction with respect to which the indemnification applies if the transaction was otherwise permitted by the terms of this Agreement.
 
(h)           The provisions of this Section 7.15 are for the benefit of the Indemnitees, their heirs, successors, assigns and administrators and shall not be deemed to create any rights for the benefit of any other Persons.
 
(i)           No amendment, modification or repeal of this Section 7.15 or any provision hereof shall in any manner terminate, reduce or impair the right of any past, present or future Indemnitee to be indemnified by the Partnership, nor the obligations of the Partnership to indemnify any such Indemnitee under and in accordance with the provisions of this Section 7.15 as in effect immediately prior to such amendment, modification or repeal with respect to claims arising from or relating to matters occurring, in whole or in part, prior to such amendment, modification or repeal, regardless of when such claims may arise or be asserted.
 
Section 7.16           Liability of Indemnitees .
 
(a)           Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Agreement, no Indemnitee shall be liable for monetary damages to the Partnership, the Limited Partners or any other Persons who have acquired Partnership Interests or are otherwise bound by this Agreement, for losses sustained or liabilities incurred as a result of any act or omission of an Indemnitee unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that, in respect of the matter in question, the Indemnitee acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that the Indemnitee's conduct was criminal.
 
(b)           Subject to their obligations and duties as members of the Board of Directors or as the General Partner, respectively, set forth in Section 7.1(a), members of the Board of Directors and the General Partner may exercise any of the powers granted to them and perform any of the duties imposed upon them hereunder either directly or by or through its agents, and the members of the Board of Directors and the General Partner shall not be responsible for any misconduct or negligence on the part of any such agent appointed by the Board of Directors or the General Partner in good faith.
 
(c)           To the extent that, at law or in equity, an Indemnitee has duties (including fiduciary duties) and liabilities relating thereto to the Partnership or to the Partners, the General Partner and any other Indemnitee acting in connection with the Partnership's business or affairs shall not be liable to the Partnership or to any Partner for its good faith reliance on the provisions of this Agreement.
 

 
34

 

(d)           Any amendment, modification or repeal of this Section 7.16 or any provision hereof shall be prospective only and shall not in any way affect the limitations on the liability of the Indemnitees under this Section 7.16 as in effect immediately prior to such amendment, modification or repeal with respect to claims arising from or relating to matters occurring, in whole or in part, prior to such amendment, modification or repeal, regardless of when such claims may arise or be asserted.
 
Section 7.17           Resolution of Conflicts of Interest; Standards of Conduct and Modification of Duties .
 
(a)           Unless otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement or any Group Member Agreement, whenever a potential conflict of interest exists or arises between the General Partner or any of its Affiliates, or any member of the Board of Directors, on the one hand, and the Partnership, any Group Member or any Partner, on the other, any resolution or course of action in respect of such conflict of interest shall be permitted and deemed approved by all Partners, and shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement, of any Group Member Agreement, of any agreement contemplated herein or therein, or of any duty stated or implied by law or equity, if the resolution or course of action in respect of such conflict of interest is (i) approved by Special Approval, (ii) approved by the vote of a majority of the Outstanding Common Units (excluding Common Units owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates), (iii) on terms no less favorable to the Partnership than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties or (iv) fair and reasonable to the Partnership, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to the Partnership). The General Partner and the Board of Directors may but shall not be required in connection with the resolution of such conflict of interest to seek Special Approval of such resolution, and the General Partner or the Board of Directors, as the case may be, may also adopt a resolution or course of action that has not received Special Approval. If Special Approval is sought, then, notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or applicable law, (x) the Conflicts Committee will be authorized in connection with its determination of whether to provide Special Approval to consider any and all factors as it determines to be relevant or appropriate under the circumstances and (y) it will be presumed that, in making its decision, the Conflicts Committee acted in good faith, and if Special Approval is not sought and the Board of Directors determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to a conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in clauses (iii) or (iv) above, then it shall be presumed that, in making its decision the Board of Directors, acted in good faith, and, in either case, in any proceeding brought by any Limited Partner or by or on behalf of such Limited Partner or any other Limited Partner or the Partnership challenging such approval, the Person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding shall have the burden of overcoming such presumption. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any duty otherwise existing at law or equity, the existence of the conflicts of interest described in the Registration Statement are hereby approved by all Partners and shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement.
 
(b)           Whenever the General Partner makes a determination or takes or declines to take any other action, or any of its Affiliates causes it to do so, in its capacity as the general partner of the Partnership as opposed to in its individual capacity, whether under this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement or any other agreement contemplated hereby or otherwise, then, unless another express standard is provided for in this Agreement, the General Partner, or such Affiliates causing it to do so, shall make such determination or take or decline to take such other action in good faith and shall not be subject to any other or different standards imposed by this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement, any other agreement contemplated hereby or under the Marshall Islands Act or any other law, rule or regulation or at equity. In order for a determination or other action to be in "good faith" for purposes of this Agreement, the Person or Persons making such determination or taking or declining to take such other action must reasonably believe that the determination or other action is in the best interests of the Partnership, unless the context otherwise requires.
 
(c)           Whenever the General Partner makes a determination or takes or declines to take any other action, or any of its Affiliates causes it to do so, in its individual capacity as opposed to in its capacity as the general partner of the Partnership, whether under this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement or any other agreement contemplated hereby or otherwise, then the General Partner, or such Affiliates causing it to do so, are entitled to make such determination or to take or decline to take such other action free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to the Partnership or any Limited Partner, any Record Holder or any other Person bound by this Agreement, and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the General Partner, or such Affiliates causing it to do so, shall not be required to act in good faith or pursuant to any other standard imposed by this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement, any other agreement contemplated hereby or under the Marshall Islands Act or any other law,
 

 
35

 

rule or regulation or at equity. By way of illustration and not of limitation, whenever the phrase, "at the option of the General Partner," or some variation of that phrase, is used in this Agreement, it indicates that the General Partner is acting in its individual capacity. For the avoidance of doubt, whenever the General Partner votes or transfers its Units, General Partner Interest or Incentive Distribution Rights, to the extent permitted under this Agreement, or refrains from voting or transferring its Units, General Partner Units or Incentive Distribution Rights, as appropriate, it shall be acting in its individual capacity. The General Partner's organizational documents may provide that determinations to take or decline to take any action in its individual, rather than representative, capacity may or shall be determined by its members, if the General Partner is a limited liability company, stockholders, if the General Partner is a corporation, or the members or stockholders of the General Partner's general partner, if the General Partner is a limited partnership.
 
(d)           Whenever the Board of Directors makes a determination or takes or declines to take any other action, whether under this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement or any other agreement contemplated hereby or otherwise, then, unless another express standard is provided for in this Agreement, the Board of Directors, shall make such determination or take or decline to take such other action in good faith and shall not be subject to any other or different standards imposed by this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement, any other agreement contemplated hereby or under the Marshall Islands Act or any other law, rule or regulation or at equity. In order for a determination or other action to be in "good faith" for purposes of this Agreement, the Person or Persons making such determination or taking or declining to take such other action must reasonably believe that the determination or other action is in the best interests of the Partnership, unless the context otherwise requires.
 
(e)           Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the General Partner and its Affiliates shall have no duty or obligation, express or implied, to (i) approve the sale or other disposition of any asset of the Partnership Group (if such approval is required pursuant to Section 7.11(b)) or (ii) permit any Group Member to use any facilities or assets of the General Partner and its Affiliates, except as may be provided in contracts entered into from time to time specifically dealing with such use. Any determination by the General Partner or any of its Affiliates to enter into such contracts shall, in each case, be at their option.
 
(f)           Except as expressly set forth in this Agreement, neither the General Partner nor the Board of Directors or any other Indemnitee shall have any duties or liabilities, including fiduciary duties, to the Partnership or any Limited Partner and the provisions of this Agreement, to the extent that they restrict, eliminate or otherwise modify the duties and liabilities, including fiduciary duties, of the Board of Directors or the General Partner or any other Indemnitee otherwise existing at law or in equity, are agreed by the Partners to replace such other duties and liabilities of the Board of Directors or the General Partner or such other Indemnitee.
 
(g)           The Unitholders hereby authorize the Board of Directors, on behalf of the Partnership as a partner or member of a Group Member, to approve of actions by the general partner or managing member of such Group Member similar to those actions permitted to be taken by the Board of Directors pursuant to this Section 7.17.
 
Section 7.18           Other Matters Concerning the General Partner and the Board of Directors .
 
(a)           The General Partner and the Board of Directors may rely and shall be protected in acting or refraining from acting upon any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, consent, order, bond, debenture or other paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties.
 
(b)           The General Partner and the Board of Directors may consult with legal counsel, accountants, appraisers, management consultants, investment bankers and other consultants and advisers selected by either of them, and any act taken or omitted to be taken in reliance upon the advice or opinion (including an Opinion of Counsel) of such Persons as to matters that the General Partner or the Board of Directors reasonably believes to be within such Person's professional or expert competence shall be conclusively presumed to have been done or omitted in good faith and in accordance with such advice or opinion.
 
(c)           The General Partner shall have the right, in respect of any of its powers or obligations hereunder, to act through any of its duly authorized officers, a duly appointed attorney or attorneys-in-fact or the duly authorized officers of the Partnership.
 

 
36

 

Section 7.19           Purchase or Sale of Partnership Interests . The Board of Directors may cause the Partnership to purchase or otherwise acquire Partnership Interests; provided, however, that the Board of Directors may not cause any Group Member to purchase Subordinated Units during the Subordination Period. As long as Partnership Interests are held by any Group Member, such Partnership Interests shall not be considered Outstanding for any purpose, except as otherwise provided herein. The General Partner or any Affiliate of the General Partner may purchase or otherwise acquire and sell or otherwise dispose of Partnership Interests for its own account, subject to the provisions of Articles IV and X.
 
Section 7.20           Registration Rights of the General Partner and its Affiliates .
 
(a)           If (i) the General Partner or any Affiliate of the General Partner (including for purposes of this Section 7.20, any Person that is an Affiliate of the General Partner at the date hereof notwithstanding that it may later cease to be an Affiliate of the General Partner) holds Partnership Interests that it desires to sell and (ii) Rule 144 of the Securities Act (or any successor rule or regulation to Rule 144) or another exemption from registration is not available to enable such holder of Partnership Interests (the "Holder") to dispose of the number of Partnership Interests it desires to sell at the time it desires to do so without registration under the Securities Act, then at the option and upon the request of the Holder, the Partnership shall file with the Commission as promptly as practicable after receiving such request, and use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause to become effective and remain effective for a period of not less than one year following its effective date or such shorter period as shall terminate when all Partnership Interests covered by such registration statement have been sold, a registration statement under the Securities Act registering the offering and sale of the number of Partnership Interests specified by the Holder; provided, however, that the Partnership shall not be required to effect more than three registrations in total pursuant to this Section 7.20(a), no more than one of which shall be required to be made at any time that the Partnership is not eligible to use Form F-3 (or a comparable form) for the registration under the Securities Act of its securities; and, provided, further, that if the Conflicts Committee determines in good faith that the requested registration would be materially detrimental to the Partnership and its Partners because such registration would (x) materially interfere with a significant acquisition, merger, disposition, corporate reorganization or other similar transaction involving the Partnership, (y) require premature disclosure of material information that the Partnership has a bona fide business purpose for preserving as confidential or (z) render the Partnership unable to comply with requirements under applicable securities laws, then the Partnership shall have the right to postpone such requested registration for a period of not more than six months after receipt of the Holder's request, such right pursuant to this Section 7.20(a) not to be utilized more than once in any 12-month period. The Partnership shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to resolve any deferral with respect to any such registration and/or filing. Except as provided in the first sentence of this Section 7.20(a), the Partnership shall be deemed not to have used all its commercially reasonable efforts to keep the registration statement effective during the applicable period if it voluntarily takes any action that would result in Holders of Partnership Interests covered thereby not being able to offer and sell such Partnership Interests at any time during such period, unless such action is required by applicable law. In connection with any registration pursuant to this Section 7.20(a), the Partnership shall (i) promptly prepare and file (A) such documents as may be necessary to register or qualify the securities subject to such registration under the securities laws of such states as the Holder shall reasonably request (provided, however, that no such qualification shall be required in any jurisdiction where, as a result thereof, the Partnership would become subject to general service of process or to taxation or qualification to do business as a foreign corporation or partnership doing business in such jurisdiction solely as a result of such registration), and (B) such documents as may be necessary to apply for listing or to list the Partnership Interests subject to such registration on such National Securities Exchange as the Holder shall reasonably request, and (ii) do any and all other acts and things that may be necessary or appropriate to enable the Holder to consummate a public sale of such Partnership Interests in such states. Except as set forth in Section 7.20(c), all costs and expenses of any such registration and offering (other than the underwriting discounts and commissions) shall be paid by the Partnership, without reimbursement by the Holder.
 
(b)           If the Partnership shall at any time propose to file a registration statement under the Securities Act for an offering of equity interests of the Partnership for cash (other than an offering relating solely to an employee benefit plan), the Partnership shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to include such number or amount of Partnership Interests held by any Holder in such registration statement as the Holder shall request; provided, however, that the Partnership is not required to make any effort or take any action to so include the Partnership Interests of the Holder once the registration statement becomes or is declared effective by the Commission, including any registration statement providing for the offering from time to time of Partnership Interests pursuant to
 

 
37

 

Rule 415 of the Securities Act. If the proposed offering pursuant to this Section 7.20(b) shall be an underwritten offering, then, in the event that the managing underwriter or managing underwriters of such offering advise the Partnership and the Holder in writing that in their opinion the inclusion of all or some of the Holder's Partnership Interests would adversely and materially affect the success of the offering, the Partnership shall include in such offering only that number or amount, if any, of Partnership Interests held by the Holder that, in the opinion of the managing underwriter or managing underwriters, will not so adversely and materially affect the offering. Except as set forth in Section 7.20(c), all costs and expenses of any such registration and offering (other than the underwriting discounts and commissions) shall be paid by the Partnership, without reimbursement by the Holder.
 
(c)           If underwriters are engaged in connection with any registration referred to in this Section 7.20, the Partnership shall provide indemnification, representations, covenants, opinions and other assurance to the underwriters in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such underwriters. Further, in addition to and not in limitation of the Partnership's obligation under Section 7.15, the Partnership shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, indemnify and hold harmless the Holder, its officers, directors and each Person who controls the Holder (within the meaning of the Securities Act) and any agent thereof (collectively, " Indemnified Persons ") from and against any and all losses, claims, demands, actions, causes of action, assessments, damages, liabilities (joint or several), costs and expenses (including interest, penalties and reasonable attorneys' fees and disbursements), resulting to, imposed upon, or incurred by the Indemnified Persons, directly or indirectly, under the Securities Act or otherwise (hereinafter referred to in this Section 7.20(c) as a " claim " and in the plural as " claims ") based upon, arising out of or resulting from any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any registration statement under which any Partnership Interests were registered under the Securities Act or any state securities or Blue Sky laws, in any preliminary prospectus or issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433 of the Securities Act (if used prior to the effective date of such registration statement), or in any summary, free writing or final prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto (if used during the period the Partnership is required to keep the registration statement current), or arising out of, based upon or resulting from the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements made therein not misleading; provided , however , that the Partnership shall not be liable to any Indemnified Person to the extent that any such claim arises out of, is based upon or results from an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in such registration statement, such preliminary, summary, free writing or final prospectus or such amendment or supplement, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Partnership by or on behalf of such Indemnified Person specifically for use in the preparation thereof.
 
(d)           The provisions of Section 7.20(a) and Section 7.20(b) shall continue to be applicable with respect to the General Partner (and any of the General Partner's Affiliates) after it ceases to be a general partner of the Partnership, during a period of two years subsequent to the effective date of such cessation and for so long thereafter as is required for the Holder to sell all of the Partnership Interests with respect to which it has requested during such two-year period inclusion in a registration statement otherwise filed or that a registration statement be filed; provided , however , that the Partnership shall not be required to file successive registration statements covering the same Partnership Interests for which registration was demanded during such two-year period. The provisions of Section 7.20(c) shall continue in effect thereafter.
 
(e)           The rights to cause the Partnership to register Partnership Interests pursuant to this Section 7.20 may be assigned (but only with all related obligations) by a Holder to a transferee or assignee of such Partnership Interests, provided (i) the Partnership is, within a reasonable time after such transfer, furnished with written notice of the name and address of such transferee or assignee and the Partnership Interests with respect to which such registration rights are being assigned, and (ii) such transferee or assignee agrees in writing to be bound by and subject to the terms set forth in this Section 7.20.
 
(f)           Any request to register Partnership Interests pursuant to this Section 7.20 shall (i) specify the Partnership Interests intended to be offered and sold by the Person making the request, (ii) express such Person's present intent to offer such Partnership Interests for distribution, (iii) describe the nature or method of the proposed offer and sale of Partnership Interests, and (iv) contain the undertaking of such Person to provide all such information and materials and take all action as may be required in order to permit the Partnership to comply with all applicable requirements in connection with the registration of such Partnership Interests.
 

 
38

 

Section 7.21           Reliance by Third Parties. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, any Person dealing with the Partnership shall be entitled to assume that the Board of Directors, the General Partner and any Officer authorized by the Board of Directors to act on behalf of and in the name of the Partnership has full power and authority to encumber, sell or otherwise use in any manner any and all assets of the Partnership and to enter into any authorized contracts on behalf of the Partnership, and such Person shall be entitled to deal with the Board of Directors, the General Partner or any such Officer as if it were the Partnership's sole party in interest, both legally and beneficially. Each Limited Partner hereby waives any and all defenses or other remedies that may be available against such Person to contest, negate or disaffirm any action of the Board of Directors, the General Partner or any such Officer in connection with any such dealing. In no event shall any Person dealing with the Board of Directors, the General Partner or any such Officer or its representatives be obligated to ascertain that the terms of this Agreement have been complied with or to inquire into the necessity or expedience of any act or action of the Board of Directors, the General Partner or any such Officer or its representatives. Each and every certificate, document or other instrument executed on behalf of the Partnership by the Board of Directors, the General Partner, the Officers or representatives of the General Partner authorized by the General Partner or the Board of Directors shall be conclusive evidence in favor of any and every Person relying thereon or claiming thereunder that (a) at the time of the execution and delivery of such certificate, document or instrument, this Agreement was in full force and effect, (b) the Person executing and delivering such certificate, document or instrument was duly authorized and empowered to do so for and on behalf of the Partnership and (c) such certificate, document or instrument was duly executed and delivered in accordance with the terms and provisions of this Agreement and is binding upon the Partnership.
 
ARTICLE VIII

BOOKS, RECORDS, ACCOUNTING AND REPORTS

Section 8.1             Records and Accounting. The Partnership shall keep or cause to be kept at the principal office of the Partnership appropriate books and records with respect to the Partnership's business, including all books and records necessary to provide to the Limited Partners any information required to be provided pursuant to Section 3.4(a). Any books and records maintained by or on behalf of the Partnership in the regular course of its business, including the record of the Record Holders of Units or other Partnership Interests, books of account and records of Partnership proceedings, may be kept on, or be in the form of, computer disks, hard drives, punch cards, magnetic tape, photographs, micrographics or any other information storage device; provided , however , that the books and records so maintained are convertible into clearly legible written form within a reasonable period of time. The books of the Partnership shall be maintained, for financial reporting purposes, on an accrual basis in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
 
Section 8.2             Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Partnership shall be a fiscal year ending December 31.
 
Section 8.3             Reports.
 
(a)           As soon as practicable, but in no event later than 120 days after the close of each fiscal year of the Partnership, the Partnership shall cause to be mailed or made available, by any reasonable means (including posting on or accessible through the Partnership's or the SEC's website), to each Record Holder of a Unit as of a date selected by the Board of Directors, an annual report containing financial statements of the Partnership for such fiscal year of the Partnership, presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, including a balance sheet and statements of operations, Partnership equity and cash flows, such statements to be audited by a firm of independent public accountants selected by the Board of Directors.
 
(b)           As soon as practicable, but in no event later than 90 days after the close of each Quarter except the last Quarter of each fiscal year, the Partnership shall cause to be mailed or made available, by any reasonable means (including posting on or accessible through the Partnership's or the SEC's website), to each Record Holder of a Unit, as of a date selected by the Board of Directors, a report containing unaudited financial statements of the Partnership and such other information as may be required by applicable law, regulation or rule of any National Securities Exchange on which the Units are listed or admitted to trading, or as the Board of Directors determines to be necessary or appropriate.
 

 
39

 

ARTICLE IX

TAX MATTERS

Section 9.1             Tax Elections and Information .
 
(a)           The Partnership has elected to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Board of Directors shall determine whether the Partnership should make any other elections permitted by the Code.
 
(b)           The tax information reasonably required by Record Holders generally for United States federal income tax reporting purposes with respect to a taxable year shall be furnished to them within 90 days of the close of the calendar year in which the Partnership's taxable year ends.
 
(c)           Each Partner shall provide the Partnership with all information reasonably requested by the Partnership to enable the Partnership to claim the exemption from U.S. federal income tax under Section 883 of the Code.
 
Section 9.2             Withholding . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Board of Directors is authorized to take any action that may be required or advisable to cause the Partnership and other Group Members to comply with any withholding requirements established under the Code or any other U.S. federal, state or local or any non-U.S. law including pursuant to Sections 1441, 1442 and 1445 of the Code. To the extent that the Partnership is required or elects to withhold and pay over to any taxing authority any amount resulting from a distribution or payment to or for the benefit of any Partner, the Board of Directors may treat the amount withheld as a distribution of cash to such Partner in the amount of such withholding from such Partner.
 
Section 9.3             Conduct of Operations . The Board of Directors and the General Partner shall use commercially reasonable efforts to conduct the business of the Partnership and its Affiliates in a manner that does not require a holder of Common Units to file a tax return in any jurisdiction with which the holder has no contact other than through ownership of Common Units.
 
ARTICLE X

ADMISSION OF PARTNERS

Section 10.1           Admission of Initial Limited Partners. Upon the issuance by the Partnership of Common Units, Subordinated Units and Incentive Distribution Rights to the General Partner and Dynagas Holding Ltd. as described in Sections 5.1 and 5.2, the Board of Directors shall admit such parties to the Partnership as Initial Limited Partners in respect of the Common Units, Subordinated Units or Incentive Distribution Rights issued to them.
 
Section 10.2           Admission of Additional Limited Partners .
 
(a)           From and after the Closing Date, by acceptance of the transfer of any Limited Partner Interests in accordance with Article IV or the acceptance of any Limited Partner Interests issued pursuant to Article V or pursuant to a merger, consolidation or conversion pursuant to Article XIV, each transferee of, or other such Person acquiring, a Limited Partner Interest (including any nominee holder or an agent or representative acquiring such Limited Partner Interests for the account of another Person) (i) shall be admitted to the Partnership as a Limited Partner with respect to the Limited Partner Interests so transferred or issued to such Person when any such transfer, issuance or admission is reflected in the books and records of the Partnership and such Limited Partner becomes the Record Holder of the Limited Partner Interests so transferred, (ii) shall become bound, and shall be deemed to have agreed to be bound, by the terms of this Agreement, (iii) represents that the transferee or other recipient has the capacity, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and (iv) makes the consents, acknowledgements and waivers contained in this Agreement, all with or without execution of this Agreement by such Person. The transfer of any Limited Partner Interests and the admission of any new Limited Partner shall not constitute an amendment to this Agreement. A Person may become a Limited Partner or Record Holder of a Limited Partner Interest without the
 

 
40

 

consent or approval of any of the Partners. A Person may not become a Limited Partner until such Person acquires a Limited Partner Interest and until such Person is reflected in the books and records of the Partnership as the Record Holder of such Limited Partner Interest.
 
(b)           The name and mailing address of each Limited Partner shall be listed on the books and records of the Partnership maintained for such purpose by the Partnership or the Transfer Agent. The General Partner shall update the books and records of the Partnership from time to time as necessary to reflect accurately the information therein (or shall cause the Transfer Agent to do so, as applicable). A Limited Partner Interest may be represented by a Certificate, as provided in Section 4.1.
 
(c)           Any transfer of a Limited Partner Interest shall not entitle the transferee to receive distributions or to any other rights to which the transferor was entitled until the transferee becomes a Limited Partner pursuant to Section 10.2(a).
 
Section 10.3           Admission of Successor General Partner. A successor General Partner approved pursuant to Sections 11.1 or 11.2 or the transferee of or successor to all or part of the General Partner Interest (represented by General Partner Units) pursuant to Section 4.6 who is proposed to be admitted as a successor General Partner shall be admitted to the Partnership as the General Partner, effective immediately prior to the withdrawal or removal of the predecessor or transferring General Partner, pursuant to Sections 11.1 or 11.2 or the transfer of the General Partner Interest (represented by General Partner Units) pursuant to Section 4.6; provided , however , that no such Person shall be admitted to the Partnership as a successor or additional General Partner until compliance with the terms of Section 4.6 has occurred and such Person has executed and delivered such other documents or instruments as may be required to effect such admission. Any such successor or additional General Partner is hereby authorized to and shall, subject to the terms hereof, carry on the business of the members of the Partnership Group without dissolution.
 
Section 10.4           Amendment of Agreement and Certificate of Limited Partnership. To effect the admission to the Partnership of any Partner, the Board of Directors shall take all steps necessary or appropriate under the Marshall Islands Act to amend the records of the Partnership to reflect such admission and, if necessary, to prepare as soon as practicable an amendment to this Agreement and, if required by law, the Board of Directors shall prepare and file an amendment to the Certificate of Limited Partnership.
 
ARTICLE XI

WITHDRAWAL OR REMOVAL OF PARTNERS

Section 11.1           Withdrawal of the General Partner .
 
(a)           The General Partner shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the Partnership upon the occurrence of any one of the following events (each such event herein referred to as an "Event of Withdrawal"):
 
(i)           The General Partner voluntarily withdraws from the Partnership by giving written notice to the other Partners;
 
(ii)           The General Partner transfers all of its rights as General Partner pursuant to Section 4.6;
 
(iii)           The General Partner is removed pursuant to Section 11.2;
 
(iv)           The General Partner (A) makes a general assignment for the benefit of creditors; (B) files a voluntary petition in bankruptcy; (C) files a voluntary petition or answer seeking for itself a liquidation, dissolution or similar relief (but not a reorganization) under any law; (D) files an answer or other pleading admitting or failing to contest the material allegations of a petition filed against the General Partner in a proceeding of the type described in clauses (A), (B) or (C) of this Section 11.1(a)(iv); or (E) seeks, consents to or acquiesces in the appointment of a trustee (but not a debtor in possession), receiver or liquidating trustee of the General Partner or of all or any substantial part of its properties;
 

 
41

 

(v)           The General Partner is adjudged bankrupt or insolvent, or has entered against it an order for relief in any bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding;
 
(vi)           (A) in the event the General Partner is a corporation, the filing of a certificate of dissolution, or its equivalent, for the corporation or the revocation of its charter and the expiration of ninety (90) days after the date of notice to the General Partner of revocation without a reinstatement of its charter; (B) in the event the General Partner is a partnership or a limited liability company, the dissolution and commencement of winding up of the General Partner; (C) in the event the General Partner is acting in such capacity by virtue of being a trustee of a trust, the termination of the trust; (D) in the event the General Partner is a natural person, his death or adjudication of incompetency; and (E) otherwise in the event of the termination of the General Partner.
 
If an Event of Withdrawal specified in Sections 11.1(a)(iv), 11.1(a)(v) or 11.1(a)(vi)(A), 11.1(a)(vi)(B), 11.1(a)(vi)(C) or 11.1(a)(vi)(E) occurs, the withdrawing General Partner shall give notice to the Limited Partners within 30 days after such occurrence. The Partners hereby agree that only the Events of Withdrawal described in this Section 11.1 shall result in the withdrawal of the General Partner from the Partnership.
 
(b)           Withdrawal of the General Partner from the Partnership upon the occurrence of an Event of Withdrawal shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement under the following circumstances:
 
(i)           at any time during the period beginning on the Closing Date and ending at 12:00 midnight, prevailing Eastern Time, on December 31, 2023, the General Partner voluntarily withdraws by giving at least 90 days' advance notice of its intention to withdraw to the Limited Partners, such withdrawal to take effect on the date specified in the notice; provided , however , that prior to the effective date of such withdrawal, the withdrawal is approved by Unitholders holding at least a majority of the Outstanding Common Units (excluding Common Units held by the General Partner and its Affiliates) and the General Partner delivers to the Partnership an Opinion of Counsel (" Withdrawal Opinion of Counsel ") that such withdrawal (following the selection of the successor General Partner) would not result in the loss of the limited liability of any Limited Partner or any Group Member;
 
(ii)           at any time after 12:00 midnight, prevailing Eastern Time, on December 31, 2023, the General Partner voluntarily withdraws by giving at least 90 days' advance notice to the Unitholders, such withdrawal to take effect on the date specified in such notice (provided that, prior to the effective date of such withdrawal, the General Partner delivers to the Partnership a Withdrawal Opinion of Counsel);
 
(iii)           at any time that the General Partner ceases to be the General Partner pursuant to Section 11.1(a)(ii) or is removed pursuant to Section 11.2; or
 
(iv)           notwithstanding clause (i) of this sentence, at any time that the General Partner voluntarily withdraws by giving at least 90 days' advance notice of its intention to withdraw to the Limited Partners, such withdrawal to take effect on the date specified in the notice, if at the time such notice is given one Person and its Affiliates (other than the General Partner and its Affiliates) own beneficially or of record or control at least 50% of the Outstanding Units. The withdrawal of the General Partner from the Partnership upon the occurrence of an Event of Withdrawal shall also constitute the withdrawal of the General Partner as general partner or managing member, if any, to the extent applicable, of the other Group Members. If the General Partner gives a notice of withdrawal pursuant to Section 11.1(a)(i), the holders of a Unit Majority, may, prior to the effective date of such withdrawal, elect a successor General Partner. The Person so elected as successor General Partner shall automatically become the successor general partner or managing member, to the extent applicable, of the other Group Members of which the General Partner is a general partner or a managing member. If, prior to the effective date of the General Partner's withdrawal, a successor is not selected by the Unitholders as provided herein or, if applicable, the Partnership does not receive a Withdrawal Opinion of Counsel, the Partnership shall be dissolved in accordance with Section 12.1. Any successor General Partner elected in accordance with the terms of this Section 11.1 shall be subject to the provisions of Section 10.3.
 

 
42

 

Section 11.2           Removal of the General Partner. The General Partner may be removed if such removal is approved by the Unitholders holding at least 66 2 3 % of the Outstanding Units (including Units held by the General Partner and its Affiliates), voting as a single class. Any such action by such holders or the Board of Directors for removal of the General Partner must also provide for the election of a successor General Partner by the majority vote of the outstanding Common Units and Subordinated Units, voting together as a single class. Such removal shall be effective immediately following the admission of a successor General Partner pursuant to Section 10.3. The removal of the General Partner shall also automatically constitute the removal of the General Partner as general partner or managing member, to the extent applicable, of the other Group Members of which the General Partner is a general partner or a managing member. If a Person is elected as a successor General Partner in accordance with the terms of this Section 11.2, such Person shall, upon admission pursuant to Section 10.3, automatically become a successor general partner or managing member, to the extent applicable, of the other Group Members of which the General Partner is a general partner or a managing member. The right of the holders of Outstanding Units to remove the General Partner shall not exist or be exercised unless the Partnership has received an Opinion of Counsel opining as to the matters covered by a Withdrawal Opinion of Counsel. Any successor General Partner elected in accordance with the terms of this Section 11.2 shall be subject to the provisions of Section 10.3.
 
Section 11.3           Interest of Departing General Partner and Successor General Partner .
 
(a)           In the event of (i) withdrawal of the General Partner under circumstances where such withdrawal does not violate this Agreement or (ii) removal of the General Partner by the holders of Outstanding Units under circumstances where Cause does not exist, if the successor General Partner is elected in accordance with the terms of Sections 11.1 or 11.2, (A) the Departing General Partner shall have the option, exercisable prior to the effective date of the departure of such Departing General Partner, to require its successor to purchase its General Partner Interest (represented by General Partner Units) and its general partner interest (or equivalent interest), if any, in the other Group Members and its Incentive Distribution Rights (collectively, the " Combined Interest ") in exchange for an amount in cash equal to the fair market value of such Combined Interest, such amount to be determined and payable as of the effective date of its departure and (B) the other holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights shall have the option, exercisable prior to the effective date of the departure of such Departing General Partner, to require such successor to purchase such holders' Incentive Distribution Rights in exchange for an amount in cash equal to the fair market value of such Incentive Distribution Rights, such amount to be determined and payable as of the effective date of the Departing General Partner's departure. If the General Partner is removed by the Unitholders under circumstances where Cause exists or if the General Partner withdraws under circumstances where such withdrawal violates this Agreement, and if a successor General Partner is elected in accordance with the terms of Sections 11.1 or 11.2 (or if the business of the Partnership is continued pursuant to Section 12.2 and the successor General Partner is not the former General Partner), such successor shall have the option, exercisable prior to the effective date of the departure of such Departing General Partner (or, in the event the business of the Partnership is continued, prior to the date the business of the Partnership is continued), to purchase the Combined Interest in exchange for an amount in cash equal to such fair market value of such Combined Interest of the Departing General Partner. In either event, the Departing General Partner shall be entitled to receive all reimbursements due such Departing General Partner pursuant to Section 7.12, including any employee-related liabilities (including severance liabilities), incurred in connection with the termination of any employees employed by the Departing General Partner or its Affiliates (other than any Group Member) for the benefit of the Partnership or the other Group Members.
 
For purposes of this Section 11.3(a), the fair market value of the Departing General Partner's Combined Interest and the value of the Incentive Distribution Rights held by holders other than the Departing General Partner shall be determined by agreement between the Departing General Partner and its successor or, failing agreement within 30 days after the effective date of such Departing General Partner's departure, by an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert selected by the Departing General Partner and its successor, which, in turn, may rely on other experts, and the determination of which shall be conclusive as to such matter. If such parties cannot agree upon one independent investment banking firm or other independent expert within 45 days after the effective date of such departure, then the Departing General Partner shall designate an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert, the Departing General Partner's successor shall designate an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert, and such firms or experts shall mutually select a third independent investment banking firm or independent expert, which third independent investment banking firm or
 

 
43

 

other independent expert shall determine the fair market value of the Combined Interest of the Departing General Partner and the value of the Incentive Distribution Rights held by holders other than the Departing General Partner. In making its determination, such third independent investment banking firm or other independent expert may consider the then current trading price of Units on any National Securities Exchange on which Units are then listed or admitted to trading, the value of the Partnership's assets, the rights and obligations of the Departing General Partner and other factors it may deem relevant.
 
(b)           If the Combined Interest is not purchased in the manner set forth in Section 11.3(a), the Departing General Partner (or its transferee) shall become a Limited Partner and its Combined Interest shall be converted into Common Units pursuant to a valuation made by an investment banking firm or other independent expert selected pursuant to Section 11.3(a), without reduction in such Partnership Interest (but subject to proportionate dilution by reason of the admission of its successor). Any successor General Partner shall indemnify the Departing General Partner (or its transferee) as to all debts and liabilities of the Partnership arising on or after the date on which the Departing General Partner (or its transferee) becomes a Limited Partner. For purposes of this Agreement, conversion of the Combined Interest of the Departing General Partner to Common Units will be characterized as if the Departing General Partner (or its transferee) contributed its Combined Interest to the Partnership in exchange for the newly issued Common Units.
 
(c)           If a successor General Partner is elected in accordance with the terms of Sections 11.1 or 11.2 (or if the Partnership is continued pursuant to Section 12.2 and the successor General Partner is not the former General Partner) and the option described in Section 11.3(a) is not exercised by the party entitled to do so, the successor General Partner shall, at the effective date of its admission to the Partnership, contribute to the Partnership cash in the amount equal to the product of (i) the quotient obtained by dividing (A) the Percentage Interest of the General Partner Interest of the Departing General Partner by (B) a percentage equal to 100% less the Percentage Interest of the General Partner Interest of the Departing General Partner and (ii) the Net Agreed Value of the Partnership's assets on such date. In such event, such successor General Partner shall, subject to the following sentence, be entitled to its Percentage Interest of all Partnership allocations and distributions to which the Departing General Partner was entitled. In addition, the successor General Partner shall cause this Agreement to be amended to reflect that, from and after the date of such successor General Partner's admission, the successor General Partner's interest in all Partnership distributions and allocations shall be its Percentage Interest.
 
Section 11.4           Termination of Subordination Period, Conversion of Subordinated Units and Extinguishment of Cumulative Common Unit Arrearages . Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement, if the General Partner is removed as general partner of the Partnership under circumstances where Cause does not exist and no Units held by the General Partner and its Affiliates are voted in favor of such removal, (i) the Subordination Period will end and all Subordinated Units will immediately and automatically convert into Common Units on a one-for-one basis, (ii) all Cumulative Common Unit Arrearages on the Common Units will be extinguished, (iii) the General Partner will have the right to convert its General Partner Interest (represented by General Partner Units) and its Incentive Distribution Rights into Common Units or to receive cash in exchange therefor, as provided in Section 11.3 and (iv) the other holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights will have the right to convert their Incentive Distribution Rights into Common Units or to receive cash in exchange therefor, as provided in Section 11.3.
 
Section 11.5           Withdrawal of Limited Partners. No Limited Partner shall have any right to withdraw from the Partnership; provided , however , that when a transferee of a Limited Partner's Limited Partner Interest becomes a Record Holder of the Limited Partner Interest so transferred, such transferring Limited Partner shall cease to be a Limited Partner with respect to the Limited Partner Interest so transferred.
 
ARTICLE XII

DISSOLUTION AND LIQUIDATION

Section 12.1           Dissolution. The Partnership shall not be dissolved by the admission of additional Limited Partners or by the admission of a successor or additional General Partner in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Upon the removal or withdrawal of the General Partner, if a successor General Partner is elected pursuant to Sections 11.1 or 11.2, the Partnership shall not be dissolved and the Board of Directors shall continue
 

 
44

 

the business of the Partnership. The Partnership shall dissolve, and (subject to Section 12.2) its affairs shall be wound up, upon:
 
(a)           an election to dissolve the Partnership by the General Partner and our Board of Directors that is approved by the holders of a Unit Majority;
 
(b)           at any time there are no Limited Partners, unless the Partnership is continued without dissolution in accordance with the Marshall Islands Act;
 
(c)           the entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of the Partnership pursuant to the provisions of the Marshall Islands Act; or
 
(d)           an Event of Withdrawal of the General Partner as provided in Section 11.1(a) (other than Section 11.1(a)(ii)), unless a successor is elected and an Opinion of Counsel is received as provided in Sections 11.1(b) or 11.2 and such successor is admitted to the Partnership pursuant to Section 10.3.
 
Section 12.2                       Continuation of the Business of the Partnership After Dissolution. Upon (a) dissolution of the Partnership following an Event of Withdrawal caused by the withdrawal or removal of the General Partner as provided in Sections 11.1(a)(i) or 11.1(a)(iii) and the failure of the Partners to select a successor to such Departing General Partner pursuant to Sections 11.1 or 11.2, then within 90 days thereafter, or (b) dissolution of the Partnership upon an event constituting an Event of Withdrawal as defined in Sections 11.1(a)(iv), 11.1(a)(v) or 11.1(a)(vi), then, to the maximum extent permitted by the Marshall Islands Act, within 180 days thereafter, the holders of a Unit Majority may elect in writing to continue the business of the Partnership on the same terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement by appointing, effective as of the date of the Event of Withdrawal, as a successor General Partner a Person approved by the holders of a Unit Majority. Unless such an election is made within the applicable time period as set forth above, the Partnership shall dissolve and conduct only activities necessary to wind up its affairs. If such an election is so made, then:
 
(i)           the Partnership shall continue without dissolution unless earlier dissolved in accordance with this Article XII;
 
(ii)           if the successor General Partner is not the former General Partner, then the interest of the former General Partner shall be treated in the manner provided in Section 11.3; and
 
(iii)           the successor General Partner shall be admitted to the Partnership as General Partner, effective as of the Event of Withdrawal, by agreeing in writing to be bound by this Agreement; provided , however , that the right of the holders of a Unit Majority to approve a successor General Partner and to reconstitute and to continue the business of the Partnership shall not exist and may not be exercised unless the Partnership has received an Opinion of Counsel that the exercise of the right would not result in the loss of limited liability of any Limited Partner.
 
Section 12.3                       Liquidating Trustee. Upon dissolution of the Partnership, unless the business of the Partnership is continued pursuant to Section 12.2, the Board of Directors shall select one or more Persons to act as Liquidating Trustee. The Liquidating Trustee (if other than the General Partner) shall be entitled to receive such compensation for its services as may be approved by holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Common Units and Subordinated Units, voting as a single class. The Liquidating Trustee (if other than the General Partner) shall agree not to resign at any time without 15 days' prior notice and may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by notice of removal approved by holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Common Units and Subordinated Units, voting as a single class. Upon dissolution, removal or resignation of the Liquidating Trustee, a successor and substitute Liquidating Trustee (who shall have and succeed to all rights, powers and duties of the original Liquidating Trustee) shall within 30 days thereafter be approved by the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Common Units and Subordinated Units, voting as a single class. The right to approve a successor or substitute Liquidating Trustee in the manner provided herein shall be deemed to refer also to any such successor or substitute Liquidating Trustee approved in the manner herein provided. Except as expressly provided in this Article XII, the Liquidating Trustee approved in the manner provided herein shall have and may exercise, without further
 

 
45

 

authorization or consent of any of the parties hereto, all of the powers conferred upon the Board of Directors and the General Partner under the terms of this Agreement (but subject to all of the applicable limitations, contractual and otherwise, upon the exercise of such powers, other than the limitation on sale set forth in Section 7.11(b)) necessary or appropriate to carry out the duties and functions of the Liquidating Trustee hereunder for and during the period of time required to complete the winding up and liquidation of the Partnership as provided for herein.
 
Section 12.4           Liquidation. The Liquidating Trustee shall proceed to dispose of the assets of the Partnership, discharge its liabilities, and otherwise wind up its affairs in such manner and over such period as determined by the Liquidating Trustee, subject to Section 60 of the Marshall Islands Act and the following:
 
(a)           The assets may be disposed of by public or private sale or by distribution in kind to one or more Partners on such terms as the Liquidating Trustee and such Partner or Partners may agree. If any property is distributed in kind, the Partner receiving the property shall be deemed for purposes of Section 12.4(c) to have received cash equal to its fair market value, and contemporaneously therewith, appropriate cash distributions must be made to the other Partners. The Liquidating Trustee may defer liquidation or distribution of the Partnership's assets for a reasonable time if it determines that an immediate sale or distribution of all or some of the Partnership's assets would be impractical or would cause undue loss to the Partners. The Liquidating Trustee may distribute the Partnership's assets, in whole or in part, in kind if it determines that a sale would be impractical or would cause undue loss to the Partners.
 
(b)           The Liquidating Trustee shall first satisfy the liabilities of the Partnership. Liabilities of the Partnership include amounts owed to the Liquidating Trustee as compensation for serving in such capacity (subject to the terms of Section 12.3) and amounts to Partners otherwise than in respect of their distribution rights under Article VI. With respect to any liability that is contingent, conditional or unmatured or is otherwise not yet due and payable, the Liquidating Trustee shall either settle such claim for such amount as it deems appropriate or establish a reserve of cash or other assets to provide for its payment. When paid, any unused portion of the reserve shall be distributed as additional liquidation proceeds.
 
(c)           All property and all cash in excess of that required to discharge liabilities as provided in this Section 12.4 shall be distributed as follows:
 
(i)           If the Current Market Price of the Common Units as of the date three trading days prior to the announcement of the proposed liquidation exceeds the Unrecovered Capital for a Common Unit plus the Cumulative Common Unit Arrearage:
 
(A)           (A) First, (x) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest and (y) to all the Unitholders holding Common Units, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the General Partner's Percentage Interest, until there has been distributed in respect of each Common Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to such Current Market Price of a Common Unit;
 
(B)           (B) Second (x) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest and (y) to all Unitholders holding Subordinated Units, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the General Partner's Percentage Interest, until there has been distributed in respect of each Subordinated Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to such Current Market Price of a Common Unit; and
 
(C)           Thereafter (x) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest; (y) 50% to the holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights, Pro Rata; and (z) to all Unitholders, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the sum of the percentages applicable to subclauses (x) and (y) of this clause (i)(C);
 
(ii)           If the Current Market Price of the Common Units as of the date three trading days prior to the announcement of the proposed liquidation is equal to or less than the Unrecovered Capital for a Common Unit plus the Cumulative Common Unit Arrearage:
 

 
46

 

(A)           First, (x) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest and (y) to all the Unitholders holding Common Units, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the General Partner's Percentage Interest, until there has been distributed in respect of each Common Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the Unrecovered Capital for a Common Unit;
 
(B)           Second, (x) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest and (y) to all Unitholders holding Common Units, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the General Partner's Percentage Interest, until there has been distributed in respect of each Common Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the Cumulative Common Unit Arrearage;
 
(C)           Third, (x) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest and (y) to all Unitholders holding Subordinated Units, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the General Partner's Percentage Interest, until there has been distributed in respect of each Subordinated Unit then Outstanding an amount equal to the Unrecovered Capital for a Common Unit (as calculated prior to the distribution specified in clause (ii)(A) above); and
 
(D)           Thereafter, (x) to the General Partner in accordance with its Percentage Interest; (y) 50% to the holders of the Incentive Distribution Rights, Pro Rata; and (z) to all Unitholders, Pro Rata, a percentage equal to 100% less the sum of the percentages applicable to subclauses (x) and (y) of this clause (ii)(D);
 
Section 12.5           Cancellation of Certificate of Limited Partnership. Upon the completion of the distribution of Partnership cash and property as provided in Section 12.4 in connection with the liquidation of the Partnership, the Certificate of Limited Partnership and all qualifications of the Partnership as a foreign limited partnership in jurisdictions other than the Marshall Islands shall be canceled and such other actions as may be necessary to terminate the Partnership shall be taken.
 
Section 12.6           Return of Contributions. The General Partner shall not be personally liable for, and shall have no obligation to contribute or loan any monies or property to the Partnership to enable it to effectuate, the return of the Capital Contributions of the Limited Partners or Unitholders, or any portion thereof, it being expressly understood that any such return shall be made solely from Partnership assets.
 
Section 12.7           Waiver of Partition. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Partner hereby waives any right to partition of the Partnership property.
 
ARTICLE XIII

AMENDMENT OF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT; MEETINGS; RECORD DATE

Section 13.1           Amendments to be Adopted Without Approval of the Limited Partners or the General Partner. The General Partner and each Limited Partner agree that the Board of Directors, without the approval of any Limited Partner or, subject to Section 5.5, the General Partner, may amend any provision of this Agreement and execute, swear to, acknowledge, deliver, file and record whatever documents may be required in connection therewith, to reflect:
 
(a)           a change in the name of the Partnership, the location of the principal place of business of the Partnership, the registered agent of the Partnership or the registered office of the Partnership;
 
(b)           admission, substitution, withdrawal or removal of Partners in accordance with this Agreement;
 

 
47

 

(c)           a change that the Board of Directors determines to be necessary or appropriate to qualify or continue the qualification of the Partnership as a limited partnership or a partnership in which the Limited Partners have limited liability under the Marshall Islands Act;
 
(d)           a change that the Board of Directors determines (i) does not adversely affect the Limited Partners (including any particular class of Partnership Interests as compared to other classes of Partnership Interests) in any material respect, (ii) to be necessary or appropriate to (A) satisfy any requirements, conditions or guidelines contained in any opinion, directive, order, ruling or regulation of any Marshall Islands authority (including the Marshall Islands Act) or (B) facilitate the trading of the Units or comply with any rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any National Securities Exchange on which the Units are or will be listed, or admitted to trading, (iii) to be necessary or appropriate in connection with action taken by the Board of Directors pursuant to Section 5.8 or (iv) is required to effect the intent expressed in the Registration Statement or the intent of the provisions of this Agreement or is otherwise contemplated by this Agreement;
 
(e)           a change in the fiscal year or taxable year of the Partnership and any other changes that the Board of Directors determines to be necessary or appropriate as a result of a change in the fiscal year or taxable year of the Partnership including, if the Board of Directors shall so determine, a change in the definition of "Quarter" and the dates on which distributions are to be made by the Partnership;
 
(f)           an amendment that is necessary, in the Opinion of Counsel, to prevent the Partnership, the members of the Board of Directors, or the General Partner or its or their directors, officers, trustees or agents from in any manner being subjected to the provisions of the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, or "plan asset" regulations adopted under the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, regardless of whether such regulations are substantially similar to plan asset regulations currently applied or proposed by the United States Department of Labor;
 
(g)           an amendment that the Board of Directors, and if required by Section 5.5, the General Partner, determines to be necessary or appropriate in connection with the authorization of issuance of any class or series of Partnership Interests pursuant to Section 5.4;
 
(h)           an amendment that the Board of Directors determines to be necessary or appropriate for the authorization of additional Partnership Interests or rights to acquire Partnership Interests, including any amendment that the Board of Directors determines is necessary or appropriate in connection with:
 
(i)           the adjustments of the Minimum Quarterly Distribution, First Target Distribution, Second Target Distribution and Third Target Distribution in connection with the IDR Reset Election in accordance with Section 5.10;
 
(ii)           the implementation of the provisions relating to the General Partner's right to reset its Incentive Distribution Rights in exchange for Common Units; or
 
(iii)           any modification of the Incentive Distribution Rights made in connection with the issuance of additional Partnership Interests or rights to acquire Partnership Interests, provided , that, with respect to this clause (iii), any such modifications to the Incentive Distribution Rights and the related issuance of Partnership Interests have received Special Approval;
 
(i)           any amendment expressly permitted in this Agreement to be made by the Board of Directors acting alone;
 
(j)           an amendment effected, necessitated or contemplated by a Merger Agreement approved in accordance with Section 14.3;
 
(k)           an amendment that the Board of Directors determines to be necessary or appropriate to reflect and account for the formation by the Partnership of, or investment by the Partnership in, any corporation, partnership,
 

 
48

 

joint venture, limited liability company or other Person, in connection with the conduct by the Partnership of activities permitted by the terms of Section 2.4;
 
(l)           a conversion, merger or conveyance pursuant to Section 14.3(d);
 
(m)           to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency; or
 
(n)           any other amendments substantially similar to the foregoing.
 
Section 13.2           Amendment Procedures. Except as provided in Sections 13.1 and 13.3, all amendments to this Agreement shall be made in accordance with the following requirements. Amendments to this Agreement may be proposed only by, or with the written consent of a majority of the Board of Directors; provided , however , that the Board of Directors shall have no duty or obligation to propose any amendment to this Agreement and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to the Partnership or any Limited Partner and, in declining to propose an amendment, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law shall not be required to act in good faith or pursuant to any other standard imposed by this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement, any other agreement contemplated hereby or under the Marshall Islands Act or any other law, rule or regulation. A proposed amendment shall be effective upon its approval by the Board of Directors and the holders of a Unit Majority, unless a greater or different percentage is required under this Agreement or by the Marshall Islands Act. Each proposed amendment that requires the approval of the holders of a specified percentage of Outstanding Units shall be set forth in a writing that contains the text of the proposed amendment. If such an amendment is proposed, the Board of Directors shall seek the written approval of the requisite percentage of Outstanding Units or call a meeting of the Unitholders to consider and vote on such proposed amendment. The Board of Directors shall notify all Record Holders upon final adoption of any such proposed amendments.
 
Section 13.3           Amendment Requirements .
 
(a)           Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 13.1 and 13.2, no provision of this Agreement that establishes a percentage of Outstanding Units (including Units deemed owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates) required to take any action shall be amended, altered, changed, repealed or rescinded in any respect that would have the effect of (i) in the case of any provision of this Agreement other than Section 11.2 or Section 13.4, reducing such percentage or (ii) in the case of Section 11.2 or Section 13.4, increasing such percentage, unless such amendment is approved by the written consent or the affirmative vote of holders of Outstanding Units whose aggregate Outstanding Units constitute not less than the voting requirement sought to be reduced.
 
(b)           Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 13.1 and 13.2, no amendment to this Agreement may (i) enlarge the obligations of any Limited Partner without its consent, unless such enlargement shall be deemed to have occurred as a result of an amendment approved pursuant to Section 13.3(c) or (ii) enlarge the obligations of, restrict in any way any action by or rights of, or reduce in any way the amounts distributable, reimbursable or otherwise payable to, the General Partner or any of its Affiliates without its consent, which consent may be given or withheld at the General Partner's option.
 
(c)           Except as provided in Section 14.3, and without limitation of the Board of Directors' authority to adopt amendments to this Agreement without the approval of any Partners as contemplated in Section 13.1, any amendment that would have a material adverse effect on the rights or preferences of any class of Partnership Interests in relation to other classes of Partnership Interests must be approved by the holders of not less than a majority of the Outstanding Partnership Interests of the class affected. If the General Partner determines an amendment does not satisfy the requirements of Section 13.1(d)(i) because it adversely affects one or more classes of Partnership Interests, as compared to other classes of Partnership Interests, in any material respect, such amendment shall only be required to be approved by the adversely affected class or classes.
 
(d)           Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, except for amendments pursuant to Section 13.1 and except as otherwise provided by Section 14.3(b), no amendments shall become effective without the approval of the holders of at least 90% of the Outstanding Units voting as a single class unless the Partnership
 

 
49

 

obtains an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that such amendment will not affect the limited liability of any Limited Partner under applicable law.
 
(e)           Except as provided in Section 13.1, this Section 13.3 shall only be amended with the approval of the holders of at least 90% of the Outstanding Units.
 
Section 13.4           Special Meetings. All acts of Limited Partners to be taken pursuant to this Agreement shall be taken in the manner provided in this Article XIII. Special meetings of the Limited Partners may be called by the Board of Directors or by Limited Partners owning 20% or more of the Outstanding Units of the class or classes for which a meeting is proposed. Limited Partners shall call a special meeting by delivering to the Board of Directors one or more requests in writing stating that the signing Limited Partners wish to call a special meeting and indicating the general or specific purposes for which the special meeting is to be called, it being understood that the purposes of such special meeting may only be to vote on matters that require the vote of the Unitholders pursuant to this Agreement. Within 60 days after receipt of such a call from Limited Partners or within such greater time as may be reasonably necessary for the Partnership to comply with any statutes, rules, regulations, listing agreements or similar requirements governing the holding of a meeting or the solicitation of proxies for use at such a meeting, the Board of Directors shall send a notice of the meeting to the Limited Partners either directly or indirectly through the Transfer Agent. A meeting shall be held at a time and place determined by the Board of Directors on a date not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days after the mailing of notice of the meeting. Limited Partners shall not vote on matters that would cause the Limited Partners to be deemed to be taking part in the management and control of the business and affairs of the Partnership so as to jeopardize the Limited Partners' limited liability under the Marshall Islands Act or the law of any other jurisdiction in which the Partnership is qualified to do business.
 
Section 13.5           Notice of a Meeting. Notice of a meeting called pursuant to Section 13.4 shall be given to the Record Holders of the class or classes of Units for which a meeting is proposed in writing by mail or other means of written communication in accordance with Section 16.1 at least 10 days in advance of such meeting. The notice shall be deemed to have been given at the time when deposited in the mail or sent by other means of written communication.
 
Section 13.6           Record Date. For purposes of determining the Limited Partners entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of the Limited Partners or to give approvals without a meeting as provided in Section 13.11, the Board of Directors may set a Record Date, which shall not be less than 10 nor more than 60 days before (a) the date of the meeting (unless such requirement conflicts with any rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any National Securities Exchange on which the Units are listed or admitted to trading, in which case the rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of such National Securities Exchange shall govern) or (b) in the event that approvals are sought without a meeting, the date by which Limited Partners are requested in writing by the Board of Directors to give such approvals. If the Board of Directors does not set a Record Date, then (a) the Record Date for determining the Limited Partners entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of the Limited Partners shall be the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which notice is given, and (b) the Record Date for determining the Limited Partners entitled to give approvals without a meeting shall be the date the first written approval is deposited with the Partnership in care of the Board of Directors in accordance with Section 13.11.
 
Section 13.7           Adjournment. When a meeting is adjourned to another time or place, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting and a new Record Date need not be fixed, if the time and place thereof are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken, unless such adjournment shall be for more than 45 days. At the adjourned meeting, the Partnership may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than 45 days or if a new Record Date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given in accordance with this Article XIII.
 
Section 13.8           Waiver of Notice; Approval of Meeting; Approval of Minutes. The transactions of any meeting of Limited Partners, however called and noticed, and whenever held, shall be as valid as if it had occurred at a meeting duly held after regular call and notice, if a quorum is present either in person or by proxy. Attendance of a Limited Partner at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of the meeting, except when the Limited Partner attends the meeting for the express purpose of objecting, at the beginning of the meeting, to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened; and except that attendance at a meeting is not a
 

 
50

 

waiver of any right to disapprove the consideration of matters required to be included in the notice of the meeting, but not so included, if the disapproval is expressly made at the meeting.
 
Section 13.9           Quorum and Voting. The holders of a majority of the Outstanding Units of the class or classes for which a meeting has been called (including Outstanding Units deemed owned by the General Partner) represented in person or by proxy shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of Limited Partners of such class or classes unless any such action by the Limited Partners requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of such Units, in which case the quorum shall be such greater percentage. At any meeting of the Limited Partners duly called and held in accordance with this Agreement at which a quorum is present, the act of Limited Partners holding Outstanding Units that in the aggregate represent a majority of the Outstanding Units entitled to vote and be present in person or by proxy at such meeting shall be deemed to constitute the act of all Limited Partners, unless a greater or different percentage is required with respect to such action under the provisions of this Agreement, in which case the act of the Limited Partners holding Outstanding Units that in the aggregate represent at least such greater or different percentage shall be required. The Limited Partners present at a duly called or held meeting at which a quorum is present may continue to transact business until adjournment, notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough Limited Partners to leave less than a quorum, if any action taken (other than adjournment) is approved by the required percentage of Outstanding Units specified in this Agreement (including Outstanding Units deemed owned by the General Partner). In the absence of a quorum, any meeting of Limited Partners may be adjourned from time to time by the affirmative vote of holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Units entitled to vote at such meeting (including Outstanding Units deemed owned by the General Partner) represented either in person or by proxy, but no other business may be transacted, except as provided in Section 13.7.
 
Section 13.10         Conduct of a Meeting. The Board of Directors shall have full power and authority concerning the manner of conducting any meeting of the Limited Partners or solicitation of approvals in writing, including the determination of Persons entitled to vote, the existence of a quorum, the satisfaction of the requirements of Section 13.4, the conduct of voting, the validity and effect of any proxies and the determination of any controversies, votes or challenges arising in connection with or during the meeting or voting. The Chairman of the Board of Directors shall serve as chairman of any meeting and shall further designate a Person to take the minutes of any meeting. All minutes shall be kept with the records of the Partnership maintained by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may make such other regulations consistent with applicable law and this Agreement as it may deem advisable concerning the conduct of any meeting of the Limited Partners or solicitation of approvals in writing, including regulations in regard to the appointment of proxies, the appointment and duties of inspectors of votes and approvals, the submission and examination of proxies and other evidence of the right to vote, and the revocation of approvals in writing.
 
Section 13.11         Action Without a Meeting. If authorized by the Board of Directors, any action that may be taken at a meeting of the Limited Partners may be taken without a meeting if an approval in writing setting forth the action so taken is signed by Limited Partners owning not less than the minimum percentage of the Outstanding Units (including Units deemed owned by the General Partner) that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all the Limited Partners were present and voted (unless such provision conflicts with any rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any National Securities Exchange on which the Units are listed or admitted to trading, in which case the rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of such National Securities Exchange shall govern). Prompt notice of the taking of action without a meeting shall be given to the Limited Partners who have not approved the action in writing. The Board of Directors may specify that any written ballot submitted to Limited Partners for the purpose of taking any action without a meeting shall be returned to the Partnership within the time period, which shall be not less than 20 days, specified by the Board of Directors. If a ballot returned to the Partnership does not vote all of the Units held by the Limited Partners, the Partnership shall be deemed to have failed to receive a ballot for the Units that were not voted. If approval of the taking of any action by the Limited Partners is solicited by any Person other than by or on behalf of the Board of Directors, the written approvals shall have no force and effect unless and until (a) they are deposited with the Partnership in care of the Board of Directors, (b) approvals sufficient to take the action proposed are dated as of a date not more than 90 days prior to the date sufficient approvals are deposited with the Partnership and (c) an Opinion of Counsel is delivered to the Board of Directors to the effect that the exercise of such right and the action proposed to be taken with respect to any particular matter (i) will not cause the Limited Partners to be deemed to be taking part in the management and control of the business and affairs of the Partnership so as to jeopardize the Limited Partners' limited liability, and
 

 
51

 

(ii) is otherwise permissible under the applicable statutes then governing the rights, duties and liabilities of the Partnership and the Partners.
 
Section 13.12        Right to Vote and Related Matters .
 
(a)           Only those Record Holders of the Units on the Record Date set pursuant to Section 13.6 (and also subject to the limitations contained in the definition of "Outstanding") shall be entitled to notice of, and to vote at, a meeting of Limited Partners or to act with respect to matters as to which the holders of the Outstanding Units have the right to vote or to act. All references in this Agreement to votes of, or other acts that may be taken by, the Outstanding Units shall be deemed to be references to the votes or acts of the Record Holders of such Outstanding Units.
 
(b)           With respect to Units that are held for a Person's account by another Person (such as a broker, dealer, bank, trust company or clearing corporation, or an agent of any of the foregoing), in whose name such Units are registered, such other Person shall, in exercising the voting rights in respect of such Units on any matter, and unless the arrangement between such Persons provides otherwise, vote such Units in favor of, and at the direction of, the Person who is the beneficial owner, and the Partnership shall be entitled to assume it is so acting without further inquiry. The provisions of this Section 13.12(b) (as well as all other provisions of this Agreement) are subject to the provisions of Section 4.3.
 
ARTICLE XIV

MERGER, CONSOLIDATION OR CONVERSION

Section 14.1           Authority. The Partnership may merge or consolidate with or into one or more corporations, limited liability companies, statutory trusts or associations, real estate investment trusts, common law trusts or unincorporated businesses, including a partnership (whether general or limited (including a limited liability partnership)) or convert into any such entity, pursuant to a written agreement of merger or consolidation (" Merger Agreement ") or a written plan of conversion (" Plan of Conversion "), as the case may be, in accordance with this Article XIV.
 
Section 14.2           Procedure for Merger, Consolidation or Conversion .
 
(a)           Merger, consolidation or conversion of the Partnership pursuant to this Article XIV requires the approval of the Board of Directors and the prior consent of the General Partner; provided , however , that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, neither the Board of Directors nor the General Partner shall have a duty or obligation to consent to any merger, consolidation or conversion of the Partnership and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to the Partnership or any Limited Partner and, in declining to consent to a merger, consolidation or conversion, shall not be required to act in good faith or pursuant to any other standard imposed by this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement, any other agreement contemplated hereby or under the Marshall Islands Act or any other law, rule or regulation or at equity.
 
(b)           If the Board of Directors and the General Partner shall determine to consent to the merger, consolidation or conversion, the Board of Directors and the General Partner shall approve the Merger Agreement, which shall set forth:
 
(i)           the names and jurisdictions of formation or organization of each of the business entities proposing to merge or consolidate;
 
(ii)           the name and jurisdiction of formation or organization of the business entity that is to survive the proposed merger or consolidation (the " Surviving Business Entity ");
 
(iii)           the terms and conditions of the proposed merger or consolidation;
 

 
52

 

(iv)           the manner and basis of exchanging or converting the equity securities of each constituent business entity for, or into, cash, property or interests, rights, securities or obligations of the Surviving Business Entity; and (i) if any interests, securities or rights of any constituent business entity are not to be exchanged or converted solely for, or into, cash, property or interests, rights, securities or obligations of the Surviving Business Entity, the cash, property or interests, rights, securities or obligations of any general or limited partnership, corporation, trust, limited liability company, unincorporated business or other Person (other than the Surviving Business Entity) which the holders of such interests, securities or rights are to receive in exchange for, or upon conversion of their interests, securities or rights, and (ii) in the case of securities represented by certificates, upon the surrender of such certificates, which cash, property or interests, rights, securities or obligations of the Surviving Business Entity or any general or limited partnership, corporation, trust, limited liability company, unincorporated business or other Person (other than the Surviving Business Entity), or evidences thereof, are to be delivered;
 
(v)           a statement of any changes in the constituent documents or the adoption of new constituent documents (the articles or certificate of incorporation, articles of trust, declaration of trust, certificate or agreement of limited partnership or other similar charter or governing document) of the Surviving Business Entity to be effected by such merger or consolidation;
 
(vi)           the effective time of the merger, which may be the date of the filing of the certificate of merger pursuant to Section 14.4 or a later date specified in or determinable in accordance with the Merger Agreement ( provided , that if the effective time of the merger is to be later than the date of the filing of such certificate of merger, the effective time shall be fixed at a date or time certain at or prior to the time of the filing of such certificate of merger and stated therein); and
 
(vii)           such other provisions with respect to the proposed merger or consolidation that the Board of Directors and the General Partner determine to be necessary or appropriate.
 
(c)           If the Board of Directors and the General Partner shall determine to consent to the conversion the Board of Directors and the General Partner shall approve the Plan of Conversion, which shall set forth:
 
(i)           the name of the converting entity and the converted entity;
 
(ii)           a statement that the Partnership is continuing its existence in the organizational form of the converted entity;
 
(iii)           a statement as to the type of entity that the converted entity is to be and the state or country under the laws of which the converted entity is to be incorporated, formed or organized;
 
(iv)           the manner and basis of exchanging or converting the equity securities of each constituent business entity for, or into, cash, property or interests, rights, securities or obligations of the converted entity or another entity, or for the cancellation of such equity securities;
 
(v)           in an attachment or exhibit, the certificate of limited partnership of the Partnership;
 
(vi)           in an attachment or exhibit, the certificate of limited partnership, articles of incorporation, or other organizational documents of the converted entity;
 
(vii)           the effective time of the conversion, which may be the date of the filing of the articles of conversion or a later date specified in or determinable in accordance with the Plan of Conversion ( provided , that if the effective time of the conversion is to be later than the date of the filing of such articles of conversion, the effective time shall be fixed at a date or time certain and stated in such articles of conversion); and
 
(viii)           such other provisions with respect to the proposed conversion the Board of Directors and the General Partner determines to be necessary or appropriate.
 

 
53

 

Section 14.3           Approval by Limited Partners of Merger, Consolidation or Conversion .
 
(a)           Except as provided in Sections 14.3(d) and 14.3(e), the Board of Directors, upon its and the General Partner's approval of the Merger Agreement or the Plan of Conversion, as the case may be, shall direct that the Merger Agreement or the Plan of Conversion and the merger, consolidation or conversion contemplated thereby, as applicable, be submitted to a vote of Limited Partners, whether at a special meeting or by written consent, in either case in accordance with the requirements of Article XIII. A copy or a summary of the Merger Agreement or the Plan of Conversion, as the case may be, shall be included in or enclosed with the notice of a special meeting or the written consent.
 
(b)           Except as provided in Sections 14.3(d) and 14.3(e), the Merger Agreement or Plan of Conversion, as the case may be, shall be approved upon receiving the affirmative vote or consent of the holders of a Unit Majority.
 
(c)           Except as provided in Sections 14.3(d) and 14.3(e), after such approval by vote or consent of the Limited Partners, and at any time prior to the filing of the certificate of merger or certificate of conversion pursuant to Section 14.4, the merger, consolidation or conversion may be abandoned pursuant to provisions therefor, if any, set forth in the Merger Agreement or Plan of Conversion, as the case may be.
 
(d)           Notwithstanding anything else contained in this Article XIV or in this Agreement, the Board of Directors is permitted, without Limited Partner approval, to convert the Partnership or any Group Member into a new limited liability entity, to merge the Partnership or any Group Member into, or convey all of the Partnership's assets to, another limited liability entity which shall be newly formed and shall have no assets, liabilities or operations at the time of such conversion, merger or conveyance other than those it receives from the Partnership or other Group Member if (i) the Board of Directors has received an Opinion of Counsel that the conversion, merger or conveyance, as the case may be, would not result in the loss of the limited liability of any Limited Partner, (ii) the sole purpose of such conversion, merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in the legal form of the Partnership into another limited liability entity and (iii) the governing instruments of the new entity provide the Limited Partners, the General Partner and the Board of Directors with the same rights and obligations as are herein contained.
 
(e)           Additionally, notwithstanding anything else contained in this Article XIV or in this Agreement, the Board of Directors, with the prior consent of the General Partner, is permitted, without Limited Partner approval, to merge or consolidate the Partnership with or into another entity if (i) the Board of Directors has received an Opinion of Counsel that the merger or consolidation, as the case may be, would not result in the loss of the limited liability of any Limited Partner, (ii) the merger or consolidation would not result in an amendment to this Agreement, other than any amendments that could be adopted pursuant to Section 13.1, (iii) the Partnership is the Surviving Business Entity in such merger or consolidation, (iv) each Unit outstanding immediately prior to the effective date of the merger or consolidation is to be an identical Unit of the Partnership after the effective date of the merger or consolidation, and (v) the number of Partnership Interests to be issued by the Partnership in such merger or consolidation does not exceed 20% of the Partnership Interests Outstanding immediately prior to the effective date of such merger or consolidation.
 
Section 14.4           Certificate of Merger or Conversion . Upon the required approval by the Board of Directors, the General Partner and the Unitholders of a Merger Agreement or Plan of Conversion, as the case may be, a certificate of merger or conversion, as applicable, shall be executed and filed in conformity with the requirements of the Marshall Islands Act.
 
Section 14.5           Amendment of Partnership Agreement . Pursuant to Section 20(2) of the Marshall Islands Act, an agreement of merger or consolidation approved in accordance with Section 20(2) of the Marshall Islands Act may (a) effect any amendment to this Agreement or (b) effect the adoption of a new partnership agreement for a limited partnership if it is the Surviving Business Entity. Any such amendment or adoption made pursuant to this Section 14.5 shall be effective at the effective time or date of the merger or consolidation.
 

 
54

 

Section 14.6           Effect of Merger, Consolidation or Conversion .
 
(a)           At the effective time of the certificate of merger:
 
(i)           all of the rights, privileges and powers of each of the business entities that has merged or consolidated, and all property, real, personal and mixed, and all debts due to any of those business entities and all other things and causes of action belonging to each of those business entities, shall be vested in the Surviving Business Entity and after the merger or consolidation shall be the property of the Surviving Business Entity to the extent they were of each constituent business entity;
 
(ii)           the title to any real property vested by deed or otherwise in any of those constituent business entities shall not revert and is not in any way impaired because of the merger or consolidation;
 
(iii)           all rights of creditors and all liens on or security interests in property of any of those constituent business entities shall be preserved unimpaired; and
 
(iv)           all debts, liabilities and duties of those constituent business entities shall attach to the Surviving Business Entity and may be enforced against it to the same extent as if the debts, liabilities and duties had been incurred or contracted by it.
 
(b)           At the effective time of the certificate of conversion, for all purposes of the laws of the Marshall Islands:
 
(i)           the Partnership shall continue to exist, without interruption, but in the organizational form of the converted entity rather than in its prior organizational form;
 
(ii)           all rights, title, and interests to all real estate and other property owned by the Partnership shall remain vested in the converted entity in its new organizational form without reversion or impairment, without further act or deed, and without any transfer or assignment having occurred, but subject to any existing liens or other encumbrances thereon;
 
(iii)           all liabilities and obligations of the Partnership shall continue to be liabilities and obligations of the converted entity in its new organizational form without impairment or diminution by reason of the conversion;
 
(iv)           all rights of creditors or other parties with respect to or against the prior interest holders or other owners of the Partnership in their capacities as such in existence as of the effective time of the conversion will continue in existence as to those liabilities and obligations and are enforceable against the converted entity by such creditors and obligees to the same extent as if the liabilities and obligations had originally been incurred or contracted by the converted entity;
 
(v)           the Partnership Interests that are to be converted into partnership interests, shares, evidences of ownership, or other rights or securities in the converted entity or cash as provided in the Plan of Conversion shall be so converted, and Partners shall be entitled only to the rights provided in the Plan of Conversion.
 
ARTICLE XV

RIGHT TO ACQUIRE LIMITED PARTNER INTERESTS

Section 15.1           Right to Acquire Limited Partner Interests .
 
(a)           Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if at any time from and after the Closing Date the General Partner and its Affiliates hold more than 80% of the total Limited Partner Interests of any class then Outstanding, the General Partner shall then have the right, which right it may assign and transfer in whole or in
 

 
55

 

part to the Partnership or any Affiliate of the General Partner, exercisable at its option, to purchase all, but not less than all, of such Limited Partner Interests of such class then Outstanding held by Persons other than the General Partner and its Affiliates, at the greater of (x) the Current Market Price as of the date three days prior to the date that the notice described in Section 15.1(b) is mailed and (y) the highest price paid by the General Partner or any of its Affiliates for any such Limited Partner Interest of such class purchased during the 90-day period preceding the date that the notice described in Section 15.1(b) is mailed.
 
(b)           If the General Partner, any Affiliate of the General Partner or the Partnership elects to exercise the right to purchase Limited Partner Interests granted pursuant to Section 15.1(a), the General Partner shall deliver to the Transfer Agent notice of such election to purchase (the " Notice of Election to Purchase ") and shall cause the Transfer Agent to mail a copy of such Notice of Election to Purchase to the Record Holders of Limited Partner Interests of such class or classes (as of a Record Date selected by the General Partner) at least 10, but not more than 60, days prior to the Purchase Date. Such Notice of Election to Purchase shall also be published for a period of at least three consecutive days in at least two daily newspapers of general circulation printed in the English language and published in the Borough of Manhattan, New York. The Notice of Election to Purchase shall specify the Purchase Date and the price (determined in accordance with Section 15.1(a)) at which Limited Partner Interests will be purchased and state that the General Partner, its Affiliate or the Partnership, as the case may be, elects to purchase such Limited Partner Interests, upon surrender of Certificates representing such Limited Partner Interests in exchange for payment, at such office or offices of the Transfer Agent as the Transfer Agent may specify, or as may be required by any National Securities Exchange on which such Limited Partner Interests are listed. Any such Notice of Election to Purchase mailed to a Record Holder of Limited Partner Interests at his address as reflected in the records of the Transfer Agent shall be conclusively presumed to have been given regardless of whether the owner receives such notice. On or prior to the Purchase Date, the General Partner, its Affiliate or the Partnership, as the case may be, shall deposit with the Transfer Agent cash in an amount sufficient to pay the aggregate purchase price of all of such Limited Partner Interests to be purchased in accordance with this Section 15.1. If the Notice of Election to Purchase shall have been duly given as aforesaid at least 10 days prior to the Purchase Date, and if on or prior to the Purchase Date the deposit described in the preceding sentence has been made for the benefit of the holders of Limited Partner Interests subject to purchase as provided herein, then from and after the Purchase Date, notwithstanding that any Certificate shall not have been surrendered for purchase, all rights of the holders of such Limited Partner Interests (including any rights pursuant to Articles IV, V, VI and XII) shall thereupon cease, except the right to receive the applicable purchase price (determined in accordance with Section 15.1(a)) for Limited Partner Interests therefor, without interest, upon surrender to the Transfer Agent of the Certificates representing such Limited Partner Interests, and such Limited Partner Interests shall thereupon be deemed to be transferred to the General Partner, its Affiliate or the Partnership, as the case may be, on the record books of the Transfer Agent and the Partnership, and the General Partner or any Affiliate of the General Partner, or the Partnership, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the owner of all such Limited Partner Interests from and after the Purchase Date and shall have all rights as the owner of such Limited Partner Interests (including all rights as owner of such Limited Partner Interests pursuant to Articles IV, V, VI and XII).
 
(c)           At any time from and after the Purchase Date, a holder of an Outstanding Limited Partner Interest subject to purchase as provided in this Section 15.1 may surrender his Certificate evidencing such Limited Partner Interest to the Transfer Agent in exchange for payment of the amount described in Section 15.1(a), without interest thereon.
 
ARTICLE XVI

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 16.1           Addresses and Notices .
 
(a)           Any notice, demand, request, report or proxy materials required or permitted to be given or made to a Partner under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed given or made when delivered in person or when sent by first class United States mail or by other means of written communication to the Partner at the address described below. Any notice, payment or report to be given or made to a Partner hereunder shall be deemed conclusively to have been given or made, and the obligation to give such notice or report or to make such payment shall be deemed conclusively to have been fully satisfied, upon sending of such notice, payment or report to the
 

 
56

 

Record Holder of such Partnership Interests at his address as shown on the records of the Transfer Agent or as otherwise shown on the records of the Partnership, regardless of any claim of any Person who may have an interest in such Partnership Interests by reason of any assignment or otherwise. An affidavit or certificate of making of any notice, payment or report in accordance with the provisions of this Section 16.1 executed by a member of the Board of Directors, the General Partner, the Transfer Agent or the mailing organization shall be prima facie evidence of the giving or making of such notice, payment or report. If any notice, payment or report addressed to a Record Holder at the address of such Record Holder appearing on the books and records of the Transfer Agent or the Partnership is returned by the United States Postal Service marked to indicate that the United States Postal Service is unable to deliver it, such notice, payment or report and any subsequent notices, payments and reports shall be deemed to have been duly given or made without further mailing (until such time as such Record Holder or another Person notifies the Transfer Agent or the Partnership of a change in his address) if they are available for the Partner at the principal office of the Partnership for a period of one year from the date of the giving or making of such notice, payment or report to the other Partners. Any notice to the Partnership shall be deemed given if received by the General Partner or the Board of Directors at the principal office of the Partnership designated pursuant to Section 2.3. The General Partner and the Board of Directors may rely and shall be protected in relying on any notice or other document from a Partner or other Person if believed by it to be genuine.
 
(b)           The terms "in writing," "written communications," "written notice" and words of similar import shall be deemed satisfied under this Agreement by use of e-mail and other forms of electronic communication.
 
Section 16.2           Further Action. The parties shall execute and deliver all documents, provide all information and take or refrain from taking action as may be necessary or appropriate to achieve the purposes of this Agreement.
 
Section 16.3           Binding Effect. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors, legal representatives and permitted assigns.
 
Section 16.4           Integration. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement among the parties hereto pertaining to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings pertaining thereto.
 
Section 16.5           Creditors. None of the provisions of this Agreement shall be for the benefit of, or shall be enforceable by, any creditor of the Partnership.
 
Section 16.6           W aiver. No failure by any party to insist upon the strict performance of any covenant, duty, agreement or condition of this Agreement or to exercise any right or remedy consequent upon a breach thereof shall constitute waiver of any such breach of any other covenant, duty, agreement or condition.
 
Section 16.7           Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, all of which together shall constitute an agreement binding on all the parties hereto, notwithstanding that all such parties are not signatories to the original or the same counterpart. Each party shall become bound by this Agreement immediately upon affixing its signature hereto or, in the case of a Person acquiring a Limited Partner Interest, pursuant to Section 10.2(a), immediately upon the acquisition of such Limited Partner Interests without execution hereof.
 
Section 16.8           Applicable Law; Forum, Venue and Jurisdiction .
 
(a)           This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of The Republic of the Marshall Islands, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law.
 
(b)           Each of the Partners and each Person holding any beneficial interest in the Partnership (whether through a broker, dealer, bank, trust company or clearing corporation or an agent of any of the foregoing or otherwise):
 
(i)           irrevocably agrees that any claims, suits, actions or proceedings (A) arising out of or relating in any way to this Agreement (including any claims, suits or actions to interpret, apply or enforce
 

 
57

 

the provisions of this Agreement or the duties, obligations or liabilities among Partners or of Partners to the Partnership, or the rights or powers of, or restrictions on, the Partners or the Partnership), (B) brought in a derivative manner on behalf of the Partnership, (C) asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, or other employee of the Partnership or the General Partner, or owed by the General Partner, to the Partnership or the Partners, (D) asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Marshall Islands Act or (E) asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be exclusively brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, unless otherwise provided for in the Marshall Islands Act, in each case regardless of whether such claims, suits, actions or proceedings sound in contract, tort, fraud or otherwise, are based on common law, statutory, equitable, legal or other grounds, or are derivative or direct claims;
 
(ii)           irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, unless otherwise provided for in the Marshall Islands Act, in connection with any such claim, suit, action or proceeding;
 
(iii)           agrees not to, and waives any right to, assert in any such claim, suit, action or proceeding that (A) it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or of any other court to which proceedings in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware may be appealed, (B) such claim, suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum, or (C) the venue of such claim, suit, action or proceeding is improper;
 
(iv)           expressly waives any requirement for the posting of a bond by a party bringing such claim, suit, action or proceeding; and
 
(v)           consents to process being served in any such claim, suit, action or proceeding by mailing, certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy thereof to such party at the address in effect for notices hereunder, and agrees that such services shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof; provided, nothing in clause (v) hereof shall affect or limit any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.
 
Section 16.9           Invalidity of Provisions. If any provision or part of a provision of this Agreement is or becomes for any reason, invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions and part thereof contained herein shall not be affected thereby and this Agreement shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be reformed and construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision, or part of a provision, had never been contained herein, and such provision or part reformed so that it would be valid, legal and enforceable to the maximum extent possible.
 
Section 16.10         Consent of Partners. Each Partner hereby expressly consents and agrees that, whenever in this Agreement it is specified that an action may be taken upon the affirmative vote or consent of less than all of the Partners (including any amendment to this Agreement), such action may be so taken upon the concurrence of less than all of the Partners and each Partner shall be bound by the results of such action (including any amendment to this Agreement).
 
Section 16.11         Facsimile Signatures. The use of facsimile signatures affixed in the name and on behalf of the transfer agent and registrar of the Partnership on certificates representing Common Units is expressly permitted by this Agreement.
 
Section 16.12         Third-Party Beneficiaries. Each Partner agrees that any Indemnitee shall be entitled to assert rights and remedies hereunder as a third-party beneficiary hereto with respect to those provisions of  this Agreement affording a right, benefit or privilege to such Indemnitee.
 

 
58

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement of Limited Partnership as a Deed as of the date first written above.
 
   
GENERAL PARTNER
     
   
Dynagas GP LLC
     
     
   
By:
/s/ Michael Gregos
     
Name: Michael Gregos
     
Title: Authorized Signatory
     
   
ORGANIZATIONAL LIMITED PARTNER:
     
   
Dynagas Holding Ltd.
     
   
By:
 
     
Name:
     
Title:
     
     


 
 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement of Limited Partnership as a Deed as of the date first written above.
 
   
GENERAL PARTNER
     
   
Dynagas GP LLC
     
     
   
By:
 
     
Name:
     
Title:
     
   
ORGANIZATIONAL LIMITED PARTNER:
     
   
Dynagas Holding Ltd.
     
   
By:
/s/ Konstantinos Lampsias
     
Name: Konstantinos Lampsias
     
Title: Sole Director
     
     






Exhibit 4.4

OMNIBUS AGREEMENT

AMONG

Dynagas LNG Partners LP

Dynagas GP LLC

Dynagas Operating LP

Dynagas Operating GP LLC

AND

Dynagas Holding Ltd.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
Page
 
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS
1
     
 
Section 1.1
Definitions
1
       
ARTICLE II
FOUR-YEAR LNG CARRIER RESTRICTED BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
5
     
 
Section 2.1
Four-Year LNG Carrier Restricted Businesses
5
       
 
Section 2.2
Permitted Exceptions
5
       
ARTICLE III
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES PROCEDURES
6
     
 
Section 3.1
Procedures
6
       
 
Section 3.2
Scope of Prohibition
7
       
 
Section 3.3
Enforcement
7
       
ARTICLE IV
RIGHTS OF FIRST OFFER
8
     
 
Section 4.1
Rights of First Offer
8
       
 
Section 4.2
Procedures for Rights of First Offer
8
       
ARTICLE V
OPTIONAL VESSELS PURCHASE OPTIONS
9
     
 
Section 5.1
Options to Purchase the Optional Interests
9
       
 
Section 5.2
Procedures
9
       
ARTICLE VI
INDEMNIFICATION
10
     
 
Section 6.1
Dynagas Indemnification
10
       
 
Section 6.2
Limitation Regarding Indemnification
 11
       
 
Section 6.3
Indemnification Procedures
11
       
ARTICLE VII
MISCELLANEOUS
11
     
 
Section 7.1
Choice of Law; Arbitration
 11
       
 
Section 7.2
Notice
12
       
 
Section 7.3
Entire Agreement
12
       
 
Section 7.4
Termination
12
       
 
Section 7.5
Waiver; Effect of Waiver or Consent
12
       
 
Section 7.6
Amendment or Modification
12
       
 
Section 7.7
Assignment
13
       
 
Section 7.8
Counterparts
 13
       
 
Section 7.9
Severability
 13
       
 
Section 7.10
Further Assurances
13
       
 
Section 7.11
Withholding or Granting of Consent
 13
       
 
Section 7.12
Laws and Regulations
 13
       
 
Section 7.13
Negotiation of Rights of Dynagas, Members, Assignees and Third Parties
 13

 
i

 

OMNIBUS AGREEMENT
 
THIS OMNIBUS AGREEMENT is entered into on, and effective as of, the Closing Date (as defined herein), among Dynagas Holding Ltd., a corporation organized under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (" Dynagas Holding "), Dynagas LNG Partners LP, a limited partnership organized under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (the " Partnership "), Dynagas GP LLC, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and general partner of the Partnership including any permitted successors and assigns under the Partnership Agreement (as defined herein)) (the " General Partner "), Dynagas Operating LP, a limited partnership organized under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (" Operating LP "), Dynagas Operating GP LLC, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the general partner of Operating LP (" Operating GP ").
 
R E C I T A L S:
 
1.           The Parties desire by their execution of this Agreement to evidence their understanding, as more fully set forth in Articles II and III , with respect to (a) those business opportunities that the Dynagas Holding Entities (as defined herein) will not pursue during the term of this Agreement and (b) the procedures whereby such business opportunities are to be offered to the Partnership Group (as defined herein).
 
2.           The Parties desire by their execution of this Agreement to evidence their understanding, as more fully set forth in Article IV , with respect to the Partnership's right of first offer relating to Four-Year LNG Carrier (as defined herein) that Dynagas Holding owns or might own.
 
3.           The Parties desire by their execution of this Agreement to evidence their understanding, as more fully set forth in Article V , with respect to the rights of the Partnership to purchase the Optional Vessels from Dynagas Holding.
 
4.           The Parties desire by their execution of this Agreement to evidence their understanding, as more fully set forth in Section 5.2(b)(ii) , and Article VI , with respect to certain indemnification obligations of Dynagas Holding.
 
In consideration of the premises and the covenants, conditions, and agreements contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:
 
ARTICLE I
 
DEFINITIONS
 
Section 1.1     Definitions .
 
As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the respective meanings set forth below:
 
" AAA " has the meaning given such term in Section 7.1.
 
" Acquiring Party " has the meaning given such term in Section 3.1.
 
" Affiliate " means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries controls, is controlled by or is under common control with, the Person in question. As used herein, the term " control " means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through ownership of Voting Securities, by contract or otherwise.
 
" Agreement " means this Omnibus Agreement, as it may be amended, modified, or supplemented from time to time in accordance with Section 7.6 hereof.
 

 
1

 

" Board " means the Board of Directors of the Partnership.
 
" Break-up Costs " means the aggregate amount of any and all additional taxes, flag administration, financing, legal and other similar costs (except with respect to Section 2.2(b) where Break-up Costs shall be deemed to include only administrative costs associated with transfer and re-flagging, including related legal costs) to the Dynagas Holding Entities that would be required to transfer Four-Year LNG Carrier acquired by the Dynagas Holding Entities as part of a larger transaction to a Partnership Group Member pursuant to Section 2.2(b) or Section 2.2(d)(i) .
 
" Change of Control " means, with respect to any Person (the " Applicable Person "), any of the following events: (a) any sale, lease, exchange or other transfer (in one transaction or a series of related transactions) of all or substantially all of the Applicable Person's assets to any other Person (other than in the ordinary course of business), unless immediately following such sale, lease, exchange or other transfer such assets are owned, directly or indirectly, by the Applicable Person; (b) the consolidation or merger of the Applicable person with or into another person pursuant to a transaction in which the outstanding voting securities of the Applicable Person are changed into or exchanged for cash, securities or other property, other than any such transaction where (i) the outstanding voting securities of the Applicable Person are changed into or exchanged for Voting Securities of the surviving person or its parent and (ii) the holders of the voting securities of the Applicable Person immediately prior to such transaction own, directly or indirectly, not less than a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the surviving person or its parent immediately after such transaction; and (c) a "person" or "group" (within the meaning of Sections 13(d) or 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act), other than Dynagas Holding or its Affiliates with respect to the General Partner, being or becoming the "beneficial owner" (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Exchange Act) of more than 50% of all of the then outstanding voting securities of the Applicable Person, except in a merger or consolidation which would not constitute a Change of Control under clause (b) above.
 
" Closing Date " means the date of the closing of the initial public offering of common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership.
 
" Conflicts Committee " means the Conflicts Committee of the Board.
 
" Contribution Assets " has the meaning given such term in Section 6.1 .
 
" Covered Environmental Losses " means all Losses suffered or incurred by the Partnership Group by reason of, arising out of or resulting from:
 
(a)           any violation or correction of violation of Environmental Laws; or
 
(b)           any event or condition relating to environmental or human health and safety matters, in each case, associated with the ownership or operation by the Partnership Group or the Dynagas Holding Entities of the Contribution Assets (including, without limitation, the presence of Hazardous Substances on, under, about or migrating to or from the Contribution Assets or the disposal or release of, or exposure to, Hazardous Substances generated by or otherwise related to operation of the Contribution Assets), including, without limitation, the reasonable and documented cost and expense of (i) any investigation, assessment, evaluation, monitoring, containment, cleanup, repair, restoration, remediation or other corrective action required or necessary under Environmental Laws, (ii) the preparation and implementation of any closure, remedial, corrective action or other plans required or necessary under Environmental Laws and (iii) any environmental or toxic tort (including, without limitation, personal injury or property damage claims) pre-trial, trial or appellate legal or litigation support work; but only to the extent that such violation complained of under clause (a) , or such events or conditions included in clause (b) , occurred before the Closing Date; and, provided , that in no event shall Losses to the extent arising from a change in any Environmental Law after the Closing Date be deemed " Covered Environmental Losses ."
 
" Dynagas Holding " is defined in the introduction to this Agreement.
 
" Dynagas Holding Entities " means Dynagas Holding and any Person controlled, directly or indirectly, by Dynagas Holding, other than the Partnership Entities.
 

 
2

 

" Dynagas Potential Transferee " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(b).
 
" Dynagas Sale Assets " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(b).
 
" Dynagas Transfer Notice " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(b).
 
" Dynagas Transferring Party " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(b).
 
" Environmental Laws " means all international, federal, state, foreign and local laws, statutes, rules, regulations, treaties, conventions, orders, judgments and ordinances having the force and effect of law and relating to protection of natural resources, health and safety and the environment, each in effect and as amended through the Closing Date.
 
" Exchange Act " means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
 
" First Offer Negotiation Period " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(c) .
 
" Four-Year LNG Carrier " means any LNG carrier operated or to be operated under a charter with an initial term of four or more years, together with the related charter. For purposes of this definition, the length of the charter shall be calculated beginning on the delivery of vessel to charterer, or the date of execution of an extension related thereto and ending on the date the LNG carrier is redelivered, the commencement of the extension period of the existing charter or the commencement of a new charter.
 
" General Partner " is defined in the introduction to this Agreement.
 
" Hazardous Substances " means (a) each substance defined, designated or classified as a hazardous waste, hazardous substance, hazardous material, solid waste, contaminant or toxic substance under Environmental Laws; (b) petroleum and petroleum products, including crude oil and any fractions thereof; (c) natural gas, synthetic gas and any mixtures thereof; (d) any radioactive material; and (e) any asbestos-containing materials in a friable condition.
 
" Losses " means losses, damages, liabilities, claims, demands, causes of action, judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, court costs and reasonable attorneys' and experts' fees) of any and every kind or character; provided , however , that such term shall not include any special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages.
 
" Non-Four-Year LNG Carriers " means any LNG carrier that is not a Four-Year LNG Carrier.
 
" Offer " has the meaning given such term in Section 3.1 .
 
" Offer Period " has the meaning given such term in Section 3.1 .
 
" Offered Assets " has the meaning given such term in Section 3.1 .
 
" Offeree " has the meaning given such term in Section 3.1 .
 
" Operating GP " is defined in the introduction to this Agreement.
 
" Operating LP " is defined in the introduction to this Agreement.
 
" Option Assets " has the meaning given such term in Section 5.1 .
 
" Optional Interests" means all of Dynagas Holding's rights, title and interests in the Optional Vessels, including shares of capital stock or other equity interest of any Dynagas Holding Entity holding ownership interests
 

 
3

 

in the Optional Vessels and including any charters or other agreements relating to the operation or ownership of the Optional Vessels then in effect.
 
" Optional Vessels " means the following LNG carriers currently owned by Dynagas Holding: the Yenisei River, Lena River, Arctic Aurora, Clean Ocean, Clean Planet, Hull 2566 and Hull 2567.
 
" Parties " means the parties to this Agreement and their successors and permitted assigns.
 
" Partnership " is defined in the introduction to this Agreement.
 
" Partnership Agreement " means the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, dated as of   , 2013, as such agreement is in effect on the Closing Date, to which reference is hereby made for all purposes of this Agreement. No amendment or modification to the Partnership Agreement subsequent to the Closing Date shall be given effect for purposes of this Agreement unless consented to by each of the Parties to this Agreement.
 
" Partnership Entities " means the General Partner, the Partnership, Operating LP and Operating GP LLC, and any Person controlled by any such entity.
 
" Partnership Group " means the Partnership and Operating LP and any Person controlled by any such
 
entity.
 
" Partnership Group Member " means any Person in the Partnership Group.
 
" Partnership Potential Transferee " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(a).
 
" Partnership Sale Assets " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(a).
 
" Partnership Transfer Notice " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(a).
 
"Partnership Transferring Party " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(a).
 
" Person " means an individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, limited liability company, unincorporated organization or any other entity.
 
" Potential Transferee " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(b) .
 
" Sale Assets " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(b) .
 
" Transfer " means any transfer, assignment, sale or other disposition of any Four-Year LNG Carrier by any Dynagas Holding Entity; provided , however , that such term shall not include (i) transfers, assignments, sales or other dispositions from a Dynagas Holding Entity to another Dynagas Holding Entity, (ii) transfers, assignments, sales or other dispositions, pursuant to the terms of any related charter or other agreement with a charter counterparty, (iii) transfers, assignments, sales or other dispositions pursuant to Article II of this Agreement, or (iv) grants of security interests in or mortgages or liens on such Four-Year LNG Carrier in favor of a bona fide third party lender (but not the foreclosing of any such security interest, mortgage or lien).
 
" Transfer Notice " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(b) .
 
" Transferring Party " has the meaning given such term in Section 4.2(b) .
 
" Voting Securities " means securities of any class of Person entitling the holders thereof to vote in the election of members of the board of directors or other similar governing body of the Person.
 

 
4

 

ARTICLE II
 
FOUR-YEAR LNG CARRIER RESTRICTED BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
 
Section 2.1            Four-Year LNG Carrier Restricted Businesses.
 
Subject to Section 7.4 and except as permitted by Section 2.2 , each of the Dynagas Holding Entities shall be prohibited from acquiring, owning, operating or chartering Four-Year LNG Carriers.
 
Section 2.2            Permitted Exceptions.
 
Notwithstanding any provision of Section 2.1 to the contrary, the restrictions in this Agreement shall not prevent any Dynagas Holding Entity from:
 
(a)           acquiring, owning, operating or chartering Non- Four-Year LNG Carrier;
 
(b)           acquiring or owning one or more Four-Year LNG Carriers if such Dynagas Holding Entity offers to sell such Four-Year LNG Carrier to the Partnership for the acquisition price plus any Break-up Costs in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 3 . 1 (and the Partnership does not fulfill its obligation to purchase such Four-Year LNG Carrier in accordance with the terms of this Agreement);
 
(c)           operating or chartering a Non-Four-Year LNG Carrier under a charter with a term of four or more years if such Dynagas Holding Entity offers to sell such Non-Four-Year LNG Carrier to the Partnership for fair market value (x) promptly after the time it becomes a Four-Year LNG Carrier and (y) at each renewal or extension of that charter for four or more years, in each case in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 3.1;
 
(d)           acquiring and owning one or more Four-Year LNG Carriers as part of the acquisition of a interest in a business or package of assets that owns, operates or charters such Four-Year LNG Carriers; provided , however; if a majority of the value of the business or assets acquired is attributable to Four-Year LNG Carriers, as determined in good faith by Dynagas Holding's board of directors, the Dynagas Holding Entity must offer to sell such Four-Year Vessel(s) to the Partnership for their fair market value plus any Break-up Costs in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 3 . 1 (for the avoidance of doubt, nothing herein shall prohibit the acquisition and owning of one or more Four-Year LNG Carriers as part of the acquisition of a minority interest in a business or package of assets that owns, operates or charters Four-Year LNG Carriers);
 
(e)           acquiring a non-controlling interest in any company, business or pool of assets;
 
(f)           acquiring, owning, operating or chartering an Four-Year LNG Carrier if the Partnership does not fulfill its obligations to purchase such Four-Year LNG Carrier in accordance with the terms of this Agreement;
 
(g)           acquiring, owning, operating or chartering any Four-Year LNG Carrier that is subject to an offer to purchase by a Partnership Group Member as described in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) above, in each case pending the offer of such Four-Year LNG Carrier to the Partnership and the Partnership's determination pursuant to Section 3 . 1 whether to purchase the Four-Year LNG Carrier and, if the Partnership has determined to purchase or to cause any Partnership Group Member to purchase such Four-Year LNG Carrier, pending the closing of such purchase;
 
(h)           providing vessel management services relating to any LNG carrier;
 
(i)           acquiring and owning any Four-Year LNG Carrier as part of a financing arrangement, including by way of a sale leaseback transaction, which is accounted for as a financial lease under United States generally accepted accounting principals;
 

 
5

 

(j)           owning or operating any Four-Year LNG Carrier that Dynagas Holding owns and operates as of the Closing Date and that is not included in the fleet of vessels to be contributed to the Partnership Group on the Closing Date or the Optional Vessels; or
 
(k)           acquiring, owning, operating or chartering any Four-Year LNG Carrier if the Partnership has previously advised Dynagas Holding that it consents to such acquisition, operation or charter.
 
ARTICLE III
 
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES PROCEDURES
 
Section 3.1             Procedures .
 
In the event that a Dynagas Holding Entity acquires, operates or charters Four-Year LNG Carriers in accordance with Sections 2.2(b) , 2.2(c) or 2.2(d)(i) , then simultaneously or in any event not later than 30 calendar days after the consummation of the acquisition or the commencement of operations or charter, such Dynagas Holding Entity (the " Acquiring Party ") shall notify the Board and offer the Partnership (the " Offeree ") the opportunity for any Partnership Group Member to purchase such Four-Year LNG Carriers (the " Offered Assets "), for their fair market value (or, in the case of an acquisition in accordance with Section 2 . 2 ( b ) , the acquisition price) plus, in the case of an acquisition in accordance with Sections 2 . 2 ( b ) , or 2 . 2 ( d )( i ) , any applicable Break-up Costs, in each case on commercially reasonable terms in accordance with this Section 3 . 1 (the " Offer "). The Offer shall set forth the Acquiring Party's proposed terms relating to the purchase of the Offered Assets by the applicable Partnership Group Member, including any liabilities to be assumed by the applicable Partnership Group Member as part of the Offer. As soon as practicable after the Offer is made, the Acquiring Party will deliver to the Offeree all information prepared by or on behalf of or in the possession of such Acquiring Party relating to the Offered Assets and reasonably requested by the Offeree. As soon as practicable, but in any event, within 30 calendar days after receipt of the Offer, the Offeree shall notify the Acquiring Party in writing that either:
 
(a)           The Board has elected not to cause any Partnership Group Member to purchase such Offered Assets, in which event the Acquiring Party and its Affiliates shall, subject to the other terms of this Agreement (including Section 2.2(b) ), be forever free, subject to the provisions of this Agreement, to continue to own, operate and charter such Offered Assets; or
 
(b)           The Board has elected to cause any Partnership Group Member to purchase such Offered Assets, in which event the following procedures shall be followed:
 
(i)           After the receipt of the Offer by the Offeree, the Acquiring Party and the Offeree shall negotiate in good faith regarding the fair market value and any applicable Break-up Costs) of the Offered Assets that are subject to the Offer and the other terms of the Offer on which the Offered Assets will be sold to the applicable Partnership Group Member. If the Acquiring Party and the Offeree agree on the fair market value (and any applicable Break-up Costs) of the Offered Assets that are subject to the Offer and the other terms of the Offer during the 30-day period (the " Offer Period ") after receipt by the Acquiring Party of the Board's election to cause any Partnership Group Member to purchase the Offered Assets, the Board shall cause any Partnership Group Member to purchase the Offered Assets on such terms as soon as commercially practicable after such agreement has been reached.
 
(ii)           If the Acquiring Party and the Offeree are unable to agree on the fair market value (and any applicable Break-up Costs) of the Offered Assets that are subject to the Offer or on any other terms of the Offer during the Offer Period, the Acquiring Party and the Offeree will engage a mutually-agreed-upon investment banking firm, broker, expert advisor or other firm generally recognized in the shipping industry as qualified to perform the tasks for which such firm has been engaged prior to the end of the Offer Period to determine the fair market value of the Offered Assets and/or the other terms on which the Acquiring Party and the Offeree are unable to agree. In determining the fair market value of the Offered Assets and other terms on which the Offered Assets are to be sold, the investment banking firm, broker, expert advisor or other firm generally recognized in the shipping industry as qualified to perform the tasks for which such firm has been engaged, as applicable, will have access to the proposed sale and
 

 
6

 

purchase values and terms for the Offer submitted by the Acquiring Party and the Offeree, respectively, and to all information prepared by or on behalf of the Acquiring Party relating to the Offered Assets and reasonably requested by such investment banking firm, broker, expert advisor or other firm generally recognized in the shipping industry as qualified to perform the tasks for which such firm has been engaged. Such investment banking firm, broker, expert advisor or other or firm generally recognized in the shipping industry as qualified to perform the tasks for which such firm has been engaged will determine the fair market value (and any applicable Break-up Costs) of the Offered Assets and/or the other terms on which the Acquiring Party and the Offeree are unable to agree within 30 calendar days of its engagement and furnish the Acquiring Party and the Offeree its determination. The fees and expenses of the investment banking firm, broker, expert advisor or other firm generally recognized in the shipping industry as qualified to perform the tasks for which such firm has been engaged, as applicable, will be divided equally between the Acquiring Party and the Offeree. Upon receipt of such determination, the Offeree will have the option, but not the obligation:
 
(A)           to cause any Partnership Group Member to purchase the Offered Assets for the fair market value (and any applicable Break-up Costs), and on the other terms determined by the investment banking firm, broker, expert advisor or other firm generally recognized in the shipping industry as qualified to perform the tasks for which such firm has been engaged, as soon as commercially practicable after determinations have been made; or
 
(B)           not to cause any Partnership Group Member to purchase such Offered Assets, in which event the Acquiring Party and its Affiliates shall, subject to the other terms of this Agreement, be forever free to continue to own and operate such Offered Assets.
 
Section 3.2             Scope of Prohibition .
 
If any Dynagas Holding Entity or its Affiliates engages in the ownership or operation of Four-Year LNG Carriers pursuant to any of the exceptions described in Section 2.2 , the Dynagas Holding Entity and its Affiliates may not subsequently expand that portion of their business other than pursuant to the exceptions contained in such Section 2.2 . Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement or the Partnership Agreement, each Party and its Affiliates shall be free to engage in any business activity whatsoever, including those that may be in direct competition with the Dynagas Holding Entities or the Partnership Group Members.
 
Section 3.3             Enforcement .
 
Each Party agrees and acknowledges that the other Parties do not have an adequate remedy at law for the breach by any such Party of its covenants and agreements set forth in this Article III , and that any breach by any such Party of its covenants and agreements set forth in this Article III would result in irreparable injury to such other Parties. Each Party further agrees and acknowledges that any other Party may, in addition to the other remedies which may be available to such other Party, file a suit in equity to enjoin such Party from such breach, and consent to the issuance of injunctive relief to enforce the provisions of Article III of this Agreement.
 
ARTICLE IV
 
RIGHTS OF FIRST OFFER
 
Section 4.1             Rights of First Offer .
 
(a)           The Partnership Group hereby grants Dynagas Holding a right of first offer on any proposed Transfer by any Partnership Group Member of any Four-Year LNG Carriers or any Non-Four-Year LNG Carriers owned or acquired by any Partnership Group Member. The Dynagas Holding Entities hereby grant the Partnership a right of first offer on any proposed Transfer of any Four-Year LNG Carriers owned or acquired by any Dynagas Holding Entity.
 

 
7

 

(b)           The Parties acknowledge that all potential Transfers of Four-Year LNG Carriers or Non-Four-Year LNG Carriers pursuant to this Article IV are subject to obtaining any and all written consents of governmental authorities and other non-affiliated third parties and to the terms of all existing agreements in respect of such Four-Year LNG Carriers or Non-Four-Year LNG Carriers, as applicable.
 
Section 4.2             Procedures for Rights of First Offer .
 
(a)           In the event that a Partnership Group Member (a " Partnership Transferring Party ")   proposes to Transfer any LNG carrier (the " Partnership Sale Assets "), prior to engaging in any negotiation for such Transfer with any non-affiliated third party or otherwise offering to Transfer the Partnership Sale Assets to any non­affiliated third party, such Partnership Transferring Party shall give Dynagas Holding (a " Partnership Potential Transferee "), written notice setting forth all material terms and conditions (including, without limitation, the purchase price or the terms of the charter agreement and a description of the Partnership Sale Assets on which such Partnership Transferring Party desires to Transfer the Partnership Sale Assets) (a " Partnership Transfer Notice ").
 
(b)           In the event that a Dynagas Holding Entity (a " Dynagas Transferring Party " and, together with a Partnership Transferring Party, a " Transferring Party ") proposes to Transfer any LNG carrier (the " Dynagas Sale Assets " and, together with the Partnership Sale Assets, the " Sale Assets "), prior to engaging in any negotiation for such Transfer with any non-affiliated third party or otherwise offering to Transfer the Dynagas Sale Assets to any non-affiliated third party, such Dynagas Transferring Party shall give the Partnership (a " Dynagas  Potential Transferee " and, together with a Partnership Potential Transferee, a " Potential Transferee "), written notice setting forth all material terms and conditions (including, without limitation, the purchase price or the terms of the charter and a description of the Dynagas Sale Asset(s) on which such Dynagas Transferring Party desires to Transfer the Dynagas Sale Assets) (a " Dynagas Transfer Notice " and, together with a Partnership Transfer Notice, each a " Transfer Notice ").
 
(c)           After delivery of a Transfer Notice, the Transferring Party then shall be obligated to negotiate in good faith for a 30-day period following the delivery by the Transferring Party of the Transfer Notice (the " First Offer Negotiation Period ") to reach an agreement for the Transfer of such Sale Assets to the Potential Transferee or any of its Affiliates on the terms and conditions set forth in the Transfer Notice. If no such agreement with respect to the Sale Assets is reached during the First Offer Negotiation Period, and the Transferring Party has not Transferred, or agreed in writing to Transfer, such Sale Assets to a third party within 180 calendar days after the end of the First Offer Negotiation Period on terms generally no less favorable to the Transferring Party than those included in the Transfer Notice, then the Transferring Party shall not thereafter Transfer any of the Sale Assets without first offering such assets to the applicable Potential Transferee in the manner provided above.
 
ARTICLE V
 
PURCHASE OPTIONS - OPTIONAL VESSELS
 
Section 5.1             Options to Purchase the Optional Interests .
 
(a)           Dynagas Holding hereby grants to the Partnership Group the unconditional right and option to purchase for a respective purchase price to be agreed upon by Dynagas Holding and the Partnership Group, at any time within 24 months following the delivery of an Optional Vessel from the shipyard, all of the Optional Interests in such Optional Vessel (each, an " Option Asset " and, together, the " Option Assets ").
 
(b)           The Parties acknowledge that the potential transfer of the Option Assets pursuant to this Article V is subject to obtaining any and all written consents of governmental authorities and other third parties and to the terms of all agreements existing as of the date hereof in respect of the Option Assets including, without limitation, any rights of first refusal of the parties to such agreements to purchase the Option Assets. Dynagas Holding hereby covenants and agrees to use its reasonable efforts to obtain any such consents required to be obtained by it in connection with the transfer of the Option Assets pursuant to this Article V .
 
Section 5.2             Procedures .
 

 
8

 

(a)           If a Partnership Group Member decides to exercise the option to purchase the Option Assets, it will provide written notice to Dynagas Holding of such exercise, the purchase price it proposes to pay for the applicable Option Asset, and the other material terms of the purchase. The decision to purchase the applicable Option Asset, the purchase price to be paid for the applicable Option Asset, and the other terms of the purchase shall be approved by the Conflicts Committee. If the Partnership Group Member and Dynagas Holding are unable to agree on the purchase price of the applicable Option Asset and/or the other material terms, Dynagas Holding and the Conflicts Committee shall engage a mutually-agreed-upon independent appraiser, such as an investment banking firm, broker, expert advisor or other firm generally recognized in the shipping industry as qualified to perform the tasks for which such firm has been engaged, to determine the fair market value of the applicable Option Asset and/or any other material terms on which the Partnership Group Member and Dynagas Holding are unable to agree. In determining the fair market value of the applicable Option Asset and/or the other material terms on which the applicable Option Asset will be sold, such independent appraiser will have access to the proposed sale and purchase values and terms for the offer submitted by the Partnership Group Member and Dynagas Holding, respectively, and to all information prepared by or on behalf of the Partnership Group Member and Dynagas Holding with respect to the Option Assets and reasonably requested by such independent appraiser. Such independent appraiser will determine the fair market value of the applicable Option Asset and/or the other terms on which the Partnership Group Member and Dynagas Holding are unable to agree within 30 calendar days of its engagement and furnish the Partnership Group Member and Dynagas Holding its determination in writing. The fees and expenses of such independent appraiser will be divided equally between the Partnership Group Member and Dynagas Holding. Upon receipt of such determination, the Partnership Group Member will have the option, but not the obligation, to purchase the applicable Option Asset for the fair market value and on the other terms determined by the independent appraiser as soon as commercially practicable after determinations have been made.
 
(b)           If a Partnership Group Member chooses to exercise its option to purchase the applicable Option Asset under Section 5.2(a), the applicable parties shall enter into a purchase and sale agreement for the purchase and sale of the applicable Option Asset pursuant to which Dynagas Holding shall be obligated to sell the applicable Option Asset to the Partnership Group Member and the Partnership Group Member shall be obligated to purchase such Option Asset from Dynagas Holding on the terms either agreed upon or determined in accordance with Section 5.2(a). The terms of the purchase and sale agreement will include the following:
 
(i)           the Partnership Group Member will deliver a cash purchase price (unless the Partnership Group Member and Dynagas Holding agree that the consideration will be paid by means of equity of the Partnership, an interest-bearing promissory note or other form of consideration);
 
(ii)           the Partnership Group will be entitled to the benefit of the indemnification contained in Article VI of this Agreement for the remaining term of such indemnification with respect to events or conditions associated with the operation of the Optional Vessels and occurring before the date of acquisition of the applicable Option Asset by the Partnership Group Member;
 
(iii)           Dynagas Holding will provide customary representations and warranties with respect to title to the applicable Option Asset and any other such matters as the Partnership Group Member may approve, which approval will not be unreasonably withheld;
 
(iv)           Dynagas Holding will grant to the Partnership Group Member the right, exercisable at the Partnership Group Member's risk and expense, to make such surveys, tests and inspections of the Optional Vessels as the Partnership Group Member may deem desirable, so long as such surveys, tests or inspections do not damage the Optional Vessels or interfere with the activities of the Dynagas Holding Entities thereon and so long as the Partnership Group Member has furnished Dynagas Holding with evidence that adequate liability insurance is in full force and effect;
 
(v)           the Partnership Group Member will have the right to terminate its obligation to purchase the Option Assets under this Article V and the related purchase and sale agreement if the results of any searches, surveys, tests or inspections conducted pursuant to paragraph (iv) above are, in the reasonable opinion of the Partnership Group Member, unsatisfactory; and
 

 
9

 

(vi)           neither Dynagas Holding nor the applicable Partnership Group Member shall have any obligation to sell or buy the applicable Option Asset if any of the consents referred to in Section 5.1(b) above have not been obtained.
 
(c)           If a Partnership Group Member chooses or is deemed to have chosen not to exercise its option to purchase the applicable Option Asset at the price determined by the investment banking firm, broker, expert advisor or other firm generally recognized in the shipping industry as qualified to perform the tasks for which such firm has been engaged under Section 5.2(a) , all future rights to purchase such Option Asset by the Partnership Group will be extinguished.
 
ARTICLE VI
 

 
INDEMNIFICATION
 
Section 6.1             Dynagas Holding Indemnification .
 
Subject to the provisions of Section 6.2 and Section 6.3, Dynagas Holding shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Partnership Group from and against: (a) any Covered Environmental Losses relating to the assets contributed by the Dynagas Holding Entities to the Partnership Group prior to or on the Closing Date (the " Contribution Assets ") to the extent that Dynagas Holding is notified by the Partnership of any such Covered Environmental Losses within five (5) years after the Closing Date; (b) Losses to the Partnership Group arising from (i) the failure of the Partnership Group, immediately after the Closing Date, to be the owner of such valid leasehold interests or fee ownership interests in and to the Contribution Assets as are necessary to enable the Partnership Entities to own and operate the Contribution Assets in substantially the same manner that the Contribution Assets were owned and operated by the Dynagas Holding Entities immediately prior to the respective dates on which each such Contribution Asset was acquired by the Partnership Entities or (ii) the failure of the Partnership Entities to have by the Closing Date any consent or governmental permit necessary to allow the Partnership Entities to own or operate the Contribution Assets in substantially the same manner that the Contribution Assets were owned and operated by the Dynagas Holding Entities immediately prior to the respective dates on which each such Contribution Asset was acquired by the Partnership Entities, in each of clauses (b)(i) and (b)(ii) above, to the extent that Dynagas Holding is notified by the Partnership of such Losses within three (3) years after the Closing Date; and (c) all federal, state, foreign and local income tax liabilities attributable to the operation of the Contribution Assets prior to the Closing Date, including any such income tax liabilities of the Dynagas Holding Entities that may result from the consummation of the formation transactions for the Partnership Group and the Partnership, but excluding any federal, state, foreign and local income taxes reserved on the books of the Partnership Group on the Closing Date.
 
Section 6.2             Limitation Regarding Indemnification .
 
The aggregate liability of Dynagas Holding under Section 6.1(a) above shall not exceed $5,000,000. Furthermore, no claim may be made against Dynagas Holding for indemnification pursuant to Section 6.1(a), unless the aggregate dollar amount of all claims for indemnification pursuant to such section shall exceed $500,000, in which case Dynagas Holding shall be liable for claims for indemnification only to the extent such aggregate amount exceeds $500,000.
 
Section 6.3             Indemnification Procedures .
 
(a)           The Partnership Group Members agree that within a reasonable period of time after they become aware of facts giving rise to a claim for indemnification pursuant to Section 6.1 , they will provide notice thereof in writing to Dynagas Holding specifying the nature of and specific basis for such claim.
 
(b)           Dynagas Holding shall have the right to control all aspects of the defense of (and any counterclaims with respect to) any claims brought against the Partnership Group that are covered by the indemnification set forth in Section 6.1 , including, without limitation, the selection of counsel, determination of whether to appeal any decision of any court and the settling of any such matter or any issues relating thereto; provided , however , that no such settlement shall be entered into without the consent (which consent shall not be
 

 
10

 

unreasonably withheld) of the Partnership Group unless it includes a full release of the Partnership Group from such matter or issues, as the case may be.
 
(c)           The Partnership Group Members agree to cooperate fully with Dynagas Holding with respect to all aspects of the defense of any claims covered by the indemnification set forth in Section 6 . 1 , including, without limitation, the prompt furnishing to Dynagas Holding of any correspondence or other notice relating thereto that the Partnership Group may receive, permitting the names of the members of the Partnership Group to be utilized in connection with such defense, the making available to Dynagas Holding of any files, records or other information of the Partnership Group that Dynagas Holding considers relevant to such defense and the making available to Dynagas Holding of any employees of the Partnership Group; provided , however , that in connection therewith Dynagas Holding agrees to use reasonable efforts to minimize the impact thereof on the operations of the Partnership Group and further agrees to maintain the confidentiality of all files, records and other information furnished by a Partnership Group Member pursuant to this Section 6.3 . In no event shall the obligation of the Partnership Group to cooperate with Dynagas Holding as set forth in the immediately preceding sentence be construed as imposing upon the Partnership Group an obligation to hire and pay for counsel in connection with the defense of any claims covered by the indemnification set forth in this Article VI ; provided , however , that the Partnership Group Members may, at their own option, cost and expense, hire and pay for counsel in connection with any such defense. Dynagas Holding agrees to keep any such counsel hired by the Partnership Group reasonably informed as to the status of any such defense (including providing such counsel with such information related to any such defense as such counsel may reasonably request) but Dynagas Holding shall have the right to retain sole control over such defense.
 
In determining the amount of any Loss for which any of the members of the Partnership Group is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement, the gross amount of the indemnification will be reduced by (a) any insurance proceeds realized by the Partnership Group, and such correlative insurance benefit shall be net of any incremental insurance premium that becomes due and payable by the Partnership Group as a result of such claim, and (b) all amounts recovered by the Partnership Group under contractual indemnities from third Persons. The Partnership Group hereby agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to realize any applicable insurance proceeds or amounts recoverable under such contractual indemnities; provided , however , that the costs and expenses (including, without limitation, court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees) of the Partnership Group in connection with such efforts shall be promptly reimbursed by Dynagas Holding in advance of any determination of whether such insurance proceeds or other amounts will be recoverable.
 
ARTICLE VII
 
MISCELLANEOUS
 
Section 7.1             Choice of Law; Arbitration .
 
This Agreement shall be subject to and governed by the laws of the State of New York. Any dispute or controversy arising under or in connection with this Agreement shall be settled exclusively by final and binding arbitration in New York, New York, before a single arbitrator, in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"). The arbitrator shall be selected by mutual agreement of the parties, if possible. If the parties fail to reach agreement upon appointment of an arbitrator within 30 days following receipt by one party of the other party's notice of desire to arbitrate, the arbitrator shall be selected from a panel or panels of persons submitted by AAA. Judgment upon any award rendered pursuant to such arbitration may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction or application may be made to any such court for enforcement of any such award and the entry of whatever orders are necessary for the enforcement thereof.
 
Section 7.2             Notice .
 
All notices, requests or consents provided for or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement must be in writing and must be given by depositing the same in the mail, addressed to the Person to be notified, postpaid, and registered or certified with return receipt requested or by delivering such notice in person or by private-courier, prepaid, or by telecopier to such party. Notice given by personal delivery or mail shall be effective upon actual receipt. Couriered notices shall be deemed delivered on the date the courier represents that delivery will occur.
 

 
11

 

Notice given by telecopier shall be effective upon actual receipt if received during the recipient's normal business hours, or at the beginning of the recipient's next business day after receipt if not received during the recipient's normal business hours. All notices to be sent to a party pursuant to this Agreement shall be sent to or made at the address set forth below such party's signature to this Agreement, or at such other address as such party may stipulate to the other parties in the manner provided in this Section 7.2 .
 
Section 7.3             Entire Agreement .
 
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties relating to the matters contained herein, superseding all prior contracts or agreements, whether oral or written, relating to the matters contained herein.
 
Section 7.4             Termination .
 
Upon a Change of Control of the General Partner or of the Partnership, the provisions of Articles II, III and IV, of this Agreement (but not less than all of such Articles) shall terminate immediately. Upon a Change of Control of Dynagas Holding, the provisions of Articles II, III and IV of this Agreement applicable to Dynagas Holding (but not less than all of such Articles) shall terminate at the time that is the later of (a) the date on which all of the Partnership's outstanding subordinated units have converted to common units of the Partnership and (b) the date of the Change of Control of Dynagas Holding. In addition, on the date on which a majority of the Partnership's directors ceases to consist of directors that were (1) appointed by the General Partner prior to the Partnership's first annual meeting of unitholders and (2) recommended for election by a majority of the Partnership's appointed directors, the provisions of Articles II, III and IV applicable to Dynagas Holding shall terminate immediately.
 
Section 7.5             Waiver; Effect of Waiver or Consent .
 
Any party hereto may (a) extend the time for the performance of any obligation or other act of any other party hereto or (b) waive compliance with any agreement or condition contained herein. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, any such extension or waiver shall be valid only if set forth in a written instrument duly executed by the party or parties to be bound thereby; provided , however , that the Partnership may not, without the prior approval of the Conflicts Committee, agree to any extension or waiver of this Agreement that, in the reasonable discretion of the Board, will adversely affect the holders of common units of the Partnership. No waiver or consent, express or implied, by any party of or to any breach or default by any Person in the performance by such Person of its obligations hereunder shall be deemed or construed to be a waiver or consent of or to any other breach or default in the performance by such Person of the same or any other obligations of such Person hereunder. Failure on the part of a party to complain of any act of any Person or to declare any Person in default, irrespective of how long such failure continues, shall not constitute a waiver by such party of its rights hereunder until the applicable statute of limitations period has run.
 
Section 7.6             Amendment or Modification .
 
This Agreement may be amended or modified from time to time only by the written agreement of all the parties hereto; provided, however, that the Partnership may not, without the prior approval of the Conflicts Committee, agree to any amendment or modification of this Agreement that, in the reasonable discretion of the Board, will adversely affect the holders of common units of the Partnership.
 
Section 7.7             Assignment .
 
No party shall have the right to assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the consent of the other parties hereto.
 
Section 7.8             Counterparts .
 
This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts with the same effect as if all signatory parties had signed the same document. All counterparts shall be construed together and shall constitute one and the same instrument.
 

 
12

 

Section 7.9             Severability .
 
If any provision of this Agreement or the application thereof to any Person or circumstance shall be held invalid or unenforceable to any extent, the remainder of this Agreement and the application of such provision to other Persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby and shall be enforced to the greatest extent permitted by law.
 
Section 7.10           Gender, Parts , Articles and Sections .
 
Whenever the context requires, the gender of all words used in this Agreement shall include the masculine, feminine and neuter, and the number of all words shall include the singular and plural. All references to Article numbers and Section numbers refer to Articles and Sections of this Agreement.
 
Section 7.10           Further Assurances .
 
In connection with this Agreement and all transactions contemplated by this Agreement, each signatory party hereto agrees to execute and deliver such additional documents and instruments and to perform such additional acts as may be necessary or appropriate to effectuate, carry out and perform all of the terms, provisions and conditions of this Agreement and all such transactions.
 
Section 7.11           Withholding or Granting of Consent .
 
Each party may, with respect to any consent or approval that it is entitled to grant pursuant to this Agreement, grant or withhold such consent or approval in its sole and uncontrolled discretion, with or without cause, and subject to such conditions as it shall deem appropriate.
 
Section 7.12           Laws and Regulations .
 
Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, no party to this Agreement shall be required to take any act, or fail to take any act, under this Agreement if the effect thereof would be to cause such party to be in violation of any applicable law, statute, rule or regulation.
 
Section 7.13           Negotiation of Rights of Dynagas Holding , Members , Assignees and Third Parties .
 
The provisions of this Agreement are enforceable solely by the parties to this Agreement, and no shareholder of Dynagas Holding and no member, assignee or other Person of the Partnership shall have the right, separate and apart from Dynagas Holding or the Partnership, as applicable, to enforce any provision of this Agreement or to compel any party to this Agreement to comply with the terms of this Agreement.
 

 
13

 


   
DYNAGAS HOLDING LTD.
     
   
By:
/s/ Konstantinos Lampsias
     
Name: Konstantinos Lampsias
     
Title: Sole Director
     
     
   
Address for Notice:
     
       
       
     
Telephone: (   )    -
     
Fax: : (   )    -
     
Attention: _____________________
       
       
   
DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
     
   
By:
 
     
Name:
     
Title:
     
     
   
Address for Notice:
     
       
       
     
Telephone: (   )    -
     
Fax: : (   )    -
     
Attention: _____________________
       
       
   
DYNAGAS GP LLC
     
   
By:
 
     
Name:
     
Title:
     
     
   
Address for Notice:
     
       
       
     
Telephone: (   )    -
     
Fax: : (   )    -
     
Attention: _____________________
       


(Signature Pages to Ombibus Agreement)


 
 

 


   
DYNAGAS HOLDING LTD.
     
   
By:
 
     
Name:
     
Title:
     
     
   
Address for Notice:
     
       
       
     
Telephone: (   )    -
     
Fax: : (   )    -
     
Attention: _____________________
       
       
   
DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
     
   
By:
/s/ Michael Gregos
     
Name: Michael Gregos
     
Title: CFO
     
     
   
Address for Notice:
     
       
       
     
Telephone: (   )    -
     
Fax: : (   )    -
     
Attention: _____________________
       
       
   
DYNAGAS GP LLC
     
   
By:
/s/ Michael Gregos
     
Name: Michael Gregos
     
Title:  Authorized Signatory
     
     
   
Address for Notice:
     
       
       
     
Telephone: (   )    -
     
Fax: : (   )    -
     
Attention: _____________________
       


(Signature Pages to Ombibus Agreement)


 
 

 


   
DYNAGAS OPERATING LP
     
   
By:
/s/ Michael Gregos
     
Name: Michael Gregos
     
Title: Authorized Signatory
     
     
   
Address for Notice:
     
       
       
     
Telephone: (   )    -
     
Fax: : (   )    -
     
Attention: _____________________
       
       
   
DYNAGAS OPERATING GP LLC
     
   
By:
/s/ Michael Gregos
     
Name: Michael Gregos
     
Title:  Authorized Signatory
     
     
   
Address for Notice:
     
       
       
     
Telephone: (   )    -
     
Fax: : (   )    -
     
Attention: _____________________
       


(Signature Pages to Ombibus Agreement)














Exhibit 4.6

THIS NOTE HAS NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS.
 
THIS NOTE IS ALSO SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER AND OTHER PROVISIONS AS SET FORTH HEREIN.
 
 
$30,000,000
November 18, 2013
 
New York, New York

 
PROMISSORY NOTE
 
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, and on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, the undersigned, DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP, a limited partnership organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (the " Borrower "), hereby promises to pay DYNAGAS HOLDING LTD. , a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (the " Lender "), on the Termination Date (as defined hereinafter) the principal sum of Thirty Million Dollars ($30,000,000) (the " Loan ") or, if less, the aggregate unpaid principal amount of the Loan from time to time outstanding made available by the Lender to the Borrower pursuant to this promissory note (this " Note ").
 
Section 1.                        Certain Terms Defined.   The following terms for all purposes of this Note shall have the respective meanings specified below.
 
" Advance " shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.
 
"Applicable Law" shall mean any Law of any Authority, including, without limitation, all national, Federal, state and local banking or securities laws, to which the person in question is subject or by which it or any of its material property is bound.
 
"Authority" shall mean any governmental or quasi-governmental authority, whether executive, legislative, judicial, administrative or other, or any combination thereof, including, without limitation, any national, Federal, state, local, territorial, county, municipal or other government or governmental or quasi-governmental agency, arbitrator, board, body, branch, bureau, commission, corporation, court, department, instrumentality, master, mediator, panel, referee, system or other political unit or subdivision or other entity of any of the foregoing, whether domestic or foreign.
 
" Availability Period " shall mean the period commencing the Closing Date and ending on the Termination Date.
 
" Borrower " shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble.
 
" Business Day " means any day except a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in New York, New York are authorized by law to close.
 
" Closing Date "   means the date of this Note.
 
" Dollars " or " $ " means the legal currency of the United States of America.
 
" Drawdown Notice " shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.
 
" Indemnified Party " shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17.
 
"Law" shall mean any law, rule, regulation or official code, consent decree, constitution, decree, directive, enactment, guideline, injunction, interpretation, judgment, order, ordinance, policy statement, proclamation, promulgation, requirement, rule of law, rule of public policy, settlement agreement, statute, or writ.
 
" Lender " shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble.
 
" Loan " shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble.
 
" Person " means and includes any natural person, individual, partnership, joint venture, corporation, trust, limited liability company, limited company, joint stock company, unincorporated organization, government entity or any political subdivision or agency thereof, or any other entity.
 
"Prepayment Date" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.
 
 
 
 

 
 
" Termination Date " means the earliest of (i) the date on which the Loan becomes due and payable (either automatically or through notice and declaration by the Lender) after the occurrence of an Event of Default pursuant to Section 11 hereof, (ii) the date which is sixty (60) months from the Closing Date (or if such day is not a Business Day, then the next succeeding Business Day) or such later date as the Lender may agree with the Borrower, and (iii) the date on which the Loan is fully cancelled or terminated by mutual agreement of the Borrower and Lender.
 
Section 2.                        Conditions to Lending.
 
The obligation of the Lender to make the Loan or any Advance thereunder available to the Borrower under this Note shall be expressly subject to the following conditions precedent:
 
(a)            The Note .  The Borrower shall have duly executed and delivered this Note to the Lender.
 
(b)            Drawdown Notice . The Lender shall have received a Drawdown Notice in accordance with the terms of Section 3.
 
(c)            No Event of Default .  No Event of Default shall have occurred which remains outstanding and uncured.
 
Section 3.                        The Loan.
 
(a)            Availability .  During the Availability Period, the Lender shall make the Loan available to the Borrower in one or more advances (each, an " Advance "), for the purpose of funding the working capital needs of the Borrower.  Each Advance shall be in a minimum amount of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000).
 
(b)            Drawdown Notice .  The Borrower shall during the Availability Period, in respect of any Advance, provide the Lender with written notice (the " Drawdown Notice "), at least three (3) Business Days prior to the date of the proposed drawdown of such Advance.  The Drawdown Notice shall specify (a) the date of the proposed borrowing (which shall be a Business Day) and (b) the disbursement instructions for the proceeds of the Advance.  The Drawdown Notice shall be effective upon receipt by the Lender and shall be irrevocable.
 
(c)            Evidence of Drawdown .  The Lender shall endorse the amount and the date of the making of any Advance and any prepayment or payment of principal hereunder on the grid annexed hereto and made a part hereof, which endorsement shall constitute prima facie evidence of the accuracy of the information so endorsed; provided , however , that any failure to endorse such information on such grid shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the Borrower to make payment of principal and interest in accordance with the terms of this Note.
 
(d)            Loan Maturity .  The Loan shall mature, and the principal amount thereof shall become immediately due and payable (together with default interest accrued thereon, if any), on the Termination Date.  If this Note or any payment required to be made hereunder becomes due and payable on a day which is not a Business Day, the due date thereof shall be extended until the next following Business Day and interest shall be payable during such extension at the rate applicable immediately prior thereto.
 
Section 4.                        Principal and Interest.
 
(a)            Termination Date Payment .  The outstanding principal balance of the Loan and any outstanding fees, expenses or charges, shall be payable on the Termination Date.
 
(b)            Default Interest .  The Borrower shall pay interest at a rate equal to two percent (2%) per annum from (and including) the relevant date until the date of actual payment (as well after as before judgment) on any amount payable by the Borrower under this Note which the Lender does not receive on or before the Termination Date or, if payable on demand, the date on which demand is served or, if immediately due and payable under this Note, the date on which it became immediately due and payable.
 
(c)            Usury Modification .  It is the intent of the parties that the rate of interest and other charges to the Borrower under this Note shall be lawful; therefore, if for any reason the interest or other charges payable under this Note are found by a court of competent jurisdiction, in a final determination, to exceed the limit which the Lender may lawfully charge the Borrower, then the obligation to pay interest and other charges shall automatically be reduced to such limit and, if any amount in excess of such limit shall have been paid, then such amount shall be refunded to the Borrower.
 
Section 5.                        Optional Prepayments.
 
The Borrower may prepay the Loan in whole or in part on any Business Day without penalty by paying the portion of the Loan to be prepaid together with interest accrued thereon to the date of prepayment (the " Prepayment Date ").
 
 
 
 

 
 
Section 6.                        General Provisions as to Payments.
 
  All payments of principal of and interest on the Loan by the Borrower hereunder shall be made not later than 12:00 Noon (New York City time) on the date when due by cashier's check or by wire transfer of immediately available funds to the Lender's account or accounts at a bank or banks in the United States specified by the Lender in writing to the Borrower without reduction by reason of any set-off or counterclaim.
 
Section 7.                        Taxation.
 
All payments in respect of or relating to this Note by the Borrower shall be made without withholding or deduction for, or on account of, any present or future taxes, duties, assessments or governmental charges of whatever nature imposed or levied by or on behalf of any tax jurisdiction unless the withholding or deduction is required by law.  If withholding or deduction is required by law, the Borrower shall pay such additional amounts as are necessary in order that the net amounts received by the Lender after the withholding or deduction shall equal the respective amounts which would have been receivable in respect of or relating to this Note in the absence of the withholding or deduction.
 
Section 8.                        Representations and Warranties.
 
The Borrower represents and warrants to the Lender that:
 
(a)           this Note and the related documents have been duly executed by the Borrower and constitute legal, valid and binding obligations enforceable against the Borrower;
 
(b)           this Note and the related documents do not violate any law, court order or agreement by which the Borrower is bound; and
 
(c)           the Borrower's performance under this Note is not threatened by any pending or threatened litigation.
 
All representations, covenants and warranties made herein and in any certificate or other document delivered pursuant hereto or in connection herewith shall survive the execution of this Note.
 
Section 9.                        Covenants of the Borrower.
 
The Borrower agrees that so long as any amounts have been drawn down under this Note and until all of the Borrower's obligations hereunder have been paid and performed in full, the Borrower shall:
 
(a)           maintain its existence and authority to conduct its business as presently contemplated to be conducted;
 
(b)           materially comply with all Applicable Laws; and
 
(c)           pay all applicable taxes as they become due.
 
Section 10.                      Negative Covenants.
 
The Borrower agrees that so long as any amounts have been drawn down under this Note and until all of the Borrower's obligations hereunder have been paid and performed in full, the Borrower shall not, without the prior written approval of the Lender:

(a)           merge or consolidate with any other person or entity, or liquidate or dissolve or instruct or grant resolutions to any liquidator of the Borrower: or
 
(b)           change its structure or organizational documents or form any subsidiaries or other affiliated entities except as may be required by any Applicable Law; or
 
(c)           enter into any agreement in which the terms of such agreement would restrict or impair the ability of the Borrower to perform its obligations under this Note; or
 
(d)           enter into any agreement to do any of the foregoing; or
 
(e)           take any other voluntary action without the prior written consent of the Lender to avoid or seek to avoid the observance or performance of any of the terms of the Note, but will at all times in good faith assist in carrying out all those terms and in taking all action necessary or appropriate to protect the Lender against impairment.
 
 
 
 

 
 
Section 11.                      Events of Default.
 
Each of the following events shall constitute an " Event of Default" :
 
(a)           any principal of or interest on the Loan shall not be paid when due;
 
(b)           the Borrower breaches any representation or warranty hereunder;
 
(c)           the Borrower defaults in the due and punctual observance or performance of any covenant, condition or agreement contained in this Note and such default is not cured (to the extent curable in the discretion of the Lender) within fifteen (15) days after notice from the Lender;
 
(d)           a court shall enter a decree or order for relief in respect of the Borrower in an involuntary case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law now or hereafter in effect, or appointing a receiver, liquidator, assignee, custodian, trustee, sequestrator (or similar official) of the Borrower or for any substantial part of the property of the Borrower or ordering the winding up or liquidation of the affairs of the Borrower, and such decree or order shall remain unstayed and in effect for a period of sixty (60) consecutive days; or
 
(e)           the Borrower shall commence a voluntary case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law now or hereafter in effect, or consent to the entry of an order for relief in an involuntary case under any such law, or consent to the appointment or taking possession by a receiver, liquidator, assignee, custodian, trustee, sequestrator (or similar official) of the Borrower or for any substantial part of the property of the Borrower, or the Borrower shall make any general assignment for the benefit of creditors; or
 
(f)           Dynagas GP LLC ceases to be the General Partner of the Borrower.
 
If an Event of Default described in (d), (e) or (f) above shall occur, the unpaid principal and accrued interest on the Loan shall become immediately due and payable without any declaration or other act on the part of the Lender.  Immediately upon the occurrence of any Event of Default described in (d), (e) or (f) above, or upon failure to pay this Note in full on the Termination Date, the Lender, without any notice to the Borrower, which notice is expressly waived by the Borrower, may proceed to protect, enforce, exercise and pursue any and all rights and remedies available to the Lender under this Note and any other agreement or instrument, and any and all rights and remedies available to the Lender at law or in equity.
 
If any Event of Default described in clauses (a) through (c) shall occur for any reason, whether voluntary or involuntary, and be continuing, the Lender may by notice to the Borrower declare all or any portion of the unpaid principal amount of the Loan to be due and payable, whereupon the full unpaid amount of the Loan which shall be so declared due and payable shall be and become immediately due and payable, without further notice, demand or presentment.
 
Section 12.                      Further Assurances.
 
The Borrower hereby agrees that, from time to time upon the written request of the Lender, it will execute and deliver such further documents and do such other acts and things as the Lender may reasonably request in order fully to effect the purposes of this Note and to protect and preserve the priority and validity of the security interests granted hereunder.
 
Section 13.                      Powers and Remedies Cumulative; Delay or Omission Not Waiver of Event of Default.
 
No right or remedy herein conferred upon or reserved to the Lender is intended to be exclusive of any other right or remedy, and every right and remedy shall, to the extent permitted by law, be cumulative and in addition to every other right and remedy given hereunder or now or hereafter existing at law or in equity or otherwise.  The assertion or employment of any right or remedy hereunder, or otherwise, shall not prevent the concurrent assertion or employment of any other appropriate right or remedy.
 
No delay or omission of the Lender to exercise any right or power accruing upon any Event of Default occurring and continuing as aforesaid shall impair any such right or power or shall be construed to be a waiver of any Event of Default or an acquiescence therein; and every power and remedy given by this Note or by law may be exercised from time to time, and as often as shall be deemed expedient, by the Lender.
 
Section 14.                      Transfers.
 
The Borrower may not transfer or assign this Note nor any right or obligation hereunder to any person or entity without the prior written consent of the Lender.  This Note is freely transferable by the Lender.
 
 
 
 

 
 
Section 15.                      Modification.
 
This Note may be modified only with the written consent of both the Borrower and the Lender.
 
Section 16.                        Expenses.
 
The Borrower agrees to pay to the Lender all out-of-pocket expenses (including reasonable expenses for legal services of every kind) of, or incident to, the enforcement of any of the provisions of this Note.
 
Section 17.                        Indemnification.
 
The Borrower agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Lender and its directors, officers, managers, partners, members, shareholders, affiliates, agents, successors and assigns, (each an " Indemnified Party ") from and against any and all losses, liabilities, deficiencies, costs, damages and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys' fees, charges and disbursements) incurred by such Indemnified Party as a result of any inaccuracy in or breach of the representations, warranties or covenants made by the Borrower herein.
 
Section 18.                        Notices.
 
All notices, requests, demands, consents, instructions or other communications required or permitted hereunder shall in writing, mailed or delivered to each party at the respective addresses of the parties set out below, or at such other address as a party hereto shall have furnished to the other parties in writing:
 
If to the Borrower:
Dynagas LNG Partners LP
97 Poseidonos Avenue & 2 Foivis Street
Glyfada, 16674, Greece
 
Attention: CEO
 
     
If to the Lender:
Dynagas Holding Ltd.
97 Poseidonos Avenue & 2 Foivis Street
Glyfada, 16674, Greece
 
Attention:  Director
 

All such notices and communications will be deemed effectively given the earlier of (i) when received, (ii) when delivered personally, (iii) one Business Day after being deposited with an overnight courier service of recognized standing or (iv) on receipt of confirmation of delivery.
 
Section 19.                        Miscellaneous.
 
This Note shall be deemed to be a contract under the laws of the State of New York, and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of said state.  The parties hereto hereby waive presentment, demand, notice, protest and all other demands and notices in connection with the delivery, acceptance, performance and enforcement of or any default under this Note, except as specifically provided herein, and assent to extensions of the time of payment, or forbearance or other indulgence without notice.  The Section headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.  Any provision of this Note which is illegal, invalid, prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such illegality, invalidity, prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating or impairing the remaining provisions hereof or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.  This Note shall bind the Borrower, its successors and permitted assigns.  The rights under and benefits of this Note shall inure to the Lender and its successors and assigns.
 
 
Section 20.                        WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL.
 
THE BORROWER HEREBY WAIVES ANY AND ALL RIGHTS TO DEMAND A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION, SUIT OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS NOTE OR ANY RELATED DOCUMENT TO WHICH IT IS A PARTY OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED BY THIS NOTE OR ANY RELATED DOCUMENT TO WHICH IT IS A PARTY.
 
 
[Signature Page Follows]
 

 
 

 
 
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Borrower has caused this instrument to be duly executed as of the date first above written.
 
 
 
DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
 
 
 
 
By:
DYNAGAS GP LLC , its General Partner
 
 
 
 
 
By:
Dynagas Holding Ltd. , its sole member
 
 
 
 
 
 
By:
/s/ Michael Gregos
 
 
 
 
Name:  Michael Gregos
 
 
 
Title:    Chief Financial Officer
 
 
 


ACKNOWLEDGED:
 
   
DYNAGAS HOLDING LTD.
 

By:
/s/ Konstantinos Lampsias    
 
Name:  Konstantinos Lampsias
 
 
Title:    Sole Director
 
 
 

 
 

 

ADVANCES//
PAYMENTS OF PRINCIPAL
Date
Amount of Advance
Amount of Principal Paid or Prepaid
Unpaid Principal Balance
Notation
Made By
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         


 
 

 

Exhibit 4.7
 
 
Dated  14 November 2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PEGASUS SHIPHOLDING S.A.
SEACROWN MARITIME LTD. and
LANCE SHIPPING S.A.
as joint and several Borrowers

 

 and
 
 
THE BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
listed in Schedule 1
as Lenders


 and
 
THE BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
listed in Schedule 2
as Swap Banks


 and

CREDIT SUISSE AG
as Agent
and as Security Trustee
 

 
LOAN AGREEMENT
 

 
relating to
 
a US$262,125,000 facility
 

 

 
Watson, Farley & Williams

 

Index
 
 
Clause   Page
     
1
Interpretation
1
2
Facility
17
3
Position of the Lenders and Swap Banks
17
4
Drawdown
18
5
Interest
19
6
Interest Periods
21
7
Default Interest
22
8
reduction, Repayment, Prepayment and Cancellation
23
9
Conditions Precedent
26
10
Representations and Warranties
26
11
General Undertakings
29
12
Corporate Undertakings
33
13
Insurance
34
14
Ship Covenants
39
15
Security Cover
44
16
Payments and Calculations
46
17
Application of Receipts
47
18
Application of Earnings
49
19
Events of Default
50
20
Fees and Expenses
55
21
Indemnities
56
22
No Set-Off or Tax Deduction
58
23
Illegality, etc
59
24
Increased Costs
59
25
Set-Off
61
26
Transfers and Changes in Lending Offices
62
27
Variations and Waivers
65
28
Notices
66
29
Joint and Several Liability
68
30
Supplemental
69
31
Law and Jurisdiction
70
Schedule 1  Lenders and Commitments  Part 1
72
Schedule 2  Swap Banks
73
Schedule 3  Drawdown Notice
74
ScheduLe 4  Condition Precedent Document
75
Schedule 5  Transfer Certificate
77
Execution Pages
81
 
 
 
 

 

THIS AGREEMENT is made on           November 2013
 
BETWEEN
 
(1)
PEGASUS SHIPHOLDING S.A. ("Pegasus"), LANCE SHIPPING S.A. ("Lance") and SEACROWN MARITIME LTD. ("Seacrown") , each a corporation organised and existing under the laws of the Marshall Islands whose registered office is at Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, Majuro, Marshall Islands MH96960, as joint and several Borrowers ;
 
(2)
THE BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS   listed in Schedule 1, as Lenders ;
 
(3)
THE BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS   listed in Schedule 2, as Swap Banks ;
 
(4)
CREDIT SUISSE AG , having its registered office at Paradeplatz 8, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland and acting through its office at St. Alban-Graben 1-3, 4002 Basel, Switzerland as Agent ; and
 
(5)
CREDIT SUISSE AG , having its registered office at Paradeplatz 8, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland and acting through its office at St. Alban-Graben 1-3, 4002 Basel, Switzerland, as Security Trustee .
 
BACKGROUND
 
(A)
The Lenders have agreed to make available to the Borrowers a reducing revolving credit facility of up to $262,125,000 in aggregate initially for the purpose of refinancing the Existing Indebtedness and for general working capital purposes.
 
(B)
The Borrowers shall be entitled to reborrow the prepaid amounts for general working capital purposes.
 
(C)
The Swap Banks may, have in their absolute discretion, agree to enter into interest rate swap transactions with the Borrowers from time to time to hedge the Borrowers' exposure under this Agreement to interest rate fluctuations.
 
(D)
The Lenders and the Swap Banks have agreed to share pari passu in the security to be granted to the Security Trustee pursuant to this Agreement.
 
IT IS AGREED as follows:
 
1
INTERPRETATION
 
1.1
Definitions
 
Subject to Clause 1.5, in this Agreement:

" ABN Amro Loan No. 1 " means the loan agreement dated 27 September 2012 made between, amongst others, Libinia Limited, Rostrata Limited and Solana Holding Ltd. (as joint and several borrowers) and ABN Amro Bank N.V. (as agent);
 
" ABN Amro Loan No. 2 " means the loan agreement dated 28 September 2012 made between, amongst others, Navajo Marine Limited (as borrower) and ABN Amro Bank N.V. (as agent);
 
" Accounts Pledge "  means a deed creating security in respect of, amongst other, the Earnings Accounts in the form set out in the Agreed Form;
 
" Advance "  means the principal amount of each borrowing by the Borrowers under this Agreement;
 
 
 

 

" Affected Lender "  has the meaning given in Clause 5.7;
 
" Agency and Trust Agreement "  means the agency and trust agreement dated the same date as this Agreement and made between the same parties;
 
" Agent "  means Credit Suisse AG, acting in such capacity through its office at St. Alban-Graben 1-3, 4002 Basel, Switzerland, or any successor of it appointed under clause 5 of the Agency and Trust Agreement;
 
" Agreed Form "  means in relation to any document, that document in the form approved in writing by the Agent (acting on the instructions of all the Lenders) or as otherwise approved in accordance with any other approval procedure specified in any relevant provisions of any Finance Document;
 
" Approved Charters " means in respect of (a) Ship A, the time charterparty dated 18 May 2011 made between Pegasus (as owner) and the relevant Approved Charterer (as charterer) having a duration expiring no earlier than 1 April 2017 at a minimum daily net rate of hire of $85,000, (b) Ship B, the time charterparty dated 2 October 2010 made between Seacrown (as owner) and the relevant Approved Charterer (as charterer) having a duration expiring no earlier than 1 September 2016 at a minimum daily net rate of hire of $64,000 and (c) Ship C, the time charterparty dated 2 August 2011 made between Lance (as owner) and the relevant Approved Charterer (as charterer) having a duration expiring no earlier than 1 September 2017 at a minimum daily net rate of hire of $86,000;
 
" Approved Charterers " means:
 
 
(a)
in respect of Ship A and Ship B, Methane Services Ltd. of England and Wales; and
 
 
(b)
in respect of Ship C, Gazprom Global LNG Limited of England and Wales;
 
" Approved Flag " means, in relation to a Ship, the flag of the Republic of the Marshall Islands or such other flag as the Lenders may, in their sole and absolute discretion, approve as the flag on which such Ship shall be registered;
 
" Approved Flag State " means, in relation to a Ship, the Republic of the Marshall Islands or any other country in which the Lenders may, in their sole and absolute discretion, approve that such Ship be registered;
 
" Approved Manager "  means, in relation to a Ship, Dynagas Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Liberia having its registered office at 80 Broad Street, Monrovia, Liberia
 
or any other company which the Agent may, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, reasonably approve from time to time as the technical or commercial manager of the Ship;
 
" Approved Manager's Undertaking " means, in relation to each Ship, a letter of undertaking executed by the Approved Manager in favour of the Security Trustee in the Agreed Form agreeing certain matters in relation to the Approved Manager serving as the manager of that Ship and subordinating the rights of the Approved Manager against such Ship and the relevant Borrower to the rights of the Security Trustee under the Finance Documents;
 
" Availability Period "  means the period commencing on the date of this Agreement and ending on:
 
 
(a)
the date falling 1 month before the Termination Date (or such later date as the Agent may, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, agree with the Borrowers); or
 
 
2

 
 
 
(b)
if earlier, the date on which the Total Commitments are fully cancelled or terminated;
 
" Available Commitment " means, in relation to a Lender and at any time, its Commitment less its Contribution at that time (and " Total Commitments " means the aggregate of the Available Commitments of all the Lenders);
 
" Borrower "  means each of Pegasus, Lance and Seacrown (and includes their respective successors);
 
" Business Day "  means a day on which banks are open in London and Athens and, in respect of a day on which a payment is required to be made under a Finance Document, also in New York City;
 
" Change of Control " means, in respect of Dynagas, any time during which and for any reason:
 
 
(a)
the Permitted Holders, collectively, are no longer the owners, directly or indirectly, beneficially or of record, of the class of interests representing at least 30 per cent of the outstanding voting interests (which shall include common and subordinated units of Dynagas, taken together as a single class of Dynagas whether or not the voting power with respect to such interests is limited by the LPA); or
 
 
(b)
the Permitted Holders, collectively, are no longer the owners, directly or indirectly, beneficially or of record, of the limited liability company interests representing 100 per cent of the outstanding voting interests and limited liability company interests of the General Partner.
 
" Charter Assignment " means, in relation to a Ship, the specific assignment of (a) the relevant Approved Charter executed or to be executed hereunder by the relevant Borrower in favour of the Security Trustee in the Agreed Form and (b) any future charterparty in respect of that Ship referred to in Clause 14.16;
 
" Commitment "  means, in relation to a Lender, the amount set opposite its name in Schedule 1, or, as the case may require, the amount specified in the relevant Transfer Certificate, as that amount may be reduced, cancelled or terminated in accordance with this Agreement (and " Total Commitments "  means the aggregate of the Commitments of all the Lenders);
 
" Confirmation " and " Early Termination Date ", in relation to any continuing Designated Transaction, have the meanings given in the relevant Master Agreement;
 
" Contractual Currency "  has the meaning given in Clause 21.4;
 
" Contribution "  means, in relation to a Lender, the part of the Loan which is owing to that Lender;
 
" Credit Agricole Loan "  means the loan agreement dated 14 June 2013 made between, amongst others Fareastern Shipping Limited (as borrower) and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (as security trustee);
 
" Creditor Party "  means the Agent, the Security Trustee or any Lender, whether as at the date of this Agreement or at any later time;
 
" Designated Transaction " means a Transaction which fulfils the following requirements:
 
 
(a)
it is entered into by the Borrowers pursuant to a Master Agreement with a Swap Bank which, at the time the Transaction is entered into, is also a Lender; and
 
 
3

 
 
 
(b)
its purpose is the hedging of the Borrowers' exposure under this Agreement to fluctuations in LIBOR arising from the funding of the Loan (or any part thereof) for a period expiring no later than the Termination Date.
 
" Dollars " and " $ "  means the lawful currency for the time being of the United States of America;
 
" Drawdown Date "  means, in relation to an Advance, the date requested by the Borrowers for the Advance to be made, or (as the context requires) the date on which the Advance is actually made;
 
" Drawdown Notice "  means a notice in the form set out in Schedule 2 (or in any other form which the Agent approves or reasonably requires);
 
" Dynagas " means Dynagas LNG Partners LP, a limited partnership organised in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and having its place of business at 94 Vassileois Georgiou B' and 2 Nikis Street, Glyfada, Athens, Greece;
 
" Dynagas Equity" means Dynagas Equity Holding Ltd., a corporation incorporated in the Republic of Liberia and having its place of business at 94 Vassileois Georgiou B' and 2 Nikis Street, Glyfada, Athens, Greece;
 
" Dynagas Operating " means Dynagas Operating LP, a limited partnership organised in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and having its place of business at 94 Vassileos Georgiou B' and 2 Nikis Street, Glyfada, Athens, Greece;
 
" Earnings " means, in relation to a Ship, all moneys whatsoever which are now, or later become, payable (actually or contingently) to the Borrower owning that Ship or the Security Trustee and which arise out of the use or operation of that Ship, including (but not limited to):
 
 
(a)
except to the extent that they fall within paragraph (b);
 
 
(i)
all freight, hire and passage moneys;
 
 
(ii)
compensation payable to any Borrower or the Security Trustee in the event of requisition of a Ship for hire;
 
 
(iii)
remuneration for salvage and towage services;
 
 
(iv)
demurrage and detention moneys;
 
 
(v)
damages for breach (or payments for variation or termination) of any charterparty or other contract for the employment of a Ship; and
 
 
(vi)
all moneys which are at any time payable under any Insurances in respect of loss of hire; and
 
 
(b)
if and whenever a Ship is employed on terms whereby any moneys falling within paragraphs (a)(i) to (vi) are pooled or shared with any other person, that proportion of the net receipts of the relevant pooling or sharing arrangement which is attributable to the Ship;
 
" Earnings Account "  means, in relation to a Ship, an account in the name of the Borrower owning the Ship with the Agent in Dollars designated "Pegasus Shipholding S.A. - Earnings Account", "Lance Shipping S.A. – Earnings Account" and "Seacrown Maritime Ltd. – Earnings Account" respectively, or any other account (with that or another office of the Agent) which
 

 
4

 

is designated by the Agent as the Earnings Account in relation to the Ship for the purposes of this Agreement;
 
" Environmental Claim "  means:
 
 
(a)
any claim by any governmental, judicial or regulatory authority which arises out of an Environmental Incident or an alleged Environmental Incident or which relates to any Environmental Law; or
 
 
(b)
any claim by any other person which relates to an Environmental Incident or to an alleged Environmental Incident,
 
and " claim " means a claim for damages, compensation, fines, penalties or any other payment of any kind whether or not similar to the foregoing; an order or direction to take, or not to take, certain action or to desist from or suspend certain action; and any form of enforcement or regulatory action, including the arrest or attachment of any asset;
 
" Environmental Incident "  means:
 
 
(a)
any release of Environmentally Sensitive Material from a Ship; or
 
 
(b)
any incident in which Environmentally Sensitive Material is released from a vessel other than a Ship and which involves a collision between a Ship and such other vessel or some other incident of navigation or operation, in either case, in connection with which a Ship is actually or potentially liable to be arrested, attached, detained or injuncted and/or a Ship and/or any Borrower and/or any operator or manager of a Ship is at fault or allegedly at fault or otherwise liable to any legal or administrative action; or
 
 
(c)
any other incident in which Environmentally Sensitive Material is released otherwise than from a Ship and in connection with which a Ship is actually or potentially liable to be arrested and/or where any Borrower and/or any operator or manager of a Ship is at fault or allegedly at fault or otherwise liable to any legal or administrative action;
 
" Environmental Law "  means any law to which a Security Party is subject relating to pollution or protection of the environment, to the carriage of Environmentally Sensitive Material or to actual or threatened releases of Environmentally Sensitive Material;
 
" Environmentally Sensitive Material "  means oil, oil products and any other substance (including any chemical, gas or other hazardous or noxious substance) which is (or is capable of being or becoming) polluting, toxic or hazardous;
 
" Event of Default "  means any of the events or circumstances described in Clause 19.1;
 
" Existing Guarantees " means (a) the guarantees and indemnities each dated 27 September 2012 granted by each of Pegasus, Lance and Seacrown in favour of ABN Amro Bank N.V. (as security trustee) in respect of the ABN Amro Loan No. 1; (b) the guarantee and indemnity dated 28 September 2012 granted by (inter alia) Dynagas Equity in favour of ABN Amro Bank N.V. (as security trustee) in respect of the ABN Amro Loan No. 2 and (c) the guarantee and indemnity dated 26 June 2013 granted by Dynagas Equity in favour Credit Agricole Corporation and Investment Bank in respect of the Credit Agricole Loan.
 
" Existing Indebtedness "  means, at any date, the outstanding Indebtedness (howsoever defined therein) of (a) Pegasus and Reed Trading Ltd. on that date under a loan agreement dated 30 January 2012 and made between Pegasus and Reed Trading Ltd. (as joint and several borrowers) and Credit Suisse AG (as lender), (b) Lance on that date under a loan agreement dated 20 October 2005 and made between Lance (as borrower) and The Royal
 

 
5

 

Bank of Scotland plc (as lender) and (c) Seacrown on that date under a loan agreement dated 9 May 2006 and made between Seacrown (as borrower) and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (formerly known as ABN Amro Bank N.V.) (as arranger, agent, security trustee, account bank and lender) and Credit Suisse AG (as lenders) (as each such loan facility agreement made have been amended, supplemented, novated and/or restated from time to time);
 
" Finance Documents "  means:
 
 
(a)
this Agreement;
 
 
(b)
the Agency and Trust Agreement;
 
 
(c)
the Guarantees;
 
 
(d)
the General Assignments;
 
 
(e)
the Mortgages;
 
 
(f)
the Accounts Pledges;
 
 
(g)
the Charter Assignments;
 
 
(h)
the Approved Manager's Undertakings;
 
 
(i)
the Master Agreement Assignment; and
 
 
(j)
any other document (whether creating a Security Interest or not) which is executed at any time by any Borrower or any other person as security for, or to establish any form of subordination or priorities arrangement in relation to, any amount payable to the Lenders and/or the Swap Banks under this Agreement or any of the other documents referred to in this definition;
 
" Financial Indebtedness "  means, in relation to a person (the " debtor "), a liability of the debtor:
 
 
(a)
for principal, interest or any other sum payable in respect of any moneys borrowed or raised by the debtor;
 
 
(b)
under any loan stock, bond, note or other security issued by the debtor;
 
 
(c)
under any acceptance credit, guarantee or letter of credit facility or dematerialised equivalent made available to the debtor;
 
 
(d)
under a financial lease, a deferred purchase consideration arrangement or any other agreement having the commercial effect of a borrowing or raising of money by the debtor;
 
 
(e)
under any foreign exchange transaction, any interest or currency swap or any other kind of derivative transaction entered into by the debtor or, if the agreement under which any such transaction is entered into requires netting of mutual liabilities, the liability of the debtor for the net amount; or
 
 
(f)
under a guarantee, indemnity or similar obligation entered into by the debtor in respect of a liability of another person which would fall within paragraphs (a) to (e) if the references to the debtor referred to the other person;
 
" GAAP "  means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America;
 

 
6

 

" General Assignment "  means, in relation to a Ship, a general assignment of the Earnings, the Insurances and any Requisition Compensation in the Agreed Form;
 
" General Partner " means Dynagas GP LLC, a limited liability company organised in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and having its place of business at Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, Majuro, Marshall Islands MH94940;
 
" Guarantee "  means, in relation to each Guarantor, a guarantee in the Agreed Form to be granted by that Guarantor;
 
" Guarantor "  means each of Dynagas, Dynagas Equity and Dynagas Operating (and includes their respective successors);
 
" Initial Maximum Loan Amount " means the amount of $262,125,000;
 
" Initial Public Offering " means the initial public offering of units representing limited partner interests of Dynagas which will be listed for trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market which raises gross equity in an amount of at least $140,000,000;
 
" Insurances "  means, in relation to a Ship:
 
 
(a)
all policies and contracts of insurance, including entries of the Ship in any protection and indemnity or war risks association, effected in respect of the Ship, its Earnings or otherwise in relation to it whether before, on or after the date of this Agreement; and
 
 
(b)
all rights and other assets relating to, or derived from, any of the foregoing, including any rights to a return of a premium and any rights in respect of any claim whether or not the relevant policy, contract of insurance or entry has expired on or before the date of this Agreement;
 
" Interest Period "  means a period determined in accordance with Clause 6;
 
" ISM Code "  means the International Safety Management Code (including the guidelines on its implementation), adopted by the International Maritime Organisation as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time (and the terms " safety management system ", " Safety Management Certificate " and " Document of Compliance " have the same meanings as are given to them in the ISM Code);
 
" ISPS Code "  means the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code as adopted by the International Maritime Organisation, as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time;
 
" ISSC "  means a valid and current International Ship Security Certificate issued under the ISPS Code;
 
" Lender "  means a bank or financial institution listed in Schedule 1 and acting through its branch indicated in Schedule 1 (or through another branch notified to the Agent under Clause 26.14) or its transferee, successor or assign;
 
" LIBOR "  means, in relation to any period for which an interest rate is to be determined under any provision of a Finance Document:
 
 
(a)
the applicable Screen Rate; or
 
 
(b)
if no Screen Rate is available for that period, the rate per annum determined by the Agent to be the arithmetic mean (rounded upwards to 4 decimal places) of the
 

 
7

 

rates, as supplied to the Agent at its request, quoted by each Reference Bank to leading banks in the London Interbank Market;
 
as of 11 a.m. (London time) on the Quotation Date for that period for the offering of deposits in the relevant currency and for a period comparable to that period, provided that the rate can never be negative;
 
" Loan "  means the principal amount for the time being outstanding under this Agreement;
 
" LPA " means the Limited Partnership Agreement of Dynagas dated 29 October 2013;
 
" Major Casualty "  means, in relation to a Ship, any casualty to the Ship in respect of which the claim or the aggregate of the claims against all insurers, before adjustment for any relevant franchise or deductible, exceeds $1,000,000 or the equivalent in any other currency;
 
" Majority Lenders "  means:
 
 
(a)
before an Advance has been made, Lenders whose Commitments total 66.66 per cent. of the Total Commitments; and
 
 
(b)
after an Advance has been made, Lenders whose Contributions total 66.66 per cent. of the Loan;
 
" Mandatory Cost " means in relation to any period a percentage calculated for such period at an annual rate equal to the cost to the affected Lender of complying with any regulation (as defined in Clause 1.2);
 
" Margin "  means 2.85 per cent. per annum;
 
" Market Value " means, in respect of a Ship, the market value thereof determined in accordance with Clause 15.3.
 
" Master Agreement " means such master agreement (on the 2002 ISDA (Multicurrency - Crossborder) form) in the Agreed Form made between the Borrowers and a Swap Bank and includes all Designated Transactions from time to time entered into and Confirmations from time to time exchanged under the master agreement;
 
" Master Agreement Assignment "  means, in relation to each Master Agreement, the assignment of that Master Agreement in favour of the Security Trustee executed or to be executed by the Borrowers, in such form as the Swap Bank may approve or require;
 
" Mortgage "  means, in relation to a Ship, the first preferred Marshall Islands ship mortgage on the Ship in the Agreed Form;
 
" Negotiation Period "  has the meaning given in Clause 5.10;
 
" Notifying Lender "  has the meaning given in Clause 23.1 or Clause 24.1 as the context requires;
 
" Payment Currency "  has the meaning given in Clause 21.4;
 
" Permitted Holders " means Mr George Prokopiou and those members of his immediate family that are disclosed to the Agent in the Swiss "Declaration A" delivered to the Agent on or before the date of this Agreement as being the persons who, together, are on the date of that declaration the ultimate beneficial owners of the 30 per cent. of the share capital of Dynagas and 100 per cent. of the share capital of the General Partner;
 

 
8

 

" Permitted Security Interests "  means:
 
 
(a)
Security Interests created by the Finance Documents;
 
 
(b)
liens for unpaid master's and crew's wages in accordance with usual maritime practice;
 
 
(c)
liens for salvage;
 
 
(d)
liens arising by operation of law for not more than 2 months' prepaid hire under any charter in relation to a Ship not prohibited by this Agreement;
 
 
(e)
liens for master's disbursements incurred in the ordinary course of trading and any other lien arising by operation of law or otherwise in the ordinary course of the operation, repair or maintenance of a Ship, provided such liens do not secure amounts more than 30 days overdue (unless the overdue amount is being contested by the relevant Borrower in good faith by appropriate steps) and subject, in the case of liens for repair or maintenance, to Clause 14.13(h);
 
 
(f)
any Security Interest created in favour of a plaintiff or defendant in any proceedings or arbitration as security for costs and expenses while a Borrower is actively prosecuting or defending such proceedings or arbitration in good faith; and
 
 
(g)
Security Interests arising by operation of law in respect of taxes which are not overdue for payment or in respect of taxes being contested in good faith by appropriate steps and in respect of which appropriate reserves have been made;
 
" Pertinent Document "  means:
 
 
(a)
any Finance Document;
 
 
(b)
any policy or contract of insurance contemplated by or referred to in Clause 13 or any other provision of this Agreement or another Finance Document;
 
 
(c)
any other document contemplated by or referred to in any Finance Document; and
 
 
(d)
any document which has been or is at any time sent by or to a Servicing Bank in contemplation of or in connection with any Finance Document or any policy, contract or document falling within paragraphs (b) or (c);
 
" Pertinent Jurisdiction ",  in relation to a company, means:
 
 
(a)
England and Wales;
 
 
(b)
the country under the laws of which the company is incorporated or formed;
 
 
(c)
a country in which the company has the centre of its main interests or which the company's central management and control is or has recently been exercised;
 
 
(d)
a country in which the overall net income of the company is subject to corporation tax, income tax or any similar tax;
 
 
(e)
a country in which assets of the company (other than securities issued by, or loans to, related companies) having a substantial value are situated, in which the company maintains a branch or permanent place of business, or in which a Security Interest created by the company must or should be registered in order to ensure its validity or priority; and
 

 
9

 

 
(f)
a country the courts of which have jurisdiction to make a winding up, administration or similar order in relation to the company, whether as a main or territorial or ancillary proceedings, or which would have such jurisdiction if their assistance were requested by the courts of a country referred to in paragraphs (b) or (c);
 
" Pertinent Matter "  means:
 
 
(a)
any transaction or matter contemplated by, arising out of, or in connection with a Pertinent Document; or
 
 
(b)
any statement relating to a Pertinent Document or to a transaction or matter falling within paragraph (a),
 
and covers any such transaction, matter or statement, whether entered into, arising or made at any time before the signing of this Agreement or on or at any time after that signing;
 
" Potential Event of Default "  means an event or circumstance which, with the giving of any notice, the lapse of time, a determination of the Majority Lenders and/or the satisfaction of any other condition, would constitute an Event of Default;
 
" Quotation Date " means, in relation to any period for which an interest rate is to be determined under any provision of a Finance Document, the day which is 2 Business Days before the first day of that period, unless market practice differs in the London Interbank Market for a currency, in which case the Quotation Date will be determined by the Agent in accordance with market practice in the London Interbank Market (and if quotations would normally be given by leading banks in the London Interbank Market on more than one day, the Quotation Date will be the last of those days);
 
" Reduction Date " means a date on which Commitment reduction is required to be made pursuant to Clause 8.1;
 
" Reference Bank "  means the banks as agreed and designated as such by all the Lenders from time to time;
 
" Relevant Person "  has the meaning given in Clause 19.9;
 
" Requisition Compensation "  includes all compensation or other moneys payable by reason of any act or event such as is referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of "Total Loss";
 
" Screen Rate "  means the London interbank offered rate administered by the British Bankers' Association (or any other person which takes over the administration of that rate) for Dollars for the relevant period displayed on pages LIBOR01 of the Reuters screen (or any replacement Reuters page which displays that rate) or on the appropriate page of such other information service which publishes that rate from time to time in place of Reuters.  If such page or service ceases to be available, the Facility Agent may specify another page or service displaying the relevant rate after consultation with the Borrowers;
 
" Secured Liabilities "  means all liabilities which the Borrowers, the Security Parties, the Approved Manager or any of them have, at the date of this Agreement or at any later time or times, under or in connection with any Finance Document or the Master Agreements or any judgment relating to any Finance Document or the Master Agreements; and for this purpose, there shall be disregarded any total or partial discharge of these liabilities, or variation of their terms, which is effected by, or in connection with, any bankruptcy, liquidation, arrangement or other procedure under the insolvency laws of any country;
 
" Security Interest "  means:
 

 
10

 

 
(a)
a mortgage, charge (whether fixed or floating) or pledge, any maritime or other lien or any other security interest of any kind;
 
 
(b)
the security rights of a plaintiff under an action in rem ; and
 
 
(c)
any arrangement entered into by a person (A) the effect of which is to place another person (B) in a position which is similar, in economic terms, to the position in which B would have been had he held a security interest over an asset of A; but this paragraph (c) does not apply to a right of set off or combination of accounts conferred by the standard terms of business of a bank or financial institution;
 
" Security Party "  means the Borrowers and the Guarantors;
 
" Security Period "  means the period commencing on the date of this Agreement and ending on the date on which the Agent notifies the Borrowers, the Security Parties and the Lenders that:
 
 
(a)
all amounts which have become due for payment by any Borrower or any Security Party or the Approved Manager under the Finance Documents and the Master Agreements have been paid;
 
 
(b)
no amount is owing or has accrued (without yet having become due for payment) under any Finance Document or any Master Agreement;
 
 
(c)
neither any Borrower nor any Security Party has any future or contingent liability under Clauses 20 or 22 or any other provision of this Agreement or another Finance Document or a Master Agreement; and
 
 
(d)
there is no significant risk that any payment or transaction under a Finance Document or a Master Agreement would be set aside, or would have to be reversed or adjusted, in any present or possible future bankruptcy of a Borrower or a Security Party or in any present or possible future proceeding relating to a Finance Document or a Master Agreement or any asset covered (or previously covered) by a Security Interest created by a Finance Document;
 
" Security Trustee "  means Credit Suisse AG, acting in such capacity through its office at St. Alban-Graben 1-3, 4002 Basel, Switzerland, or any successor of it appointed under clause 5 of the Agency and Trust Agreement;
 
" Servicing Bank "  means the Agent or the Security Trustee;
 
" Ship "  means each of Ship A, Ship B and Ship C.
 
" Ship A " means the 2007-built LNG carrier of 149,700 cbm built by Huyndai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. and registered in the ownership of Pegasus under the laws and flag of the Marshall Islands with the name "CLEAN ENERGY".
 
" Ship B " means the 2008-built LNG carrier of 149,700 cbm built by Huyndai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. and registered in the ownership of Seacrown under the laws and flag of the Marshall Islands with the name "CLEAN FORCE".
 
" Ship C " means the 2007-built LNG carrier of 149,700 cbm built by Huyndai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. and registered in the ownership of Lance under the laws and flag of the Marshall Islands with the name "OB RIVER" (ex "CLEAN POWER").
 
" Swap Bank "  means a bank or financial institution listed in Schedule 2 and acting through its branch indicated in Schedule 2 (or through another branch notified to the Agent under Clause 26.14) or its transferee, successor or assign;
 

 
11

 

" Swap Counterparty "  means, at any relevant time and in relation to a continuing Designated Transaction, the Swap Bank which is a party to that Designated Transaction;
 
" Swap Exposure "  means, as at any relevant date and in relation to a Swap Counterparty, the amount certified by the Swap Counterparty to the Agent to be the aggregate net amount in Dollars which would be payable by the Borrowers to the Swap Counterparty under (and calculated in accordance with) section 6(e) (Payments on Early Termination) of the Master Agreement entered into by the Swap Counterparty with the Borrowers if an Early Termination Date had occurred on the relevant date in relation to all continuing Designated Transactions entered into between the Borrowers and the Swap Counterparty;
 
" Termination Date " means 30 June 2017.
 
" Total Loss "  means, in relation to a Ship:
 
 
(a)
actual, constructive, compromised, agreed or arranged total loss of the Ship;
 
 
(b)
any expropriation, confiscation, requisition or acquisition of the Ship, whether for full consideration, a consideration less than its proper value, a nominal consideration or without any consideration, which is effected by any government or official authority or by any person or persons claiming to be or to represent a government or official authority (excluding a requisition for hire for a fixed period not exceeding 1 year without any right to an extension) unless it is within 1 month redelivered to the full control of the Borrower owning the Ship; and
 
 
(c)
any arrest, capture, seizure or detention of the Ship (including any hijacking or theft) unless it is within 1 month (and in the case of any highjacking or theft, within 3 months) redelivered to the full control of the Borrower owning the Ship;
 
" Total Loss Date "  means, in relation to a Ship:
 
 
(a)
in the case of an actual loss of the Ship, the date on which it occurred or, if that is unknown, the date when the Ship was last heard of;
 
 
(b)
in the case of a constructive, compromised, agreed or arranged total loss of the Ship, the earliest of:
 
 
(i)
the date on which a notice of abandonment is given to the insurers; and
 
 
(ii)
the date of any compromise, arrangement or agreement made by or on behalf of the Borrower owning the Ship with the Ship's insurers in which the insurers agree to treat the Ship as a total loss; and
 
 
(c)
in the case of any other type of total loss, on the date (or the most likely date) on which it appears to the Agent that the event constituting the total loss occurred;
 
" Transaction "  has the meaning given in each Master Agreement;
 
" Transfer Certificate "  has the meaning given in Clause 26.2; and
 
" Trust Property "  has the meaning given in clause 3.1 of the Agency and Trust Agreement.
 
1.2
Construction of certain terms
 
In this Agreement:

" administration notice "  means a notice appointing an administrator, a notice of intended appointment and any other notice which is required by law (generally or in the case
 

 
12

 

concerned) to be filed with the court or given to a person prior to, or in connection with, the appointment of an administrator;
 
" approved "  means, for the purposes of Clause 13, approved in writing by the Agent;
 
" asset "  includes every kind of property, asset, interest or right, including any present, future or contingent right to any revenues or other payment;
 
" company "  includes any partnership, joint venture and unincorporated association;
 
" consent "  includes an authorisation, consent, approval, resolution, licence, exemption, filing, registration, notarisation and legalisation;
 
" contingent liability "  means a liability which is not certain to arise and/or the amount of which remains unascertained;
 
" document "  includes a deed; also a letter or fax;
 
" excess risks "  means, in relation to a Ship, the proportion of claims for general average, salvage and salvage charges not recoverable under the hull and machinery policies in respect of the Ship in consequence of its insured value being less than the value at which the Ship is assessed for the purpose of such claims;
 
" expense "  means any kind of cost, charge or expense (including all legal costs, charges and expenses) and any applicable value added or other tax;
 
" law "  includes any order or decree, any form of delegated legislation, any treaty or international convention and any regulation or resolution of the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the United Nations or its Security Council;
 
" legal or administrative action "  means any legal proceeding or arbitration and any administrative or regulatory action or investigation;
 
" liability "  includes every kind of debt or liability (present or future, certain or contingent), whether incurred as principal or surety or otherwise;
 
" months "  shall be construed in accordance with Clause 1.3;
 
" obligatory insurances "  means, in relation to a Ship, all insurances effected, or which the Borrower owning the Ship is obliged to effect, under Clause 13 or any other provision of this Agreement or another Finance Document;
 
" parent company "  has the meaning given in Clause 1.4;
 
" person "  includes any company; any state, political sub-division of a state and local or municipal authority; and any international organisation;
 
" policy ", in relation to any insurance, includes a slip, cover note, certificate of entry or other document evidencing the contract of insurance or its terms;
 
" protection and indemnity risks " means the usual risks covered by a protection and indemnity association, which is a member of the international group of Protection and Indemnity Associations, including pollution risks and the proportion (if any) of any sums payable to any other person or persons in case of collision which are not recoverable under the hull and machinery policies by reason of the incorporation in them of clause 6 of the International Hull Clauses (1/11/02 or 1/11/03), clause 8 of the Institute Time Clauses (Hulls) (1/11/95) or clause 8 of the Institute Time Clauses (Hulls) (1/10/83) or the Institute Amended Running Down Clause (1/10/71) or any equivalent provision;
 

 
13

 

" regulation "  includes any regulation, rule, official directive, request or guideline (either having the force of law or compliance with which is reasonable in the ordinary course of business of the party concerned) of any governmental, intergovernmental or supranational body, agency, department or regulatory, self-regulatory or other authority or organisation;
 
" subsidiary "  has the meaning given in Clause 1.4;
 
" tax "  includes any present or future tax, duty, impost, levy or charge of any kind which is imposed by any state, any political sub-division of a state or any local or municipal authority (including any such imposed in connection with exchange controls), and any connected penalty, interest or fine; and
 
" war risks " includes the risk of mines and all risks excluded by clause 29 of the International Hull Clauses (1/11/02 or 1/11/03), clause 24 of the Institute Time Clauses (Hulls)(1/11/95) or clause 23 of the Institute Time Clauses (Hulls) (1/10/83).
 
1.3
Meaning of "month"
 
A period of one or more " months " ends on the day in the relevant calendar month numerically corresponding to the day of the calendar month on which the period started (" the numerically corresponding day "), but:

(a)
on the Business Day following the numerically corresponding day if the numerically corresponding day is not a Business Day or, if there is no later Business Day in the same calendar month, on the Business Day preceding the numerically corresponding day; or
 
(b)
on the last Business Day in the relevant calendar month, if the period started on the last Business Day in a calendar month or if the last calendar month of the period has no numerically corresponding day,
 
and " month " and " monthly " shall be construed accordingly.
 
1.4
Meaning of "subsidiary"
 
A company (S) is a subsidiary of another company (P) if:

(a)
a majority of the issued shares in S (or a majority of the issued shares in S which carry unlimited rights to capital and income distributions) are directly owned by P or are indirectly attributable to P; or
 
(b)
P has direct or indirect control over a majority of the voting rights attaching to the issued shares of S; or
 
(c)
P has the direct or indirect power to appoint or remove a majority of the directors of S; or
 
(d)
P otherwise has the direct or indirect power to ensure that the affairs of S are conducted in accordance with the wishes of P,
 
and any company of which S is a subsidiary is a parent company of S.
 
1.5
General Interpretation
 
In this Agreement:

(a)
references to, or to a provision of, a Finance Document or any other document are references to it as amended or supplemented, whether before the date of this Agreement or otherwise;
 

 
14

 

(b)
references to, or to a provision of, any law include any amendment, extension, re-enactment or replacement, whether made before the date of this Agreement or otherwise;
 
(c)
words denoting the singular number shall include the plural and vice versa; and
 
(d)
Clauses 1.1 to 1.5 apply unless the contrary intention appears.
 
1.6
Headings
 
In interpreting a Finance Document or any provision of a Finance Document, all clause, sub-clause and other headings in that and any other Finance Document shall be entirely disregarded.

2
FACILITY
 
2.1
Amount of facility
 
Subject to the other provisions of this Agreement, the Lenders shall make a reducing revolving credit facility not exceeding $262,125,000 in aggregate available to the Borrowers.

2.2
Lenders' participations in Advances
 
Subject to the other provisions of this Agreement, each Lender shall participate in each Advance in the proportion which, as at the relevant Drawdown Date, its Commitment bears to the Total Commitments.

2.3
Purpose of Advances
 
The Borrowers undertake with each Creditor Party to use each Advance only for the purpose stated in the preamble to this Agreement.

3
POSITION OF THE LENDERS AND SWAP BANKS
 
3.1
Interests of Lenders several
 
The rights of the Lenders and of the Swap Banks under this Agreement and under the Master Agreements are several.

3.2
Individual Lender's right of action
 
Each Lender and each Swap Bank shall be entitled to sue for any amount which has become due and payable by the Borrowers to it under this Agreement or under a Master Agreement without joining the Agent, the Security Trustee or any other Lender or any other Swap Bank as additional parties in the proceedings.

3.3
Proceedings by individual Lender requiring Majority Lenders' consent
 
Except as provided in Clause 3.2, no Lender and no Swap Bank may commence proceedings against any Borrower or any Security Party in connection with a Finance Document without the prior consent of the Majority Lenders.

3.4
Obligations of Lenders several
 
The obligations of the Lenders under this Agreement and of the Swap Banks under the Master Agreement to which each is a party are several; and a failure of a Lender to perform its obligations under this Agreement or a failure of a Swap Bank to perform its obligations under the Master Agreement to which it is a party shall not result in:


 
15

 

(a)
the obligations of the other Lenders or Swap Banks being increased; nor
 
(b)
any Borrower, any Security Party, the Approved Manager or any other Lender or any other Swap Bank being discharged (in whole or in part) from its obligations under any Finance Document or under any Master Agreement;
 
and in no circumstances shall a Lender or a Swap Bank have any responsibility for a failure of another Lender or another Swap Bank to perform its obligations under this Agreement or a Master Agreement.
 
4
DRAWDOWN
 
4.1
Request for Advance
 
Subject to the following conditions, the Borrowers may request an Advance to be made by ensuring that the Agent receives a completed Drawdown Notice not later than 11.00 a.m. (CET) 2 Business Days prior to the intended Drawdown Date.

4.2
Availability
 
The conditions referred to in Clause 4.1 are that:

(a)
a Drawdown Date has to be a Business Day during the Availability Period;
 
(b)
the amount of the first Advance shall not exceed the amount of the Initial Maximum Loan Amount, and shall be applied in repaying, the Existing Indebtedness;
 
(c)
the aggregate amount of the Advances shall not exceed the Total Commitments; and
 
(d)
no more than 4 Advances may be drawn in any calendar year.
 
4.3
Notification to Lenders of receipt of a Drawdown Notice
 
The Agent shall promptly notify the Lenders that it has received a Drawdown Notice and shall inform each Lender of:

(a)
the amount of the Advance and the Drawdown Date;
 
(b)
the amount of that Lender's participation in the Advance; and
 
(c)
the duration of the Interest Period.
 
4.4
Drawdown Notice irrevocable
 
A Drawdown Notice must be signed by a director or other authorised person of each Borrower; and once served, a Drawdown Notice cannot be revoked without the prior consent of the Agent, acting on the authority of the Majority Lenders.

4.5
Lenders to make available Contributions
 
Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, each Lender shall, on and with value on each Drawdown Date, make available to the Agent for the account of the Borrowers the amount due from that Lender on that Drawdown Date under Clause 2.2.
 
4.6
Disbursement of Advance
 
 
16

 

Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, the Agent shall on each Drawdown Date pay to the Borrowers the amounts which the Agent receives from the Lenders under Clause 4.5; and that payment to the Borrowers shall be made:

(a)
to the account which the Borrowers specify in the Drawdown Notice; and
 
(b)
in the like funds as the Agent received the payments from the Lenders.
 
4.7
Disbursement of Advance to third party
 
The payment by the Agent under Clause 4.6 shall constitute the making of the Advance and the Borrowers shall at that time become indebted, as principal and direct obligors, to each Lender in an amount equal to that Lender's Contribution.

5
INTEREST
 
5.1
Payment of normal interest
 
Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, interest on an Advance in respect of each Interest Period applicable to it shall be paid by the Borrowers on the last day of that Interest Period.

5.2
Normal rate of interest
 
Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, the rate of interest on an Advance in respect of an Interest Period applicable to it shall be the aggregate of (a) the Margin, (b) LIBOR and (c) Mandatory Costs (if any) for that Interest Period.

5.3
Payment of accrued interest
 
In the case of an Interest Period longer than 3 months, accrued interest shall be paid every 3 months during that Interest Period and on the last day of that Interest Period.

5.4
Notification of Interest Periods and rates of normal interest
 
The Agent shall notify the Borrowers and each Lender of (a) each rate of interest and (b) the duration of each Interest Period, as soon as reasonably practicable after each of (a) and (b) is determined.

5.5
Obligation of Reference Banks to quote
 
A Reference Bank which is a Lender shall use all reasonable efforts to supply the quotation required of it for the purposes of fixing a rate of interest under this Agreement.

5.6
Absence of quotations by Reference Banks
 
If any Reference Bank fails to supply a quotation, the Agent shall determine the relevant LIBOR on the basis of the quotations supplied by the other Reference Bank or Banks; but if 2 or more of the Reference Banks fail to provide a quotation, the relevant rate of interest shall be set in accordance with the following provisions of this Clause 5.

5.7
Market disruption
 
The following provisions of this Clause 5 apply if:

(a)
no Screen Rate is available for an Interest Period and 2 or more of the Reference Banks do not, before 1.00 p.m. (London time) on the Quotation Date, provide quotations to the Agent in order to fix LIBOR; or
 

 
17

 

(b)
at least 1 Business Day before the start of an Interest Period, Lenders having Commitments amounting to more than 66.67% per cent. of the Total Commitments notify the Agent that LIBOR fixed by the Agent would not accurately reflect the cost to those Lenders of funding their respective Contributions (or any part of them) during the Interest Period in the London Interbank Market at or about 11.00 a.m. (London time) on the Quotation Date for the Interest Period; or
 
(c)
at least 1 Business Day before the start of an Interest Period, the Agent is notified by a Lender (the " Affected Lender ") that for any reason it is unable to obtain Dollars in the London Interbank Market in order to fund its Contribution (or any part of it) during the Interest Period.
 
5.8
Notification of market disruption
 
The Agent shall promptly notify the Borrowers and each of the Lenders and each of the Swap Counterparties stating the circumstances falling within Clause 5.7 which have caused its notice to be given.

5.9
Suspension of drawdown
 
If the Agent's notice under Clause 5.8 is served before an Advance is made:

(a)
in a case falling within Clauses 5.7(a) or 5.7(b), the Lenders' obligations to make the Advance; and
 
(b)
in a case falling within Clause 5.7(c), the Affected Lender's obligation to participate in the Advance,
 
shall be suspended while the circumstances referred to in the Agent's notice continue.
 
5.10
Negotiation of alternative rate of interest
 
If the Agent's notice under Clause 5.8 is served after an Advance is made, the Borrowers, the Agent and the Lenders or (as the case may be) the Affected Lender and the Swap Counterparties shall use reasonable efforts to agree, within the 30 days after the date on which the Agent serves its notice under Clause 5.8 (the " Negotiation Period "), an alternative interest rate or (as the case may be) an alternative basis for the Lenders or (as the case may be) the Affected Lender to fund or continue to fund their or its Contribution during the Interest Period concerned.

5.11
Application of agreed alternative rate of interest
 
Any alternative interest rate or an alternative basis which is agreed during the Negotiation Period shall take effect in accordance with the terms agreed.

5.12
Alternative rate of interest in absence of agreement
 
If an alternative interest rate or alternative basis is not agreed within the Negotiation Period, and the relevant  circumstances are continuing at the end of the Negotiation Period, then the Agent shall, with the agreement of each Lender or (as the case may be) the Affected Lender, set an interest period and interest rate representing the cost of funding of the Lenders or (as the case may be) the Affected Lender in Dollars or in any available currency of their or its Contribution plus the Mandatory Cost (if any and to the extent that such Mandatory Cost has not already been included in the Affected Lender's cost of funding) and the Margin; and the procedure provided for by this Clause 5.12 shall be repeated if the relevant circumstances are continuing at the end of the interest period so set by the Agent.

5.13
Notice of prepayment
 
 
18

 

If the Borrowers do not agree with an interest rate set by the Agent under Clause 5.12, the Borrowers may give the Agent not less than 15 Business Days' notice of their intention to prepay at the end of the interest period set by the Agent.

5.14
Prepayment; termination of Commitments
 
A notice under Clause 5.13 shall be irrevocable; the Agent shall promptly notify the Lenders or (as the case may require) the Affected Lender of the Borrowers' notice of intended prepayment; and:

(a)
on the date on which the Agent serves that notice, the Total Commitments or (as the case may require) the Commitment of the Affected Lender shall be cancelled; and
 
(b)
on the last Business Day of the interest period set by the Agent, the Borrowers shall prepay (without premium or penalty) the Loan or, as the case may be, the Affected Lender's Contribution, together with accrued interest thereon at the applicable rate plus the Margin and the Mandatory Cost (if any).
 
5.15
Application of prepayment
 
The provisions of Clause 8 shall apply in relation to the prepayment.

6
INTEREST PERIODS
 
6.1
Commencement of Interest Periods
 
The first Interest Period applicable to an Advance shall commence on its Drawdown Date and each subsequent Interest Period shall commence on the expiry of the preceding Interest Period.

6.2
Duration of normal Interest Periods
 
Subject to Clauses 6.3 and 6.4, each Interest Period shall be:

(a)
3, 6 or 12 months as notified by the Borrowers to the Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. (London time) 2 Business Days before the commencement of the Interest Period; or
 
(b)
in the case of the first Interest Period applicable to the second Advance, a period ending on the last day of the Interest Period applicable to the first Advance then current, whereupon both Advances shall be consolidated and treated as a single Advance;
 
(c)
in the case of the first Interest Period applicable to the second and any subsequent Advance, a period ending on the last day of the then current Interest Period applicable to the first or subsequent Advances;
 
(d)
3 months, if the Borrowers fail to notify the Agent by the time specified in paragraph (a); or
 
(e)
such other period as the Agent may, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, agree with the Borrowers.
 

6.3
Non-availability of matching deposits for Interest Period selected
 
If, after the Borrowers have selected and the Lenders have agreed an Interest Period longer than 3 months, any Lender notifies the Agent by 11.00 a.m. (London time) on the third Business Day before the commencement of the Interest Period that it is not satisfied that deposits in Dollars for a period equal to the Interest Period will be available to it in the

 
19

 

London Interbank Market when the Interest Period commences, the Interest Period shall be of 3 months.

6.4
No Interest Period to extend beyond Termination Date
 
No Interest Period shall end after the Termination Date and any Interest Period which would otherwise extend beyond the Termination Date shall instead end on the Termination Date.

6.5
Signature of the Master Agreements does not commit the Swap Banks to conclude transactions, or even to offer terms for doing so, but does provide a contractual framework within which Designated Transactions may be concluded and secured, assuming that the Swap Banks are willing to conclude any Designated Transaction at the relevant time and that, if that is the case, mutually acceptable terms can then be agreed at the relevant time.
 
7
DEFAULT INTEREST
 
7.1
Payment of default interest on overdue amounts
 
The Borrowers shall pay interest in accordance with the following provisions of this Clause 7 on any amount payable by the Borrowers under any Finance Document which the Agent, the Security Trustee or the other designated payee does not receive on or before the relevant date, that is:

(a)
the date on which the Finance Documents provide that such amount is due for payment; or
 
(b)
if a Finance Document provides that such amount is payable on demand, the date on which the demand is served; or
 
(c)
if such amount has become immediately due and payable under Clause 19.4, the date on which it became immediately due and payable.
 
7.2
Default rate of interest
 
Interest shall accrue on an overdue amount from (and including) the relevant date until the date of actual payment (as well after as before judgment) at the rate per annum determined by the Agent to be 2 per cent. above:

(a)
in the case of an overdue amount of principal, the higher of the rates set out at Clauses 7.3(a) and 7.3(b); or
 
(b)
in the case of any other overdue amount, the rate set out at Clause 7.3(b).
 
7.3
Calculation of default rate of interest
 
The rates referred to in Clause 7.2 are:

(a)
the rate applicable to the overdue principal amount immediately prior to the relevant date (but only for any unexpired part of any then current Interest Period applicable to it);
 
(b)
the Margin plus Mandatory Costs (if any) plus, in respect of successive periods of any duration (including at call) up to 3 months which the Agent may select from time to time:
 
 
(i)
LIBOR; or
 
 
(ii)
if the Agent (after consultation with the Reference Banks) determines that Dollar deposits for any such period are not being made available to any Reference Bank by leading banks in the London Interbank Market in the ordinary course of business, a rate from time to time determined by the Agent by reference to the cost of funds to
 
 
20

 

the Reference Banks from such other sources as the Agent (after consultation with the Reference Banks) may from time to time determine.
 
7.4
Notification of interest periods and default rates
 
The Agent shall promptly notify the Lenders and the Borrowers of each interest rate determined by the Agent under Clause 7.3 and of each period selected by the Agent for the purposes of paragraph 7.3(b) of that Clause; but this shall not be taken to imply that the Borrowers are liable to pay such interest only with effect from the date of the Agent's notification.

7.5
Payment of accrued default interest
 
Subject to the other provisions of this Agreement, any interest due under this Clause shall be paid on the last day of the period by reference to which it was determined; and the payment shall be made to the Agent for the account of the Creditor Party to which the overdue amount is due.

7.6
Compounding of default interest
 
Any such interest which is not paid shall be compounded at the end of the relevant interest period.

7.7
Application to Master Agreements
 
For the avoidance of doubt, this Clause 7 does not apply to any amount payable under a Master Agreement in respect of any continuing Designated Transaction as to which section 2(e) (Default Interest; Other Amounts) of that Master Agreement shall apply.
 
8
REDUCTION, REPAYMENT, PREPAYMENT AND CANCELLATION
 
8.1
Reduction of Commitments
 
The Total Commitments shall be reduced as follows:

(a)
By 14 quarterly reductions, the first 13 of which shall be in the amount of $5,000,000 each and the fourteenth and final of which shall be in the amount of $197,125,000;
 
(b)
the first reduction shall take place on 31 March 2014, each subsequent reduction shall take place at 3-monthly intervals thereafter, and the last reduction shall take place no later than the Termination Date;
 
(c)
the Initial Maximum Loan Amount or, as the case may be, the amount for the time being of the Total Commitments shall be reduced by (and the reduction/repayment amounts referred to in paragraph (a) above shall be reduced proportionately by an aggregate amount equal to):
 
 
(i)
the amount of such portion(s) of the Total Commitments as may from time to time be cancelled by the Borrowers pursuant to Clause 8.10 (Voluntary Cancellation of Commitments); and
 
 
(ii)
the amount of any reduction(s) and/or prepayment(s) and/or repayments required to be made under or pursuant to:
 
 
(A)
Clause 5.14 (Prepayment; termination of Commitments); or
 
 
(B)
Clause 8.7 (Mandatory Prepayment); or
 

 
21

 

 
(C)
Clause 19.3 (Termination of Commitment); or
 
 
(D)
Clause 23.3 (Notification and effect of illegality); or
 
 
(E)
Clause 24.6 (Prepayment);
 
(d)
each reduction of the Total Commitments shall cause the amount of the Total Commitments to be permanently reduced by the amount of the reduction.
 
8.2
Prepayment of Loan
 
The Borrowers shall ensure that at all times the aggregate outstanding amount of the Loan is not greater than the then applicable Total Commitments and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Borrowers shall, if necessary, immediately prepay some or all of the outstanding amount of the Loan so that the aggregate outstanding amount of the Loan does not (taking into account the scheduled reduction of the Total Commitments under this Clause 8.2) exceed the Total Commitments as reducing from time to time thereafter pursuant to Clause 8.1.  For the avoidance of doubt, any amounts repaid or prepaid pursuant to this Clause 8.2 may not be reborrowed.

8.3
Voluntary prepayment
 
Subject to the following conditions, the Borrowers may prepay the whole or any part of the Loan on the last day of an Interest Period.

8.4
Conditions for voluntary prepayment
 
The conditions referred to in Clause 8.3 are that:

(a)
a partial prepayment shall be in an amount not less than $5,000,000 or a higher integral multiple thereof; and
 
(b)
the Agent has received from the Borrowers at least 5 days' prior written notice specifying the amount to be prepaid and the date on which the prepayment is to be made; and
 
(c)
the Borrowers have provided evidence satisfactory to the Agent that any consent required by any Borrower or any Security Party (pursuant to any contract such Borrower or Security Party is a party or to any obligation to which such Borrower or Security Party is subject) in connection with the prepayment has been obtained and remains in force, and that any requirement relevant to this Agreement which affects any Borrower or any Security Party has been complied with.
 
8.5
Effect of notice of prepayment
 
A prepayment notice may not be withdrawn or amended without the consent of the Agent, given with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, and the amount specified in the prepayment notice shall become due and payable by the Borrowers on the date for prepayment specified in the prepayment notice.


8.6
Notification of notice of prepayment
 
The Agent shall notify the Lenders promptly upon receiving a prepayment notice, and shall provide any Lender which so requests with a copy of any document delivered by the Borrowers under Clause 8.4(c).

8.7
Mandatory prepayment
 

 
22

 

The Borrowers shall be obliged to prepay the relevant proportion of the Loan if a Ship is sold or becomes a Total Loss:

(a)
in the case of a sale, on or before the date on which the sale is completed by delivery of that Ship to the buyer; or
 
(b)
in the case of a Total Loss, on the earlier of the date falling 90 days after the Total Loss Date and the date of receipt by the Security Trustee of the proceeds of insurance relating to such Total Loss.
 
and in this Clause 8.7 " relevant proportion " means the proportion which the Market Value of the Ship (in the case of Total Loss, as determined on the date immediately prior to the relevant Total Loss Date) which has been sold or has become a Total Loss bears to the aggregate Market Value of all the Ships.
 
Upon the occurrence of any of the events referred to in this Clause 8.7, the portion of the Loan which is to be prepaid pursuant to this Clause 8.7 shall be cancelled and the Total Commitments shall be permanently reduced by an amount equal to the relevant proportion multiplied by the Total Commitments..
 
8.8
Amounts payable on prepayment
 
A prepayment shall be made together with accrued interest (and any other amount payable under Clause 21 or otherwise) in respect of the amount prepaid and, if the prepayment is not made on the last day of an Interest Period together with any sums payable under Clause 21.1 (b) but without premium or penalty.

8.9
Reborrowing permitted
 
Subject to the terms of this Agreement, any amount repaid or voluntarily prepaid pursuant to Clause 8.3 may be reborrowed in accordance with and subject to the terms of Clause 4 herein, unless permanently reduced pursuant to Clause 8.1 or permanently cancelled pursuant to Clause 8.10.

8.10
Voluntary Cancellation of Commitments
 
Subject to the following conditions, the Borrowers may cancel the whole or any part of the Total Commitments.

8.11
Conditions for cancellation of Commitments
 
Those conditions are:

(a)
that a partial cancellation shall be $5,000,000 or a multiple of $5,000,000; and
 
(b)
that the Agent has received from the Borrowers at least 5 days' prior written notice specifying the amount of the Total Commitments to be cancelled and the date on which the cancellation is to take effect.
 
8.12
Effect of notice of cancellation
 
The service of a cancellation notice shall cause the amount of the Total Commitments specified in the notice to be permanently cancelled and any partial cancellation shall be applied against the Commitments of each Lender pro rata.

8.13
Unwinding of Designated Transactions
 
 
23

 

On or prior to any repayment or prepayment of the Loan under this Clause 8 or any other provision of this Agreement, the Borrowers shall wholly or partially reverse, offset, unwind or otherwise terminate one or more of the continuing Designated Transactions so that the notional principal amount of the continuing Designated Transactions thereafter remaining does not and will not in the future (taking into account the scheduled reductions) exceed the amount of the Loan as reducing from time to time pursuant to Clause 8.1.

9
CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
 
9.1
Documents, fees and no default
 
Each Lender's obligation to contribute to an Advance is subject to the following conditions precedent:

(a)
that, on or before the service of the first Drawdown Notice, the Agent receives the documents described in Part A of Schedule 4 in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its lawyers;
 
(b)
that, on the first Drawdown Date but prior to the making of the first Advance, the Agent receives or is satisfied that it will receive on the making of the first Advance the documents described in Part B of Schedule 4 in form and substance satisfactory to it and its lawyers;
 
(c)
that, on or before the service of the first Drawdown Notice, the Agent receives the arrangement fee referred to in Clause 20.1, all accrued commitment fee payable pursuant to Clause 20.1 and has received payment of the expenses referred to in Clause 20.2;
 
(d)
that both at the date of each Drawdown Notice and at each Drawdown Date:
 
 
(i)
no Event of Default or Potential Event of Default has occurred or would result from the borrowing of the relevant Advance;
 
 
(ii)
the representations and warranties in Clause 10.1 and those of any Borrower or any Security Party which are set out in the other Finance Documents would be true and not misleading if repeated on each of those dates with reference to the circumstances then existing; and
 
 
(iii)
none of the circumstances contemplated by Clause 5.7 has occurred and is continuing;
 
(e)
that, if the ratio set out in Clause 15.1 were applied immediately following the making of the Advance, the Borrowers would not be obliged to provide additional security or prepay part of the Loan under that Clause; and
 
(f)
that the Agent has received, and found to be acceptable to it, any further opinions, consents, agreements and documents in connection with the Finance Documents which the Agent may, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, request by notice to the Borrowers prior to the Drawdown Date.
 
9.2
Waiver of conditions precedent
 
If the Majority Lenders, at their discretion, permit an Advance to be borrowed before certain of the conditions referred to in Clause 9.1 are satisfied, the Borrowers shall ensure that those conditions are satisfied within 10 Business Days after the Drawdown Date (or such longer period as the Agent may, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, specify).

10
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
 
10.1
General
 
 
24

 

Each Borrower represents and warrants to each Creditor Party as follows.

10.2
Status
 
Each Borrower is duly incorporated and validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

10.3
Share capital and ownership
 
Each Borrower is authorised to issue 500 registered and/or bearer shares without par value, all of which shares have been issued and are fully paid in registered form, and the direct legal and beneficial title of all those shares is held, free of any Security Interest or other claim, by (a) Quinta Group Corp. in respect of Pegasus, (b) Pelta Holdings S.A. in respect of Lance and (c) Dynagas Equity in respect of Seacrown.

10.4
Corporate power
 
Each Borrower has the corporate capacity, and has taken all corporate action and obtained all consents necessary for it:

(a)
to maintain the registration of its Ship in its ownership under the Marshall Islands flag;
 
(b)
to execute the Finance Documents to which that Borrower is a party and the Master Agreements; and
 
(c)
to borrow under this Agreement, to enter into Designated Transactions under the Master Agreements and to make all the payments contemplated by, and to comply with, those Finance Documents to which the Borrowers are a party and the Master Agreements..
 
10.5
Consents in force
 
All the consents referred to in Clause 10.4 remain in force and nothing has occurred which makes any of them liable to revocation.

10.6
Legal validity; effective Security Interests
 
The Finance Documents to which each Borrower is a party and the Master Agreements, do now or, as the case may be, will, upon execution and delivery (and, where applicable, registration as provided for in the Finance Documents):

(a)
constitute that Borrower's legal, valid and binding obligations enforceable against that Borrower in accordance with their respective terms; and
 
(b)
create legal, valid and binding Security Interests enforceable in accordance with their respective terms over all the assets to which they, by their terms, relate,
 
subject to any relevant insolvency laws affecting creditors' rights generally.
 
10.7
No third party Security Interests
 
Without limiting the generality of Clause 10.6, at the time of the execution and delivery of each Finance Document:

(a)
each Borrower which is a party to that Finance Document will have the right to create all the Security Interests which that Finance Document purports to create; and
 
 
25

 

(b)
no third party will have any Security Interest (except for Permitted Security Interests) or any other interest, right or claim over, in or in relation to any asset to which any such Security Interest, by its terms, relates.
 
10.8
No conflicts
 
The execution by each Borrower of each Finance Document to which it is a party and each Master Agreement, and the borrowing by that Borrower of the Loan, and its compliance with each Finance Document to which it is a party and each Master Agreement will not involve or lead to a contravention of:

(a)
any law or regulation; or
 
(b)
the constitutional documents of that Borrower; or
 
(c)
any contractual or other obligation or restriction which is binding on that Borrower or any of its assets.
 
10.9
No withholding taxes
 
All payments which each Borrower is liable to make under the Finance Documents to which it is a party may be made without deduction or withholding for or on account of any tax payable under any law of any Pertinent Jurisdiction.

10.10
No default
 
No Event of Default or Potential Event of Default has occurred and is continuing.

10.11
Information
 
All information which has been provided in writing by or on behalf of the Borrowers or any Security Party to any Creditor Party in connection with any Finance Document satisfied the requirements of Clause 11.5; all audited and unaudited accounts which have been so provided satisfied the requirements of Clause 11.7; and there has been no material adverse change in the financial position or state of affairs of any Borrower from that disclosed in the latest of those accounts.

10.12
No litigation
 
No legal or administrative action involving any Borrower has been commenced or taken or, to any Borrower's knowledge, is likely to be commenced or taken.

10.13
Compliance with certain undertakings
 
At the date of this Agreement, the Borrowers are in compliance with Clauses 11.2, 11.4, 11.9 and 11.12.

10.14
Taxes paid
 
Each Borrower has paid all taxes applicable to, or imposed on or in relation to that Borrower, its business or the Ship owned by it.

10.15
ISM Code and ISPS Code compliance
 
All requirements of the ISM Code and the ISPS Code as they relate to the Borrowers, the Approved Manager and the Ships have been complied with.
 
 
26

 

10.16
Validity and completeness of Approved Charters.   The Approved Charters constitute valid, binding and enforceable obligations of the Approved Charterer and the relevant Borrower respectively in accordance with its terms and:
 
(a)
the copy of the Approved Charters delivered to the Agent before the date of this Agreement is a true and complete copy; and
 
(b)
other than as previously provided or disclosed to the Agent, no amendments or additions to the Approved Charters have been agreed nor has any Borrower or any Approved Charterer waived any of their respective rights under the respective Approved Charter.
 
10.17
No rebates etc.   There is no agreement or understanding to allow or pay any rebate, premium, commission, discount or other benefit or payment (howsoever described) to any Borrower, any Approved Charterer or a third party in connection with the employment by the relevant Borrower of its Ship, other than as disclosed to the Lenders in writing on or prior to the date of this Agreement.
 
11
GENERAL UNDERTAKINGS
 
11.1
General
 
Each Borrower undertakes with each Creditor Party to comply with the following provisions of this Clause 11 at all times during the Security Period except as the Agent may, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, otherwise permit.

11.2
Title; negative pledge
 
Each Borrower will:

(a)
hold the legal title to, and own the entire beneficial interest in the Ship owned by it, her Insurances and Earnings, free from all Security Interests and other interests and rights of every kind, except for Permitted Security Interests; and
 
(b)
not create or permit to arise any Security Interest (except for Permitted Security Interests) over any other asset, present or future (including, but not limited to, the Borrowers' rights against a Swap Counterparty under any Master Agreement or all or any part of the Borrowers' interest in any amount payable to the Borrowers by a Swap Counterparty under a Master Agreement),
 
11.3
No disposal of assets
 
Except in accordance with Clause 8.7, no Borrower will transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of:

(a)
all or a substantial part of its assets, whether by one transaction or a number of transactions, whether related or not; or
 
(b)
any debt payable to it or any other right (present, future or contingent right) to receive a payment, including any right to damages or compensation,
 
but paragraph (a) does not apply to any charter of a Ship as to which Clause 14.13 applies.
 
11.4
No other liabilities or obligations to be incurred
 
No Borrower will incur any liability or obligation or any other Financial Indebtedness except liabilities and obligations under the Finance Documents to which it is a party and liabilities or

 
27

 

obligations reasonably incurred in the ordinary course of operating and chartering the Ship owned by it and any Designated Transaction.

11.5
Information provided to be accurate
 
All financial and other information which is provided in writing by or on behalf of a Borrower under or in connection with any Finance Document will be true and not misleading and will not omit any material fact or consideration.

11.6
Provision of financial statements
 
Each Borrower will send to the Agent:

(a)
as soon as possible, but in no event later than 180 days after the end of each financial year of:
 
 
(i)
that Borrower, the annual audited individual accounts of that Borrower; and
 
 
(ii)
Dynagas, the annual audited consolidated accounts,
 
each certified as to their correctness by, in the case of a Borrower, an officer of the Borrower, and in the case of Dynagas, its chief accounting officer;
 
(b)
as soon as possible, but in no event later than 60 days after the end of each quarter in each financial year of Dynagas, the unaudited quarterly consolidated accounts of Dynagas, each certified as to their correctness by its chief accounting officer;
 
(c)
promptly, at the request of the Agent, such further financial information about the Borrowers, the Guarantors and the Ships as the Agent may reasonably require including, but not limited to, charter arrangements, Financial Indebtedness, financial condition, commitments, operations, operating expenses and loan repayment profiles.
 
11.7
Form of financial statements
 
All accounts (audited and unaudited) delivered under Clause 11.6 will:

(a)
be prepared in accordance with all applicable laws and GAAP consistently applied;
 
(b)
give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the relevant Borrower or Dynagas and its subsidiaries at the date of those accounts and of its or their profit for the period to which those accounts relate; and
 
(c)
fully disclose or provide for all significant liabilities of the relevant Borrower or Dynagas and its subsidiaries.
 
11.8
Shareholder and creditor notices
 
Each Borrower will send to the Agent, at the same time as they are despatched, copies of all communications which are despatched to that Borrower's shareholders or creditors or any class of them.

11.9
Consents
 
Each Borrower will maintain in force and promptly obtain or renew, and will promptly send certified copies to the Agent of, all consents required:

(a)
for that Borrower to perform its obligations under any Finance Document to which it is a party or any Master Agreement;
 
 
28

 

(b)
for the validity or enforceability of any Finance Document to which it is a party or any Master Agreement;
 
(c)
for that Borrower to continue to own and operate the Ship owned by it,
 
and that Borrower will comply with the terms of all such consents.
 
11.10
Maintenance of Security Interests
 
Each Borrower will:

(a)
at its own cost, do all that it reasonably can to ensure that any Finance Document validly creates the obligations and the Security Interests which it purports to create; and
 
(b)
without limiting the generality of paragraph (a), at its own cost, promptly register, file, record or enrol any Finance Document with any court or authority in all Pertinent Jurisdictions, pay any stamp, registration or similar tax in all Pertinent Jurisdictions in respect of any Finance Document, give any notice or take any other step which, in the reasonable opinion of the Majority Lenders, is or has become necessary or desirable for any Finance Document to be valid, enforceable or admissible in evidence or to ensure or protect the priority of any Security Interest which it creates.
 
11.11
Notification of litigation
 
Each Borrower will provide the Agent with details of any legal or administrative action involving that Borrower, any Security Party, the Approved Manager or the Ship owned by it, the Earnings or the Insurances as soon as such action is instituted or it becomes apparent to that Borrower that it is likely to be instituted, unless it is clear that the legal or administrative action cannot be considered material in the context of the Finance Documents taken as a whole.

11.12
Principal place of business
 
Each Borrower will maintain its place of business, and keep its corporate documents and records, at the address stated in Clause 28.2 (a); and no Borrower will establish, or do anything as a result of which it would be deemed to have, a place of business in the United Kingdom or the United States of America.

11.13
No amendment to Master Agreements
 
The Borrowers will not agree to any amendment or supplement to, or waive or fail to enforce, any Master Agreement or any of its provisions.
 
11.14
Confirmation of no default
 
Each Borrower will, within 2 Business Days after service by the Agent of a written request, serve on the Agent a notice which is signed by 2 directors of that Borrower and which:

(a)
states that no Event of Default or Potential Event of Default has occurred; or
 
(b)
states that no Event of Default or Potential Event of Default has occurred, except for a specified event or matter, of which all material details are given.
 
The Agent may serve requests under this Clause 11.14 from time to time but no more than 4 times in any 12 month period and then only if asked to do so by a Lender or Lenders having Contributions exceeding 50 per cent. of the Loan or (if an Advance has been made) Commitments exceeding 50 per cent. of the Total Commitments; and this Clause 11.14 does not affect the Borrowers' obligations under Clause 11.15.
 
 
29

 

11.15
Notification of default
 
Each Borrower will notify the Agent as soon as that Borrower becomes aware of:
 
(a)
the occurrence of an Event of Default or a Potential Event of Default; or
 
(b)
any matter which indicates that an Event of Default or a Potential Event of Default may have occurred,
 
and will keep the Agent fully up-to-date with all developments.
 
11.16
Provision of further information
 
Each Borrower will, as soon as practicable after receiving the request, provide the Agent with any additional financial or other information relating:

(a)
to that Borrower, the Ship owned by it, the Earnings or the Insurances; or
 
(b)
to any other matter relevant to, or to any provision of, a Finance Document,
 
which may be requested by the Agent, the Security Trustee or any Lender at any time.
 
11.17
Provision of copies and translation of documents
 
Each Borrower will supply the Agent, if the Agent so requires, a certified English translation prepared by a translator approved by the Agent in respect of any of the documents referred to in Clause 11.16.

11.18
Change of Control
 
Each Borrower shall procure that there is no Change of Control at any time during the Security Period and that at all times during the Security Period (a) the General Partner remains the general partner of Dynagas, (b) Dynagas' shares continue to be traded on the NASDAQ or any other internationally recognised stock exchange, (c) it maintains its direct legal and beneficial ownership as set out in Clause 10.3 (Share capital and ownership) and (d) it remains a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Dynagas.

11.19
"Know your customer" checks.
 
If:

(a)
the introduction of or any change in (or in the interpretation, administration or application of) any law or regulation made after the date of this Agreement;
 
(b)
any change in the status of the Borrowers or any Security Party after the date of this Agreement; or
 
(c)
a proposed assignment or transfer by a Lender of any of its rights and obligations under this Agreement to a party that is not a Lender prior to such assignment or transfer,
 
obliges the Agent or any Lender (or, in the case of paragraph (c), any prospective new Lender) to comply with "know your customer" or similar identification procedures in circumstances where the necessary information is not already available to it, the Borrowers shall promptly upon the request of the Agent or the Lender concerned supply, or procure the supply of, such documentation and other evidence as is reasonably requested by the Agent (for itself or on behalf of any Lender) or the Lender concerned (for itself or, in the case of the event described in paragraph (c), on behalf of any prospective new Lender) in order for the Agent, the Lender concerned or, in the case of the event described in paragraph (c), any prospective new Lender to carry out and be satisfied it has complied with all necessary
 
 
30

 

"know your customer" or other similar checks under all applicable laws and regulations pursuant to the transactions contemplated in the Finance Documents.
 
12
CORPORATE UNDERTAKINGS
 
12.1
General
 
Each Borrower also undertakes with each Creditor Party to comply with the following provisions of this Clause 12 at all times during the Security Period except as the Agent may, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, otherwise permit.

12.2
Maintenance of status
 
Each Borrower will maintain its separate corporate existence and remain in good standing under the laws of its country of incorporation.

12.3
Negative undertakings
 
No Borrower will:

(a)
carry on any business other than the ownership, chartering and operation of the Ship owned by it; or
 
(b)
at any time when an Event of Default or a Potential Event of Default has occurred or will result from the payment of a dividend or the making of a distribution, pay any dividend or make any other form of distribution (and any such dividend or distribution may only be paid or made to Dynagas through Dynagas Equity or Dynagas Operating); or
 
(c)
effect any form of redemption, purchase or return of share capital; or
 
(d)
provide any form of credit or financial assistance to:
 
 
(i)
a person who is directly or indirectly interested in that Borrower's share or loan capital; or
 
 
(ii)
any company in or with which such a person is directly or indirectly interested or connected,
 
or enter into any transaction with or involving such a person or company on terms which are, in any respect, less favourable to that Borrower than those which it could obtain in a bargain made at arms' length;
 
(e)
open or maintain any account with any bank or financial institution except accounts with the Agent and the Security Trustee for the purposes of the Finance Documents;
 
(f)
issue, allot or grant any person a right to any shares in its capital or repurchase or reduce its issued share capital;
 
(g)
acquire any shares or other securities other than US or UK Treasury bills and certificates of deposit issued by major North American or European banks, or enter into any transaction in a derivative other than Designated Transactions; or
 
(h)
enter into any form of amalgamation, merger or de-merger or any form of reconstruction or reorganisation.
 
12.4
Sanctions
 
 
31

 

Each of the  Borrowers understands that the Creditor Parties - be it due to applicable laws or due to internal rules and regulations – are prohibited from conducting transactions, including finance transactions, with the government of or any person or entity owned or controlled by the government of Restricted Countries or Restricted Persons.

Each Borrower confirms and undertakes that they shall not transfer, make use of or provide the benefits of any money, proceeds or services provided by or received from any Creditor Party to any Restricted Persons or conduct any business activity (such as entering into any ship acquisition agreement, any ship refinancing agreement and/or any charter agreement) related to a vessel, project, asset or otherwise for which money, proceeds or services have been received from any Creditor Party with any Restricted Persons.

In this Clause 12.4:

Restricted Countries means Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Syria and any additional countries notified by the Agent to the Borrowers based on respective sanctions being imposed by the United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") or any of the regulative bodies referred to in the definition of Restricted Persons.

Restricted Persons means persons, entities or any other parties (i) located, domiciled, resident or incorporated in Restricted Countries, (ii) subject to any sanction administrated by the United Nations, the European Union, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland ("SECO"), OFAC, HM Treasury of the United Kingdom, the Monetary Authority of Singapore ("MAS") and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") and/or any other applicable country and/or (iii) owned or controlled by or affiliated with persons, entities or any other parties as referred to in (i) and (ii).
 
12.5
No money laundering
 
Without prejudice to the generality of Clause 3, in relation to the borrowing by the Borrowers of the Loan, the performance and discharge of their obligations and liabilities under the Finance Documents, and the transactions and other arrangements affected or contemplated by the Finance Documents to which a Borrower is a party, each Borrower confirms that (i) it is acting for its own account; (ii) it will use the proceeds of the Loan for its own benefit, under its full responsibility and exclusively for the purposes specified in this Agreement, and (iii) the foregoing will not involve or lead to a contravention of any law, official requirement or other regulatory measure or procedure implemented to combat "money laundering" (as defined in Article 1 of Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council) and/or Art 305 bis of the Swiss Penal Code.

13
INSURANCE
 
13.1
General
 
Each Borrower also undertakes with each Creditor Party to comply with the following provisions of this Clause 13 at all times during the Security Period except as the Agent may, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, otherwise permit.

13.2
Maintenance of obligatory insurances
 
Each Borrower shall keep the Ship owned by it insured at the expense of that Borrower against:

(a)
fire and usual marine risks (including hull and machinery and excess risks);
 
(b)
war risks;
 
(c)
protection and indemnity risks;
 
 
32

 

(d)
any other risks against which the Security Trustee considers, having regard to practices and other circumstances prevailing at the relevant time, it would in the opinion of the Security Trustee be reasonable for that Borrower to insure and which are specified by the Security Trustee by notice to that Borrower.
 
13.3
Terms of obligatory insurances
 
Each Borrower shall effect such insurances:

(a)
in Dollars;
 
(b)
in the case of fire and usual marine risks and war risks, in an amount on an agreed value basis at least the greater of (i) the Market Value of the Ship owned by it and (ii) such amount which, when aggregated with the amount for which any other Ship then subject to a Mortgage is insured, is equal to 120 per cent. of the aggregate of the Total Commitments and the Swap Exposure (if any) under the Master Agreements;
 
(c)
in the case of oil pollution liability risks, for an aggregate amount equal to the highest level of cover from time to time available under basic protection and indemnity club entry and in the international marine insurance market;
 
(d)
in relation to protection and indemnity risks in respect of the full tonnage of the Ship owned by it;
 
(e)
on approved terms; and
 
(f)
through approved brokers and with approved insurance companies and/or underwriters or, in the case of war risks and protection and indemnity risks, in approved war risks and protection and indemnity risks associations.
 
13.4
Further protections for the Creditor Parties
 
In addition to the terms set out in Clause 13.3, each Borrower shall procure that the obligatory insurances effected by it shall:

(a)
subject always to paragraph (b), name that Borrower as the sole named assured unless the interest of every other named assured is limited:
 
 
(i)
in respect of any obligatory insurances for hull and machinery and war risks;
 
 
(A)
to any provable out-of-pocket expenses that it has incurred and which form part of any recoverable claim on underwriters; and
 
 
(B)
to any third party liability claims where cover for such claims is provided by the policy (and then only in respect of discharge of any claims made against it); and
 
 
(ii)
in respect of any obligatory insurances for protection and indemnity risks, to any recoveries it is entitled to make by way of reimbursement following discharge of any third party liability claims made specifically against it;
 
and every other named assured has undertaken in writing to the Security Trustee (in such form as it requires) that any deductible shall be apportioned between that Borrower and every other named assured in proportion to the gross claims made or paid by each of them and that it shall do all things necessary and provide all documents, evidence and information to enable the Security Trustee to collect or recover any moneys which at any time become payable in respect of the obligatory insurances;
 
 
33

 

(b)
whenever the Security Trustee requires, name (or be amended to name) the Security Trustee as additional named assured for its rights and interests, warranted no operational interest and with full waiver of rights of subrogation against the Security Trustee, but without the Security Trustee thereby being liable to pay (but having the right to pay) premiums, calls or other assessments in respect of such insurance;
 
(c)
name the Security Trustee as loss payee with such directions for payment as the Security Trustee may specify;
 
(d)
provide that all payments by or on behalf of the insurers under the obligatory insurances to the Security Trustee shall be made without set-off, counterclaim or deductions or condition whatsoever;
 
(e)
provide that the obligatory insurances shall be primary without right of contribution from other insurances which may be carried by the Security Trustee or any other Creditor Party; and
 
(f)
provide that the Security Trustee may make proof of loss if that Borrower fails to do so.
 
13.5
Renewal of obligatory insurances
 
Each Borrower shall:

(a)
at least 21 days before the expiry of any obligatory insurance effected by it:
 
 
(i)
notify the Security Trustee of the brokers (or other insurers) and any protection and indemnity or war risks association through or with whom that Borrower proposes to renew that obligatory insurance and of the proposed terms of renewal; and
 
 
(ii)
in case of any substantial change in insurance cover, obtain the Security Trustee's approval to the matters referred to in paragraph (i);
 
(b)
at least 14 days before the expiry of any obligatory insurance effected by it, renew that obligatory insurance in accordance with the Security Trustee's approval pursuant to paragraph (a); and
 
(c)
procure that the approved brokers and/or the war risks and protection and indemnity associations with which such a renewal is effected shall promptly after the renewal notify the Security Trustee in writing of the terms and conditions of the renewal.
 

13.6
Copies of policies; letters of undertaking
 
Each Borrower shall ensure that all approved brokers provide the Security Trustee with pro forma copies of all policies relating to the obligatory insurances which they are to effect or renew and of a letter or letters or undertaking in a form required by the Security Trustee and including undertakings by the approved brokers that:

(a)
they will have endorsed on each policy, immediately upon issue, a loss payable clause and a notice of assignment complying with the provisions of Clause 13.4;
 
(b)
they will hold such policies, and the benefit of such insurances, to the order of the Security Trustee in accordance with the said loss payable clause;
 
(c)
they will advise the Security Trustee immediately of any material change to the terms of the obligatory insurances;
 
 
34

 

(d)
they will notify the Security Trustee, not less than 14 days before the expiry of the obligatory insurances, in the event of their not having received notice of renewal instructions from that Borrower or its agents and, in the event of their receiving instructions to renew, they will promptly notify the Security Trustee of the terms of the instructions; and
 
(e)
they will not set off against any sum recoverable in respect of a claim relating to the Ship owned by that Borrower under such obligatory insurances any premiums or other amounts due to them or any other person whether in respect of that Ship or otherwise, they waive any lien on the policies, or any sums received under them, which they might have in respect of such premiums or other amounts, and they will not cancel such obligatory insurances by reason of non-payment of such premiums or other amounts, and will arrange for a separate policy to be issued in respect of that Ship forthwith upon being so requested by the Security Trustee.
 
13.7
Copies of certificates of entry
 
Each Borrower shall ensure that any protection and indemnity and/or war risks associations in which the Ship owned by it is entered provides the Security Trustee with:
(a)
a certified copy of the certificate of entry for that Ship;
 
(b)
a letter or letters of undertaking in such form as may be required by the Security Trustee; and
 
(c)
a certified copy of each certificate of financial responsibility for pollution by oil or other Environmentally Sensitive Material issued by the relevant certifying authority in relation to that Ship.
 
13.8
Deposit of original policies
 
Each Borrower shall ensure that all policies relating to obligatory insurances effected by it are deposited with the approved brokers through which the insurances are effected or renewed.

13.9
Payment of premiums
 
Each Borrower shall punctually pay all premiums or other sums payable in respect of the obligatory insurances effected by it and produce all relevant receipts when so required by the Security Trustee.

13.10
Guarantees
 
Each Borrower shall ensure that any guarantees required by a protection and indemnity or war risks association are promptly issued and remain in full force and effect.

13.11
Compliance with terms of insurances
 
No Borrower shall do nor omit to do (nor permit to be done or not to be done) any act or thing which would or might render any obligatory insurance invalid, void, voidable or unenforceable or render any sum payable under an obligatory insurance repayable in whole or in part; and, in particular:

(a)
each Borrower shall take all necessary action and comply with all requirements which may from time to time be applicable to the obligatory insurances, and (without limiting the obligation contained in Clause 13.6(c)) ensure that the obligatory insurances are not made subject to any exclusions or qualifications to which the Security Trustee has not given its prior approval;
 
 
35

 

(b)
no Borrower shall make any changes relating to the classification or classification society or manager or operator of the Ship owned by it approved by the underwriters of the obligatory insurances;
 
(c)
each Borrower shall make (and promptly upon the request of the Agent, supply copies to the Agent of) all quarterly or other voyage declarations which may be required by the protection and indemnity risks association in which the Ship owned by it is entered to maintain cover for trading to the United States of America and Exclusive Economic Zone (as defined in the United States Oil Pollution Act 1990 or any other applicable legislation); and
 
(d)
no Borrower shall employ the Ship owned by it, nor allow it to be employed, otherwise than in conformity with the terms and conditions of the obligatory insurances, without first obtaining the consent of the insurers and complying with any requirements (as to extra premium or otherwise) which the insurers specify.
 
13.12
Alteration to terms of insurances
 
No Borrower shall be entitled to make or agree to any alteration to the terms of any obligatory insurance unless such alterations are not material and unless the terms which are being altered are not material and any alteration will not result in a breach of any of the provisions of this Clause 13 or any other applicable provision of any of the Finance Documents, and no Borrower shall waive any right relating to any obligatory insurance.

13.13
Settlement of claims
 
No Borrower shall settle, compromise or abandon any claim under any obligatory insurance for Total Loss or for a Major Casualty without the unanimous consent of the Lenders, and shall do all things necessary and provide all documents, evidence and information to enable the Security Trustee to collect or recover any moneys which at any time become payable in respect of the obligatory insurances.

13.14
Provision of copies of communications
 
Each Borrower shall provide the Security Trustee, upon request, copies of all material written communications between that Borrower and:

(a)
the approved brokers;
 
(b)
the approved protection and indemnity and/or war risks associations; and
 
(c)
the approved insurance companies and/or underwriters, which relate directly or indirectly to:
 
 
(i)
that Borrower's obligations relating to the obligatory insurances including, without limitation, all requisite declarations and payments of additional premiums or calls; and
 
 
(ii)
any credit arrangements made between that Borrower and any of the persons referred to in paragraphs (a) or (b) relating wholly or partly to the effecting or maintenance of the obligatory insurances.
 
13.15
Provision of information
 
In addition, each Borrower shall promptly provide the Security Trustee (or any persons which it may designate) with any information which the Security Trustee (or any such designated person) requests for the purpose of:
 
 
36

 

(a)
obtaining or preparing any report from an independent marine insurance broker as to the adequacy of the obligatory insurances effected or proposed to be effected; and/or
 
(b)
effecting, maintaining or renewing any such insurances as are referred to in Clause 13.16 or dealing with or considering any matters relating to any such insurances,
 
and the Borrowers shall, forthwith upon demand, indemnify the Security Trustee in respect of all fees and other expenses incurred by or for the account of the Security Trustee in connection with any such report as is referred to in paragraph (a).
 
13.16
Mortgagee's interest and additional perils insurances
 
The Security Trustee shall be entitled from time to time to effect, maintain and renew a mortgagee's interest additional perils insurance, a mortgagee's political risks insurance and a mortgagee's interest marine insurance each in an amount equal to 120 per cent. of the Loan and the Borrowers shall upon demand fully indemnify the Security Trustee in respect of all premiums and other expenses which are incurred in connection with or with a view to effecting, maintaining or renewing any such insurance or dealing with, or considering, any matter arising out of any such insurance.

13.17
Review of insurance requirements
 
The Agent shall be entitled to review the requirements of this Clause 13 from time to time in order to take account of any changes in circumstances after the date of this Agreement which are, in the reasonable opinion of the Agent, significant and reasonably likely to affect a Borrower or a Ship and its or their insurance (including, without limitation, changes in the availability or the cost of insurance coverage or the risks to which the Borrowers may be subject), and may appoint insurance consultants in relation to this review at the cost of the Borrowers.
 
13.18
Modification of insurance requirements
 
The Agent shall notify the Borrowers of any proposed modification under Clause 13.17 to the requirements of this Clause 13 which the Agent considers necessary in the circumstances, and such modification shall take effect on and from the date it is notified in writing to the Borrowers as an amendment to this Clause 13 and shall bind the Borrowers accordingly Provided that the Borrowers shall have 20 days to comply with such requirements.
 
13.19
Compliance with mortgagee's instructions
 
If the Borrowers have not complied with the requirements notified to them by the Agent pursuant to Clause 13.18 to the absolute satisfaction of the Agent within the 20-day period referred to in Clause 13.18, the Agent shall be entitled (without prejudice to or limitation of any other rights which it may have or acquire under any Finance Document) to require a Ship to remain at any safe port or to proceed to and remain at any safe port designated by the Agent until the Borrowers implement any amendments to the terms of the obligatory insurances and any operational changes required as a result of a notice served under Clause 13.18
 
14
SHIP COVENANTS
 
14.1
General
 
Each Borrower also undertakes with each Creditor Party to comply with the following provisions of this Clause 14 at all times during the Security Period except as the Agent, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, may otherwise permit.
 
 
37

 

14.2
Ship's name and registration
 
Each Borrower shall keep the Ship owned by it registered in its name under the relevant Approved Flag; shall not do, omit to do or allow to be done anything as a result of which such registration might be cancelled or imperilled; and shall not change the name or port of registry of the Ship owned by it.

14.3
Repair and classification
 
Each Borrower shall keep the Ship owned by it in a good and safe condition and state of repair:

(a)
consistent with first-class ship ownership and management practice;
 
(b)
so as to maintain that Ship with the highest class applicable to vessels of the same age, type and specification as such Ship at a classification society which is a member of the International Association of Classification Societies, acceptable to the Agent free of any overdue recommendations or qualifications; and
 
(c)
so as to comply with all laws and regulations applicable to vessels registered at ports in the relevant Approved Flag State or to vessels trading to any jurisdiction to which that Ship may trade from time to time, including but not limited to the ISM Code and the ISPS Code.
 
14.4
Classification society undertaking
 
Each Borrower shall instruct the classification society referred to in Clause 14.3 (and make reasonable efforts to procure that the classification society undertakes with the Security Trustee):

(a)
to send to the Security Trustee, following receipt of a written request from the Security Trustee, certified true copies of all original class records held by the classification society in relation to that Ship;
 
(b)
to allow the Security Trustee (or its agents), at any time and from time to time, to inspect the original class and related records of that Borrower and that Ship at the offices of the classification society and to take copies of them;
 
(c)
to notify the Security Trustee immediately in writing if the classification society:
 
 
(i)
receives notification from that Borrower or any person that that Ship's classification society is to be changed; or
 
 
(ii)
becomes aware of any facts or matters which may result in or have resulted in a change, suspension, discontinuance, withdrawal or expiry of that Ship's class under the rules or terms and conditions of that Borrower's or that Ship's membership of the classification society; and
 
(d)
following receipt of a written request from the Security Trustee:
 
 
(i)
to confirm that that Borrower is not in default of any of its contractual obligations or liabilities to the classification society and, without limiting the foregoing, that it has paid in full all fees or other charges due and payable to the classification society;  or
 
 
(ii)
if that Borrower is in default of any of its contractual obligations or liabilities to the classification society, to specify to the Security Trustee in reasonable detail the facts and circumstances of such default, the consequences of such default, and any remedy period agreed or allowed by the classification society.
 
 
38

 

14.5
Modification
 
No Borrower shall make any modification or repairs to, or replacement of, any Ship or equipment installed on it unless (a) this is required pursuant to the terms and conditions of an Approved Charter and (b) any modification or repairs to, or replacement of, the relevant Ship or equipment installed on it could not be reasonably expected to materially alter the structure, type or performance characteristics of that Ship or materially reduce its value.

14.6
Removal of parts
 
No Borrower shall remove any material part of any Ship, or any item of equipment installed on, any Ship unless the part or item so removed is forthwith replaced by a suitable part or item which is in the same condition as or better condition than the part or item removed, is free from any Security Interest or any right in favour of any person other than the Security Trustee and becomes on installation on the relevant Ship the property of the relevant Borrower and subject to the security constituted by the relevant Mortgage Provided that a Borrower may install equipment owned by a third party if the equipment can be removed without substantial risk of damage to the Ship owned by it.

14.7
Surveys
 
Each Borrower shall submit the Ship owned by it regularly to all periodical or other surveys which may be required for classification purposes and, if so required by the Security Trustee provide the Security Trustee, with copies of all survey reports.

14.8
Inspection
 
Each Borrower shall permit the Security Trustee (by surveyors or other persons appointed by it for that purpose) to board the Ship owned by it at all reasonable times without undue interference with the operation of the Ship to inspect its condition or to satisfy themselves about proposed or executed repairs and shall afford all proper facilities for such inspections. All fees and expenses incurred in relation to (i) one condition inspection in each calendar year which shows the relevant Ship to be (in the opinion of the Agent) in a satisfactory condition and (ii) any inspection which takes place after the occurrence of an Event of Default shall be for the account of the Borrowers.
14.9
Prevention of and release from arrest
 
Each Borrower shall promptly discharge:

(a)
all liabilities which give or may give rise to maritime or possessory liens on or claims enforceable against the Ship owned by it, the Earnings or the Insurances other than Permitted Security Interests;
 
(b)
all taxes, dues and other amounts charged in respect of the Ship owned by it, the Earnings or the Insurances; and
 
(c)
all other outgoings whatsoever in respect of the Ship owned by it, the Earnings or the Insurances,
 
and, forthwith upon receiving notice of the arrest of the Ship owned by it, or of its detention in exercise or purported exercise of any lien or claim, that Borrower shall procure its release by providing bail or otherwise as the circumstances may require.
 
14.10
Compliance with laws etc.
 
Each Borrower shall:
 
 
39

 

(a)
comply, or procure compliance with the ISM Code, the ISPS Code, all Environmental Laws and all other laws or regulations relating to the Ship owned by it, its ownership, operation and management or to the business of that Borrower;
 
(b)
not employ the Ship owned by it nor allow its employment in any manner contrary to any law or regulation in any relevant jurisdiction including but not limited to the ISM Code and the ISPS Code; and
 
(c)
in the event of hostilities in any part of the world (whether war is declared or not), not cause or permit the Ship owned by it to enter or trade to any zone which is declared a war zone by any government or by the Ship's war risks insurers unless the prior written consent of the Security Trustee has been given and that Borrower has (at its expense) effected any special, additional or modified insurance cover which the Security Trustee may require.
 
14.11
Provision of information
 
Each Borrower shall promptly provide the Security Trustee with any information which it requests regarding:

(a)
the Ship owned by it, its employment, position and engagements;
 
(b)
the Earnings and payments and amounts due to the master and crew of the Ship owned by it;
 
(c)
any expenses incurred, or likely to be incurred, in connection with the operation, maintenance or repair of the Ship owned by it and any payments made in respect of that Ship;
 
(d)
any towages and salvages; and
 
(e)
its compliance, the Approved Manager's compliance and the compliance of the Ship owned by it with the ISM Code and the ISPS Code,
 
and, upon the Security Trustee's request, provide copies of any current charter relating to the Ship owned by it, of any current charter guarantee and copies of the Borrower's or the Approved Manager's Document of Compliance.
 
14.12
Notification of certain events
 
Each Borrower shall promptly notify the Security Trustee by fax, confirmed forthwith by letter, of:

(a)
any casualty which is or is likely to be or to become a Major Casualty;
 
(b)
any occurrence as a result of which the Ship owned by it has become or is, by the passing of time or otherwise, likely to become a Total Loss;
 
(c)
any requirement or recommendation made by any insurer or classification society or by any competent authority which is not immediately complied with;
 
(d)
any arrest or detention of the Ship owned by it, any exercise or purported exercise of any lien on that Ship or its Earnings or any requisition of that Ship for hire;
 
(e)
any intended dry docking of the Ship owned by it;
 
(f)
any Environmental Claim made against that Borrower or in connection with the Ship owned by it, or any Environmental Incident;
 

 
40

 

(g)
any claim for breach of the ISM Code or the ISPS Code being made against that Borrower, the Approved Manager or otherwise in connection with the Ship owned by it; or
 
(h)
any other matter, event or incident, actual or threatened, the effect of which will or could lead to the ISM Code or the ISPS Code not being complied with,
 
and that Borrower shall keep the Security Trustee advised in writing on a regular basis and in such detail as the Security Trustee shall require of that Borrower's, the Approved Manager's or any other person's response to any of those events or matters.
 
14.13
Restrictions on chartering, appointment of managers etc.
 
No Borrower shall, in relation to the Ship owned by it:

(a)
let that Ship on demise charter for any period;
 
(b)
other than an Approved Charter, enter into any time or consecutive voyage charter in respect of that Ship for a term which exceeds, or which by virtue of any optional extensions may exceed, 12 months other than with the prior written consent of the Agent (which consent is not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed Provided that such charter shall be subject to any terms and conditions reasonably acceptable to the Agent);
 
(c)
enter into any charter in relation to that Ship under which more than 2 months' hire (or the equivalent) is payable in advance;
 
(d)
charter that Ship otherwise than on bona fide arm's length terms at the time when that Ship is fixed;
 
(e)
appoint a manager of that Ship other than the Approved Manager or agree to any alteration to the terms of the Approved Manager's appointment;
 
(f)
de-activate or lay up that Ship; or
 
(g)
enter the Ship owned by it with a different classification society;
 
(h)
put that Ship into the possession of any person for the purpose of work being done upon it in an amount exceeding or likely to exceed $1,000,000 (or the equivalent in any other currency) unless that person has first given to the Security Trustee and in terms satisfactory to it a written undertaking not to exercise any lien on that Ship or its Earnings for the cost of such work or for any other reason.
 
14.14
Notice of Mortgage
 
Each Borrower shall keep the relevant Mortgage registered against the Ship owned by it as a valid first priority mortgage, carry on board that Ship a certified copy of the relevant Mortgage and place and maintain in a conspicuous place in the navigation room and the Master's cabin of that Ship a framed printed notice stating that that Ship is mortgaged by that Borrower to the Security Trustee.

14.15
Sharing of Earnings
 
No Borrower shall enter into any agreement or arrangement for the sharing of any Earnings.

14.16
Charter Assignment
 
If a Borrower enters into any bareboat or demise charter or any other charter which is of 12 months or more in duration, or is capable of exceeding 12 months in duration, in respect of the Ship owned by it, that Borrower shall, promptly on entering into the same (i) execute in

 
41

 

favour of the Security Trustee an assignment of such charter (which shall include, without limitation, the service of a notice of assignment on the relevant charterer and an acknowledgement of such notice from that charterer) and (ii) in the case that such charter is a demise or bareboat charter, execute, and procure the execution by the charterer of, a tripartite deed in relation thereto, each in such form and on such terms as the Security Trustee may require, and shall deliver to the Agent such other documents as the Agent may require.

14.17
Approved Charter
 
The Borrowers shall not, without the prior written consent of the Agent and then, if such consent is given, only subject to such conditions as the Agent may impose:

(a)
agree to reduce the term of any Approved Charter; or
 
(b)
agree to vary or waive any provisions relating to the payment of charter hire under an Approved Charter; or
 
(c)
agree to vary or waive any other material (in the sole opinion of the Agent) provision of the Approved Charter.
 
14.18
ISPS Code
 
Each Borrower shall comply with the ISPS Code and in particular, without limitation, shall:

(a)
procure that the Ship owned by that Borrower and the company responsible for that Ship's compliance with the ISPS Code comply with the ISPS Code; and
 
(b)
maintain for that Ship an ISSC; and
 
(c)
notify the Agent promptly in writing of any actual or threatened withdrawal, suspension, cancellation or modification of the ISSC.
 
15
SECURITY COVER
 
15.1
Minimum required security cover
 
Clause 15.2 applies if the Agent notifies the Borrowers that:

(a)
the aggregate of the market values (determined as provided in Clause 15.3) of the Ships; plus
 
(b)
the net realisable value of any additional security previously provided under this Clause 15,
 
is below 130  per cent. of the aggregate of the Total Commitments and of the Swap Exposure under each Master Agreement.
 
15.2
Provision of additional security; prepayment
 
If the Agent serves a notice on the Borrowers under Clause 15.1, the Borrowers shall prepay such part (at least) of the Total Commitments as will eliminate the shortfall on or before the date falling 1 month after the date on which the Agent's notice is served under Clause 15.1 (the " Prepayment Date ") unless at least 1 Business Day before the Prepayment Date they have provided, or ensured that a third party has provided, additional security which, in the opinion of the Majority Lenders, has a net realisable value at least equal to the shortfall and which has been documented in such terms as the Agent may, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, approve or require.
 
 
42

 

15.3
Valuation of Ships
 
The market value of a Ship at any date is that shown by the arithmetic mean of 2 written valuations each prepared:

(a)
as at a date not more than 14 days prior;
 
(b)
by an independent sale and purchase shipbroker, one of which the Agent has approved or appointed for the purpose and the second of which the Borrowers have appointed and the Agent has approved for the purpose;
 
(c)
with or without physical inspection of the Ship (as the Agent may require);
 
(d)
on the basis of a sale for prompt delivery for cash on normal arm's length commercial terms as between a willing seller and a willing buyer, free of any existing charter or other contract of employment; and
 
(e)
after deducting the estimated amount of the usual and reasonable expenses which would be incurred in connection with the sale which shall include brokers' commissions in an amount or up to 0.5% of value as otherwise determined in accordance with (b) – (d) above.
 
15.4
Value of additional vessel security
 
The net realisable value of any additional security which is provided under Clause 15.2 and which consists of a Security Interest over a vessel shall be that shown by a valuation complying with the requirements of Clause 15.3.

15.5
Valuations binding
 
Any valuation under Clause 15.3 or 15.4 shall be binding and conclusive as regards the Borrowers, as shall be any valuation which the Majority Lenders make of any additional security which does not consist of or include a Security Interest.

15.6
Provision of information
 
The Borrowers shall promptly provide the Agent and any shipbroker or expert acting under Clause 15.3 or 15.4 with any information which the Agent or the shipbroker or expert may request for the purposes of the valuation; and, if the Borrowers fail to provide the information by the date specified in the request, the valuation may be made on any basis and assumptions which the shipbroker or the Majority Lenders (or the expert appointed by them) consider prudent.

15.7
Payment of valuation expenses
 
Without prejudice to the generality of the Borrowers' obligations under Clauses 20.2, 20.3 and 21.3, the Borrowers shall, on demand, pay the Agent the amount of the fees and expenses of any shipbroker or expert instructed by the Agent under this Clause and all legal and other expenses incurred by any Creditor Party in connection with any matter arising out of this Clause Provided that until the occurrence of an Event of Default or Potential Event of Default, the Borrowers shall be obliged to pay such fees or expenses in relation to the valuations referred to in Clause 9.1(b) and (ii) after the Drawdown Date, one set of valuations per calendar year for each Ship obtained in accordance with Clause 15.3.

15.8
Frequency of valuations
 
Subject to Clause 15.7, the Borrowers acknowledge and agree that the Agent may obtain valuations of the Ships at such times as the Agent shall, reasonably, deem necessary.
 
 
43

 

16
PAYMENTS AND CALCULATIONS
 
16.1
Currency and method of payments
 
All payments to be made by the Lenders or by any Borrower under a Finance Document shall be made to the Agent or to the Security Trustee, in the case of an amount payable to it:

(a)
by not later than 11.00 a.m. (New York City time) on the due date;
 
(b)
in same day Dollar funds settled through the New York Clearing House Interbank Payments System (or in such other Dollar funds and/or settled in such other manner as the Agent shall specify as being customary at the time for the settlement of international transactions of the type contemplated by this Agreement);
 
(c)
in the case of an amount payable by a Lender to the Agent or by any Borrower to the Agent or any Lender, to the account of the Agent at CREDIT SUISSE AG, Basel, Switzerland, (Credit Suisse AG , Ship Finance, IBAN Number: CH92 0483 5950 0000 9878 0, SWIFT: CRESCHZZ40A), or to such other account with such other bank as the Agent may from time to time notify to the Borrowers and the other Creditor Parties; and
 
(d)
in the case of an amount payable to the Security Trustee, to such account as it may from time to time notify to the Borrowers and the other Creditor Parties.
 
16.2
Payment on non-Business Day
 
If any payment by any Borrower under a Finance Document would otherwise fall due on a day which is not a Business Day:

(a)
the due date shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day; or
 
(b)
if the next succeeding Business Day falls in the next calendar month, the due date shall be brought forward to the immediately preceding Business Day,
 
and interest shall be payable during any extension under paragraph (a) at the rate payable on the original due date.
 
16.3
Basis for calculation of periodic payments
 
All interest and commitment fee and any other payments under any Finance Document which are of an annual or periodic nature shall accrue from day to day and shall be calculated on the basis of the actual number of days elapsed and a 360 day year.

16.4
Distribution of payments to Creditor Parties
 
Subject to Clauses 16.5, 16.6 and 16.7:

(a)
any amount received by the Agent under a Finance Document for distribution or remittance to a Lender, a Swap Counterparty or the Security Trustee shall be made available by the Agent to that Lender, that Swap Counterparty or, as the case may be, the Security Trustee by payment, with funds having the same value as the funds received, to such account as the Lender and the Swap Counterparty or the Security Trustee may have notified to the Agent not less than 5 Business Days previously; and
 
(b)
amounts to be applied in satisfying amounts of a particular category which are due to the Lenders and/or the Swap Counterparties generally shall be distributed by the Agent to each Lender and each Swap Counterparty pro rata to the amount in that category which is due to it.
 
 
44

 

16.5
Permitted deductions by Agent
 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or any other Finance Document, the Agent may, before making an amount available to a Lender or a Swap Counterparty, deduct and withhold from that amount any sum which is then due and payable to the Agent from that Lender or that Swap Counterparty under any Finance Document or any sum which the Agent is then entitled under any Finance Document to require that Lender or that Swap Counterparty to pay on demand.

16.6
Agent only obliged to pay when monies received
 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or any other Finance Document, the Agent shall not be obliged to make available to any Borrower or any Lender or any Swap Counterparty any sum which the Agent is expecting to receive for remittance or distribution to that Borrower or that Lender or that Swap Counterparty until the Agent has satisfied itself that it has received that sum.

16.7
Refund to Agent of monies not received
 
If and to the extent that the Agent makes available a sum to a Borrower or a Lender or a Swap Counterparty, without first having received that sum, that Borrower or (as the case may be) the Lender or the Swap Counterparty concerned shall, on demand:

(a)
refund the sum in full to the Agent; and
 
(b)
pay to the Agent the amount (as certified by the Agent) which will indemnify the Agent against any funding or other loss, liability or expense incurred by the Agent as a result of making the sum available before receiving it.
 
16.8
Agent may assume receipt
 
Clause 16.7 shall not affect any claim which the Agent has under the law of restitution, and applies irrespective of whether the Agent had any form of notice that it had not received the sum which it made available.

16.9
Creditor Party accounts
 
Each Creditor Party shall maintain accounts showing the amounts owing to it by the Borrowers and each Security Party under the Finance Documents and all payments in respect of those amounts made by the Borrowers and any Security Party.

16.10
Agent's memorandum account
 
The Agent shall maintain a memorandum account showing the amounts advanced by the Lenders and all other sums owing to the Agent, the Security Trustee and each Lender from the Borrowers and each Security Party under the Finance Documents and all payments in respect of those amounts made by the Borrowers and any Security Party.

16.11
Accounts prima facie evidence
 
If any accounts maintained under Clauses 16.9 and 16.10 show an amount to be owing by a Borrower or a Security Party to a Creditor Party, those accounts shall be prima facie evidence that that amount is owing to that Creditor Party.

17
APPLICATION OF RECEIPTS
 
17.1
Normal order of application
 
 
45

 

Except as any Finance Document may otherwise provide, any sums which are received or recovered by any Creditor Party under or by virtue of any Finance Document shall be applied:

(a)
FIRST:  in or towards satisfaction of any amounts then due and payable under the Finance Documents and the Master Agreements in the following order and proportions:
 
 
(i)
first, in or towards satisfaction pro rata of all amounts then due and payable to the Creditor Parties under the Finance Documents other than those amounts referred to at paragraphs (ii) and (iii) (including, but without limitation, all amounts payable by the Borrowers under Clauses 20, 21, and 22 of this Agreement or by the Borrowers or any Security Party under any corresponding or similar provision in any other Finance Document or in any Master Agreement);
 
 
(ii)
secondly, in or towards satisfaction pro rata of any and all amounts of interest or default interest payable to the Creditor Parties under the Finance Documents  and the Master Agreements (and, for this purpose, the expression " interest " shall include any net amount which the Borrowers shall have become liable to pay or deliver under section 2(e) (Obligations) of any Master Agreement but shall have failed to pay or deliver to the relevant Creditor Party or Swap Counterparty (as the case may be) at the time of application or distribution under this Clause 17); and
 
 
(iii)
thirdly, in or towards satisfaction pro rata of the Loan and the Swap Exposure of each Swap Counterparty (in the case of the latter, calculated as at the actual Early Termination Date applying to each particular Designated Transaction, or if no such Early Termination Date shall have occurred, calculated as if an Early Termination Date occurred on the date of application or distribution hereunder); and
 
(b)
SECONDLY:  if an Event of Default or a Potential Event of Default shall have occurred, in retention of an amount equal to any amount not then due and payable under any Finance Document or any Master Agreement but which the Agent, by notice to the Borrowers, the Security Parties and the other Creditor Parties, states in its opinion will or may become due and payable in the future and which the Borrowers (in the reasonable opinion of the Agent) will not be able to pay when such amounts become due and payable and, upon those amounts becoming due and payable, in or towards satisfaction of them in accordance with the provisions of Clause 17.1(a); and
 
(c)
THIRDLY:  any surplus shall be paid to the Borrower or to any other person entitled to it.
 
17.2
Variation of order of application
 
The Agent may, with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders and the Swap Counterparties, by notice to the Borrowers, the Security Parties and the other Creditor Parties provide for a different manner of application from that set out in Clause 17.1 either as regards a specified sum or sums or as regards sums in a specified category or categories.

17.3
Notice of variation of order of application
 
The Agent may give notices under Clause 17.2 from time to time; and such a notice may be stated to apply not only to sums which may be received or recovered in the future, but also to any sum which has been received or recovered on or after the third Business Day before the date on which the notice is served.

17.4
Appropriation rights overridden
 
This Clause 17 and any notice which the Agent gives under Clause 17.2 shall override any right of appropriation possessed, and any appropriation made, by any Borrower or any Security Party.

 
46

 

18
APPLICATION OF EARNINGS
 
18.1
Payment of Earnings and Swap Payments
 
Each Borrower undertakes with each Creditor Party to ensure that, throughout the Security Period (and subject only to the provisions of the General Assignment applicable to its Ship), all the Earnings of the Ship owned by it are paid to the Earnings Account of that Borrower.

18.2
Application of Earnings
 
The Borrowers and the Creditor Parties irrevocably authorise the Agent to apply monies from time to time credited to, or for the time being standing to the credit of, an Earnings Account, unless and until an Event of Default or Potential Event of Default shall have occurred (whereupon the provisions of Clause 17.1 shall be and become applicable), in the following manner:

(a)
FIRST: in or towards meeting the costs, fees and expenses payable by the Borrowers under the Finance Documents;
 
(b)
SECONDLY:  in or towards making the payments of interest due to the Agent pursuant to Clauses 5.1 and 7;
 
(c)
THIRDLY: in or towards making the reductions due pursuant to Clause 8.1 and of amounts due to a Swap Bank under any Master Agreement;
 
(d)
FOURTHLY: in or towards meeting the costs and expenses from time to time incurred by or on behalf of the Borrowers in connection with the operation of the Ships; and
 
(e)
FIFTHLY:  as to any surplus from time to time arising on an Earnings Account following application as aforesaid, to be paid to the relevant Borrower or to whomsoever it may direct.
 
18.3
Location of accounts
 
Each Borrower shall promptly:

(a)
comply with any requirement of the Agent as to the location or re-location of the Earnings Accounts (or any of them); and
 
(b)
execute any documents which the Agent specifies to create or maintain in favour of the Security Trustee a Security Interest over (and/or rights of set-off, consolidation or other rights in relation to) the Earnings Accounts.
 
18.4
Debits for expenses etc.
 
The Agent shall be entitled (but not obliged) from time to time to debit any Earnings Account without prior notice in order to discharge any amount due and payable under Clause 20 or 21 to a Creditor Party or payment of which any Creditor Party has become entitled to demand under Clause 20 or 21.
 
18.5
Borrowers' obligations unaffected
 
The provisions of this Clause 18 do not affect:

(a)
the liability of the Borrowers to make payments of principal and interest on the due dates; or
 
 
47

 

(b)
any other liability or obligation of the Borrowers or any Security Party under any Finance Document.
 
19
EVENTS OF DEFAULT
 
19.1
Events of Default
 
An Event of Default occurs if:

(a)
any Borrower or any Security Party fails to pay when due or (if so payable) on demand any sum payable under a Finance Document or under any document relating to a Finance Document; or
 
(b)
any breach occurs of Clause 9.2, 11.2, 11.3, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 15.2 or clause 11.17 (Financial Covenants) of the Guarantee to be granted by Dynagas or paragraph (k) of this Clause 19; or
 
(c)
any breach by any Borrower, any Security Party or the Approved Manager occurs of any provision of a Finance Document (other than a breach covered by paragraphs (a) or (b)) which, in the reasonable opinion of the Majority Lenders, is capable of remedy, and such default continues unremedied 10 days after written notice from the Agent requesting action to remedy the same; or
 
(d)
(subject to any applicable grace period specified in the Finance Document) any breach by any Borrower, any Security Party or the Approved Manager occurs of any provision of a Finance Document (other than a breach falling within paragraphs (a), (b) or (c)); or
 
(e)
any representation, warranty or statement made or repeated by, or by an officer of, a Borrower, a Security Party or the Approved Manager in a Finance Document or in a Drawdown Notice or any other notice or document relating to a Finance Document is untrue or misleading when it is made or repeated ; or
 
(f)
any of the following occurs in relation to any Financial Indebtedness (and in the case of a Guarantor, such Financial Indebtedness to be in excess of $500,000 in aggregate) of a Relevant Person:
 
 
(i)
any Financial Indebtedness of a Relevant Person is not paid when due subject to applicable grace periods; or
 
 
(ii)
any Financial Indebtedness of a Relevant Person becomes due and payable or capable of being declared due and payable prior to its stated maturity date as a consequence of any event of default; or
 
 
(iii)
a lease, hire purchase agreement or charter creating any Financial Indebtedness of a Relevant Person is terminated by the lessor or owner or becomes capable of being terminated as a consequence of any termination event; or
 
 
(iv)
any overdraft, loan, note issuance, acceptance credit, letter of credit, guarantee, foreign exchange or other facility, or any swap or other derivative contract or transaction, relating to any Financial Indebtedness of a Relevant Person ceases to be available or becomes capable of being terminated as a result of any event of default, or cash cover is required, or becomes capable of being required, in respect of such a facility as a result of any event of default; or
 
 
(v)
any Security Interest securing any Financial Indebtedness of a Relevant Person is enforced; or
 
(g)
any of the following occurs in relation to a Relevant Person:
 
 
48

 

 
(i)
a Relevant Person becomes unable to pay its debts as they fall due; or
 
 
(ii)
any assets of a Relevant Person are subject to any form of execution, attachment, arrest, sequestration or distress in respect of a sum of, or sums aggregating, $100,000 or more or the equivalent in another currency; or
 
 
(iii)
any administrative or other receiver is appointed over any asset of a Relevant Person; or
 
 
(iv)
an administrator is appointed (whether by the court or otherwise) in respect of a Relevant Person; or
 
 
(v)
any formal declaration of bankruptcy or any formal statement to the effect that a Relevant Person is insolvent or likely to become insolvent is made by a Relevant Person or by the directors of a Relevant Person or, in any proceedings, by a lawyer acting for a Relevant Person; or
 
 
(vi)
a provisional liquidator is appointed in respect of a Relevant Person, a winding up order is made in relation to a Relevant Person or a winding up resolution is passed by a Relevant Person; or
 
 
(vii)
a resolution is passed, an administration notice is given or filed, an application or petition to a court is made or presented or any other step is taken by (aa) a Relevant Person, (bb) the members or directors of a Relevant Person, (cc) a holder of Security Interests which together relate to all or substantially all of the assets of a Relevant Person, or (dd) a government minister or public or regulatory authority of a Pertinent Jurisdiction for or with a view to the winding up of that or another Relevant Person or the appointment of a provisional liquidator or administrator in respect of that or another Relevant Person, or that or another Relevant Person ceasing or suspending business operations or payments to creditors, save that this paragraph does not apply to a fully solvent winding up of a Relevant Person other than the Borrowers or a Guarantor which is, or is to be, effected for the purposes of an amalgamation or reconstruction previously approved by the Majority Lenders and effected not later than 3 months after the commencement of the winding up; or
 
 
(viii)
an administration notice is given or filed, an application or petition to a court is made or presented or any other step is taken by a creditor of a Relevant Person (other than a holder of Security Interests which together relate to all or substantially all of the assets of a Relevant Person) for the winding up of a Relevant Person or the appointment of a provisional liquidator or administrator in respect of a Relevant Person in any Pertinent Jurisdiction, unless the proposed winding up, appointment of a provisional liquidator or administration is being contested in good faith, on substantial grounds and not with a view to some other insolvency law procedure being implemented instead and either (aa) the application or petition is dismissed or withdrawn within 30 days of being made or presented, or (bb) within 30 days of the administration notice being given or filed, or the other relevant steps being taken, other action is taken which will ensure that there will be no administration and (in both cases (aa) or (bb)) the Relevant Person will continue to carry on business in the ordinary way and without being the subject of any actual, interim or pending insolvency law procedure; or
 
 
(ix)
a Relevant Person or its directors take any steps (whether by making or presenting an application or petition to a court, or submitting or presenting a document setting out a proposal or proposed terms, or otherwise) with a view to obtaining, in relation to that or another Relevant Person, any form of moratorium, suspension or deferral of payments, reorganisation of debt (or certain debt) or arrangement with all or a substantial proportion (by number or value) of creditors or of any class of them or any such moratorium, suspension or deferral of payments, reorganisation or
 
 
49

 

arrangement is effected by court order, by the filing of documents with a court, by means of a contract or in any other way at all; or
 
 
(x)
any meeting of the members or directors, or of any committee of the board or senior management, of a Relevant Person is held or summoned for the purpose of considering a resolution or proposal to authorise or take any action of a type described in paragraphs (iv) to (ix) or a step preparatory to such action, or (with or without such a meeting) the members, directors or such a committee resolve or agree that such an action or step should be taken or should be taken if certain conditions materialise or fail to materialise; or
 
 
(xi)
in a Pertinent Jurisdiction other than England, any event occurs, any proceedings are opened or commenced or any step is taken which, in the opinion of the Majority Lenders is similar to any of the foregoing; or
 
(h)
any Borrower ceases or suspends carrying on its business or a part of its business which, in the opinion of the Majority Lenders, is material in the context of this Agreement; or
 
(i)
it becomes unlawful in any Pertinent Jurisdiction or impossible:
 
 
(i)
for any Borrower or any Security Party to discharge any liability under a Finance Document or to comply with any other obligation which the Majority Lenders consider material under a Finance Document; or
 
 
(ii)
for the Agent, the Security Trustee or the Lenders or the Swap Banks to exercise or enforce any right under, or to enforce any Security Interest created by, a Finance Document; or
 
(j)
any official consent necessary to enable any Borrower to own, operate or charter the Ship owned by it or to enable any Borrower or any Security Party to comply with any provision which the Majority Lenders consider material of a Finance Document is not granted, expires without being renewed, is revoked or becomes liable to revocation or any condition of such a consent is not fulfilled; or
 
(k)
a Change of Control has occurred after the date of this Agreement in connection with Dynagas or the General Partner; or
 
(l)
any provision which the Majority Lenders consider material of a Finance Document proves to have been or becomes invalid or unenforceable, or a Security Interest created by a Finance Document proves to have been or becomes invalid or unenforceable or such a Security Interest proves to have ranked after, or loses its priority to, another Security Interest or any other third party claim or interest; or
 
(m)
the security constituted by a Finance Document is in any way imperilled or in jeopardy; or
 
(n)
an Event of Default (as defined in section 14 of a Master Agreement) occurs; or
 
(o)
a Master Agreement is terminated, cancelled, suspended, rescinded or revoked or otherwise ceases to remain in full force and effect for any reason at any time when there are any existing or continuing Designated Transactions, except with the consent of the Agent, acting with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders; or
 
(p)
any other event occurs or any other circumstances arise or develop including, without limitation:
 
 
(i)
a material adverse change in the financial position, state of affairs or prospects of a Borrower or a Guarantor; or
 
 
50

 

 
(ii)
any accident or other event involving a Ship,
 
in the light of which the Majority Lenders reasonably consider that any Borrower or any Guarantor is, or will later become, unable to discharge its liabilities under the Finance Documents as they fall due; or
 
(q)
an Approved Charter is terminated or amended without the prior written consent of the Agent unless otherwise permitted pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Agreement or ceases to remain in full force and effect other than by mere effluxion; or
 
(r)
if any of the events or circumstances set out in any of the above sub-Clauses 19.1(c), (d) or (e) occurs in respect of the Approved Manager, such event or circumstance will not be considered an Event of Default if within 20 days of such event or circumstance occurring or arising:-
 
 
(i)
the management agreements with that Approved Manager are terminated by each of the Borrowers;
 
 
(ii)
a new management agreement in respect of each Ship is entered into between each Borrower and a newly appointed Approved Manager; and
 
 
(iii)
the Agent receives from the newly appointed Approved Manager, those documents referred to in paragraph 3 of Schedule 4, Part B (in respect of each Ship) and any other documents as the Agent may require in its discretion.
 
19.2
Actions following an Event of Default
 
On, or at any time after, the occurrence and during the continuation of an Event of Default:

(a)
the Agent may, and if so instructed by the Majority Lenders, the Agent shall:
 
 
(i)
serve on the Borrowers a notice stating that all or part of the Commitments and of the other obligations of each Lender to the Borrowers under this Agreement are cancelled; and/or
 
 
(ii)
serve on the Borrowers a notice stating that all or part of the Loan together with accrued interest and all other amounts accrued or owing under this Agreement are immediately due and payable or are due and payable on demand; and/or
 
 
(iii)
take any other action which, as a result of the Event of Default or any notice served under paragraph (i) or (ii), the Agent and/or the Lenders are entitled to take under any Finance Document or any applicable law; and/or
 
(b)
the Security Trustee may, and if so instructed by the Agent, acting with the authorisation of the Majority Lenders, the Security Trustee shall take any action which, as a result of the Event of Default or any notice served under paragraph (a)(i) or (a)(ii), the Security Trustee, the Agent and/or the Lenders and/or the Swap Counterparties are entitled to take under any Finance Document or any applicable law.
 
19.3
Termination of Commitments
 
On the service of a notice under Clause 19.2(a)(i), the Commitments and all other obligations of each Lender to the Borrowers under this Agreement shall be cancelled.

19.4
Acceleration of Loan
 
On the service of a notice under Clause 19.2(a)(ii), all or, as the case may be, the part of the Loan specified in the notice together with accrued interest and all other amounts accrued or

 
51

 

owing from the Borrowers or any Security Party under this Agreement and every other Finance Document shall become immediately due and payable or, as the case may be, payable on demand.

19.5
Multiple notices; action without notice
 
The Agent may serve notices under Clauses 19.2(a)(i) or 19.2(a)(ii) simultaneously or on different dates and it and/or the Security Trustee may take any action referred to in Clause 19.2 if no such notice is served or simultaneously with or at any time after the service of both or either of such notices.
 
19.6
Notification of Creditor Parties and Security Parties
 
The Agent shall send to each Lender, each Swap Counterparty, the Security Trustee and each Security Party a copy or the text of any notice which the Agent serves on the Borrowers under Clause 19.2; but the notice shall become effective when it is served on the Borrowers, and no failure or delay by the Agent to send a copy or the text of the notice to any other person shall invalidate the notice or provide any Borrower or any Security Party with any form of claim or defence.

19.7
Creditor Party rights unimpaired
 
Nothing in this Clause shall be taken to impair or restrict the exercise of any right given to individual Lenders or Swap Counterparties under a Finance Document, a Master Agreement or the general law; and, in particular, this Clause is without prejudice to Clause 3.1.

19.8
Exclusion of Creditor Party liability
 
No Creditor Party, and no receiver or manager appointed by the Security Trustee, shall have any liability to a Borrower, a Security Party or the Approved Manager:

(a)
for any loss caused by an exercise of rights under, or enforcement of a Security Interest created by, a Finance Document or by any failure or delay to exercise such a right or to enforce such a Security Interest; or
 
(b)
as mortgagee in possession or otherwise, for any income or principal amount which might have been produced by or realised from any asset comprised in such a Security Interest or for any reduction (however caused) in the value of such an asset,
 
except that this does not exempt a Creditor Party or a receiver or manager from liability for losses shown to have been directly and mainly caused by the dishonesty or the wilful misconduct of such Creditor Party's own officers and employees or (as the case may be) such receiver's or manager's own partners or employees.
 
19.9
Relevant Persons
 
In this Clause 19, a " Relevant Person " means a Borrower, a Security Party, and any company which is a subsidiary of a Borrower or a Security Party or of which a Borrower or a Security Party is a subsidiary; but excluding any company which is dormant and the value of whose gross assets is $50,000 or less.

19.10
Interpretation
 
In Clause 19.1(f) references to an event of default or a termination event include any event, howsoever described, which is similar to an event of default in a facility agreement or a termination event in a finance lease; and in Clause 19.1(g) " petition " includes an application.
 
 
52

 

19.11
Position of Swap Counterparties
 
Neither the Agent nor the Security Trustee shall be obliged, in connection with any action taken or proposed to be taken under or pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Clause 19  to have any regard to the requirements of a Swap Counterparty except to the extent that such Swap Counterparty is also a Lender.
 
20
FEES AND EXPENSES
 
20.1
Arrangement, commitment, agency fees
 
The Borrowers shall pay to the Agent:
(a)
A non-refundable arrangement fee of $969,862 (representing 0.37 per cent. of the Total Commitments) on the date of this Agreement (less any amount which may have been paid to the Agent on account of such fee prior to the date of this Agreement), for distribution among the Lenders in the proportions agreed by the Agent and the Lenders; and
 
(b)
quarterly in arrears during the period from (and including) 25 October 2013 until (and including) the last day of the Availability Period for the account of the Lenders, a commitment fee at the rate of 1.40 per cent. per annum on the amount of the Total Commitments less the amount of the Loan, for distribution among the Lenders pro rata to their Commitments; and
 
20.2
Costs of negotiation, preparation etc.
 
The Borrowers shall pay to the Agent on its demand the amount of all expenses incurred by the Agent or the Security Trustee in connection with the negotiation, preparation, execution or registration of any Finance Document or any related document or with any transaction contemplated by a Finance Document or a related document.

20.3
Costs of variations, amendments, enforcement etc.
 
The Borrowers shall pay to the Agent, on the Agent's demand, for the account of the Creditor Party concerned the amount of all expenses incurred by a Creditor Party in connection with:

(a)
any amendment or supplement to a Finance Document, or any proposal for such an amendment to be made;
 
(b)
any consent or waiver by the Lenders, the Swap Banks, the Majority Lenders or the Creditor Party concerned under or in connection with a Finance Document, or any request for such a consent or waiver;
 
(c)
the valuation of any security provided or offered under Clause 15 or any other matter relating to such security; or
 
(d)
any step taken by the Lender or the Swap Bank concerned with a view to the protection, exercise or enforcement of any right or Security Interest created by a Finance Document or for any similar purpose.
 
There shall be recoverable under paragraph (d) the full amount of all legal expenses, whether or not such as would be allowed under rules of court or any taxation or other procedure carried out under such rules.
 
20.4
Documentary taxes
 
The Borrowers shall promptly pay any tax payable on or by reference to any Finance Document, and shall, on the Agent's demand, fully indemnify each Creditor Party against any

 
53

 

claims, expenses, liabilities and losses resulting from any failure or delay by the Borrowers to pay such a tax.

20.5
Certification of amounts
 
A notice which is signed by 2 officers of a Creditor Party, which states that a specified amount, or aggregate amount, is due to that Creditor Party under this Clause 20 and which indicates (without necessarily specifying a detailed breakdown) the matters in respect of which the amount, or aggregate amount, is due shall be prima facie evidence that the amount, or aggregate amount, is due.

21
INDEMNITIES
 
21.1
Indemnities regarding borrowing and repayment of Loan
 
The Borrowers shall fully indemnify the Agent and each Lender on the Agent's demand and the Security Trustee on its demand in respect of all claims, expenses, liabilities and losses which are made or brought against or incurred by that Creditor Party, or which that Creditor Party reasonably and with due diligence estimates that it will incur, as a result of or in connection with:

(a)
an Advance not being borrowed on the date specified in the Drawdown Notice for any reason other than a default by the Lender claiming the indemnity;
 
(b)
the receipt or recovery of all or any part of the Loan or an overdue sum otherwise than on the last day of an Interest Period or other relevant period;
 
(c)
any failure (for whatever reason) by the Borrowers to make payment of any amount due under a Finance Document on the due date or, if so payable, on demand (after giving credit for any default interest paid by the Borrowers on the amount concerned under Clause 7); and
 
(d)
the occurrence of an Event of Default or a Potential Event of Default and/or the acceleration of repayment of the Loan under Clause 19,
 
and in respect of any tax (other than tax on its overall net income) for which a Creditor Party is liable in connection with any amount paid or payable to that Creditor Party (whether for its own account or otherwise) under any Finance Document.
 
21.2
Breakage costs
 
Without limiting its generality, Clause 21.1 covers any claim, expense, liability or loss, including a loss of a prospective profit, incurred by a Lender:

(a)
in liquidating or employing deposits from third parties acquired or arranged to fund or maintain all or any part of its Contribution and/or any overdue amount (or an aggregate amount which includes its Contribution or any overdue amount); and
 
(b)
in terminating, or otherwise in connection with, any interest and/or currency swap or any other transaction entered into (whether with another legal entity or with another office or department of the Lender concerned) to hedge any exposure arising under this Agreement or that part which the Lender concerned determines is fairly attributable to this Agreement of the amount of the liabilities, expenses or losses (including losses of prospective profits) incurred by it in terminating, or otherwise in connection with, a number of transactions of which this Agreement is one.
 
21.3
Miscellaneous indemnities
 
 
54

 

The Borrowers shall fully indemnify each Creditor Party severally on their respective demands in respect of all claims, expenses, liabilities and losses which may be made or brought against or incurred by a Creditor Party, in any country, as a result of or in connection with:

(a)
any action taken, or omitted or neglected to be taken, under or in connection with any Finance Document by the Agent, the Security Trustee or any other Creditor Party or by any receiver appointed under a Finance Document; or
 
(b)
any other Pertinent Matter,
 
other than claims, expenses, liabilities and losses which are shown to have been directly and mainly caused by the dishonesty or wilful misconduct of the officers or employees of the Creditor Party concerned.
 
Without prejudice to its generality, this Clause 21.3 covers any claims, expenses, liabilities and losses which arise, or are asserted, under or in connection with any law relating to safety at sea, the ISM Code, the ISPS Code or any Environmental Law.
 
21.4
Currency indemnity
 
If any sum due from any Borrower or any Security Party to a Creditor Party under a Finance Document or under any order or judgment relating to a Finance Document has to be converted from the currency in which the Finance Document provided for the sum to be paid (the " Contractual Currency ") into another currency (the " Payment Currency ") for the purpose of:

(a)
making or lodging any claim or proof against any Borrower or any Security Party, whether in its liquidation, any arrangement involving it or otherwise; or
 
(b)
obtaining an order or judgment from any court or other tribunal; or
 
(c)
enforcing any such order or judgment,
 
the Borrowers shall indemnify the Creditor Party concerned against the loss arising when the amount of the payment actually received by that Creditor Party is converted at the available rate of exchange into the Contractual Currency.
 
In this Clause 21.4 the " available rate of exchange " means the rate at which the Creditor Party concerned is able at the opening of business (London time) on the Business Day after it receives the sum concerned to purchase the Contractual Currency with the Payment Currency.
 
This Clause 21.4 creates a separate liability of the Borrowers which is distinct from their other liabilities under the Finance Documents and which shall not be merged in any judgment or order relating to those other liabilities.
 
21.5
Application to Master Agreements
 
For the avoidance of doubt, Clause 7 does not apply in respect of sums due from the Borrowers to a Swap Counterparty under or in connection with a Master Agreement as to which sums the provisions of section 8 (Contractual Currency) of that Master Agreement shall apply.
 
21.6
Certification of amounts
 
A notice which is signed by 2 officers of a Creditor Party, which states that a specified amount, or aggregate amount, is due to that Creditor Party under this Clause 21 and which

 
55

 

indicates (without necessarily specifying a detailed breakdown) the matters in respect of which the amount, or aggregate amount, is due shall be prima facie evidence that the amount, or aggregate amount, is due.

21.7
Sums deemed due to a Lender
 
For the purposes of this Clause 21, a sum payable by the Borrowers to the Agent or the Security Trustee for distribution to a Lender shall be treated as a sum due to that Lender.

21.8
Contingent and future indemnity liabilities
 
Any future or contingent indemnification liabilities under this Clause 21 or any other provision of this Agreement or any other Finance Document or a Master Agreement shall survive (as shall the liability of the Borrowers and the Guarantors for the same) the end of the Security Period.
 
22
NO SET-OFF OR TAX DEDUCTION
 
22.1
No deductions
 
All amounts due from the Borrowers under a Finance Document shall be paid:

(a)
without any form of set-off, cross-claim or condition; and
 
(b)
free and clear of any tax deduction except a tax deduction which a Borrower is required by law to make.
 
22.2
Grossing-up for taxes
 
If a Borrower is required by law to make a tax deduction from any payment:

(a)
that Borrower shall notify the Agent as soon as it becomes aware of the requirement;
 
(b)
that Borrower shall pay the tax deducted to the appropriate taxation authority promptly, and in any event before any fine or penalty arises;
 
(c)
the amount due in respect of the payment shall be increased by the amount necessary to ensure that each Creditor Party receives and retains (free from any liability relating to the tax deduction) a net amount which, after the tax deduction, is equal to the full amount which it would otherwise have received.
 
22.3
Evidence of payment of taxes
 
 Within 1 month after making any tax deduction, the Borrower concerned shall deliver to the Agent documentary evidence satisfactory to the Agent that the tax had been paid to the appropriate taxation authority.

22.4
Exclusion of tax on overall net income
 
In this Clause 22 " tax deduction " means any deduction or withholding for or on account of any present or future tax except (i) tax on a Creditor Party's overall net income and (ii) tax imposed under Sections 1471 through 1474 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

22.5
Application to Master Agreements
 
For the avoidance of doubt, Clause 22 does not apply in respect of sums due from the Borrowers to a Swap Counterparty under or in connection with a Master Agreement as to
 
 
56

 

which sums the provisions of section 2(d) (Deduction or Withholding for Tax) of that Master Agreement shall apply.
 
23
ILLEGALITY, ETC
 
23.1
Illegality
 
This Clause 23 applies if a Lender (the " Notifying Lender ") notifies the Agent that it has become, or will with effect from a specified date, become:

(a)
unlawful or prohibited as a result of the introduction of a new law, an amendment to an existing law or a change in the manner in which an existing law is or will be interpreted or applied; or
 
(b)
contrary to, or inconsistent with, any regulation,
 
for the Notifying Lender to maintain or give effect to any of its obligations under this Agreement in the manner contemplated by this Agreement.
 
23.2
Notification of illegality
 
The Agent shall promptly notify the Borrowers, the Security Parties, the Security Trustee and the other Lenders of the notice under Clause 23.1 which the Agent receives from the Notifying Lender.

23.3
Notification and effect of illegality
 
On the Agent notifying the Borrowers under Clause 23.2, the Notifying Lender's Commitment shall terminate; and thereupon or, if later, on the date specified in the Notifying Lender's notice under Clause 23.1 as the date on which the notified event would become effective the Borrowers shall prepay the Notifying Lender's Contribution in accordance with Clause 8.

24
INCREASED COSTS
 
24.1
Increased costs
 
This Clause 24 applies if a Lender (the " Notifying Lender ") notifies the Agent that the Notifying Lender considers that as a result of:

(a)
the introduction or alteration after the date of this Agreement of a law or an alteration after the date of this Agreement in the manner in which a law is interpreted or applied (disregarding any effect which relates to the application to payments under this Agreement of a tax on the Lender's overall net income); or
 
(b)
complying with any regulation (including any which relates to capital adequacy or liquidity controls or which affects the manner in which the Notifying Lender allocates capital resources to its obligations under this Agreement) which is introduced, or altered, or the interpretation or application of which is altered, after the date of this Agreement,
 
the Notifying Lender (or a parent company of it) has incurred or will incur an " increased cost ".
 
24.2
Meaning of "increased cost".   In this Clause 24, " increased cost " means, in relation to a Notifying Lender:
 
(a)
an additional or increased cost incurred as a result of, or in connection with, the Notifying Lender having entered into, or being a party to, this Agreement or a Transfer Certificate, of
 
 
57

 

funding or maintaining its Commitment or Contribution or performing its obligations under this Agreement, or of having outstanding all or any part of its Contribution or other unpaid sums;
 
(b)
a reduction in the amount of any payment to the Notifying Lender under this Agreement or in the effective return which such a payment represents to the Notifying Lender or on its capital;
 
(c)
an additional or increased cost of funding all or maintaining all or any of the advances comprised in a class of advances formed by or including the Notifying Lender's Contribution or (as the case may require) the proportion of that cost attributable to the Contribution; or
 
(d)
the implementation or application of or compliance with the "International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards, a Revised Framework" published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in June 2004 in the form existing on the date of this Agreement (the " Basel II Accord ") or any other  law or regulation implementing the Basel II Accord or any of the approaches provided for and allowed to be used by banks under or in connection with the Basel II Accord as well as "the international framework for liquidity risk measurement, standards and monitoring" and "Guidance for national authorities operating the countercyclical capital buffer" published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in December 2010 (" Basel III Accord ") or any other law or regulation implementing the Basel III Accord or any of the approaches provided for and allowed to be used by banks under or in connection with the Basel III Accord and in both case as from time to time implemented by the Notifying Lender (whether such implementation, application or compliance is by a government, regulator, supervisory authority, the Notifying Lender or its holding company),
 
the Notifying Lender (or a parent company of it) has incurred or will incur an " increased cost " that is to say:
 
 
(i)
an additional or increased cost incurred as a result of, or in connection with, the Notifying Lender having entered into, or being a party to, this Agreement of funding or maintaining the Loan or performing its obligations under this Agreement, or of having outstanding all or any part of the Loan or other unpaid sums; or
 
 
(ii)
a reduction in the amount of any payment to the Notifying Lender under this Agreement or in the effective return which such a payment represents to the Notifying Lender or on its capital; or
 
 
(iii)
an additional or increased cost of funding or maintaining all or any of the advances comprised in a class of advances formed by or including the Loan or (as the case may require) the proportion of that cost attributable to the Loan; or
 
 
(iv)
a liability to make a payment which is calculated by reference to any amounts received or receivable by the Notifying Lender under this Agreement;
 
but not an item attributable to a change in the rate of tax on the overall net income of the Notifying Lender (or a parent company of it) or an item covered by the indemnity for tax in Clause 21.1 or by Clause 22.
 
For the purposes of this Clause 24.2 the Notifying Lender may in good faith allocate or spread costs and/or losses among its assets and liabilities (or any class thereof) on such basis as it considers appropriate.
 
24.3
Notification to Borrowers of claim for increased costs
 
The Agent shall promptly notify the Borrowers and the Security Parties of the notice which the Agent received from the Notifying Lender under Clause 24.1.
 
 
58

 

24.4
Payment of increased costs
 
The Borrowers shall pay to the Agent, on the Agent's demand, for the account of the Notifying Lender the amounts which the Agent from time to time notifies the Borrowers that the Notifying Lender has specified to be necessary to compensate the Notifying Lender for the increased cost.

24.5
Notice of prepayment
 
If the Borrowers are not willing to continue to compensate the Notifying Lender for the increased cost under Clause 24.4, the Borrowers may give the Agent not less than 14 days' notice of their intention to prepay the Notifying Lender's Contribution at the end of an Interest Period.

24.6
Prepayment
 
A notice under Clause 24.5 shall be irrevocable; the Agent shall promptly notify the Notifying Lender of the Borrowers' notice of intended prepayment; and:

(a)
on the date on which the Agent serves that notice, the Commitment of the Notifying Lender shall be cancelled; and
 
(b)
on the date specified in its notice of intended prepayment, the Borrowers shall prepay (without premium or penalty) the Notifying Lender's Contribution, together with accrued interest thereon at the applicable rate plus the Margin and the Mandatory Cost (if any).
 
24.7
Application of prepayment
 
Clause 8 shall apply in relation to the prepayment.

25
SET-OFF
 
25.1
Application of credit balances
 
Each Creditor Party may without prior notice:

(a)
apply any balance (whether or not then due) which at any time stands to the credit of any account in the name of a Borrower at any office in any country of that Creditor Party in or towards satisfaction of any sum then due from that Borrower to that Creditor Party under any of the Finance Documents; and
 
(b)
for that purpose:
 
 
(i)
break, or alter the maturity of, all or any part of a deposit of that Borrower;
 
 
(ii)
convert or translate all or any part of a deposit or other credit balance into Dollars; and
 
 
(iii)
enter into any other transaction or make any entry with regard to the credit balance which the Creditor Party concerned considers appropriate.
 
25.2
Existing rights unaffected
 
No Creditor Party shall be obliged to exercise any of its rights under Clause 21.5; and those rights shall be without prejudice and in addition to any right of set-off, combination of accounts, charge, lien or other right or remedy to which a Creditor Party is entitled (whether under the general law or any document).
 
 
59

 

25.3
Sums deemed due to a Lender
 
For the purposes of this Clause 25, a sum payable by the Borrowers to the Agent or the Security Trustee for distribution to, or for the account of, a Lender shall be treated as a sum due to that Lender; and each Lender's proportion of a sum so payable for distribution to, or for the account of, the Lenders shall be treated as a sum due to such Lender.

25.4
No Security Interest
 
This Clause 25 gives the Creditor Parties a contractual right of set-off only, and does not create any equitable charge or other Security Interest over any credit balance of any Borrower.

26
TRANSFERS AND CHANGES IN LENDING OFFICES
 
26.1
Transfer by Borrowers
 
No Borrower may, without the consent of the Agent, given on the instructions of all the Lenders transfer any of its rights, liabilities or obligations under any Finance Document.

26.2
Transfer by a Lender
 
Subject to Clause 26.4, a Lender (the " Transferor Lender ") may at any time, without needing the consent of any Borrower or any Security Party, cause:

(a)
its rights in respect of all or part of its Contribution; or
 
(b)
its obligations in respect of all or part of its Commitment; or
 
(c)
a combination of (a) and (b),
 
to be (in the case of its rights) transferred to, or (in the case of its obligations) assumed by, another bank or financial institution or, subject to there being an Event of Default, a trust, fund or other entity which is regularly engaged in or established for the purpose of making, purchasing or investing in loans, securities or other financial assets (a " Transferee Lender ") by delivering to the Agent a completed certificate in the form set out in Schedule 4 with any modifications approved or required by the Agent (a " Transfer Certificate ") executed by the Transferor Lender and the Transferee Lender provided; however, that the Borrowers shall not be responsible for any increased liability under Clause 22 due to a transfer under this Clause 26.
 
However any rights and obligations of the Transferor Lender in its capacity as Agent or Security Trustee will have to be dealt with separately in accordance with the Agency and Trust Agreement.
 
26.3
Transfer Certificate, delivery and notification
 
As soon as reasonably practicable after a Transfer Certificate is delivered to the Agent, it shall (unless it has reason to believe that the Transfer Certificate may be defective):

(a)
sign the Transfer Certificate on behalf of itself, the Borrowers, the Security Parties, the Security Trustee and each of the other Lenders and each of the Swap Banks;
 
(b)
on behalf of the Transferee Lender, send to each Borrower and each Security Party letters or faxes notifying them of the Transfer Certificate and attaching a copy of it; and
 
(c)
send to the Transferee Lender copies of the letters or faxes sent under paragraph (b) above,
 
 
60

 

but the Agent shall only be obliged to execute a Transfer Certificate delivered to it by the Transferor Lender and the Transferee Lender once it is satisfied it has complied with all necessary "know your customer" or other similar checks under all applicable laws and regulations in relation to the transfer to that Transferee Lender.
 
26.4
Effective Date of Transfer Certificate
 
A Transfer Certificate becomes effective on the date, if any, specified in the Transfer Certificate as its effective date, Provided that it is signed by the Agent under Clause 26.3 on or before that date.

26.5
No transfer without Transfer Certificate
 
Except as provided in Clause 26.17, no assignment or transfer of any right or obligation of a Lender under any Finance Document is binding on, or effective in relation to, any Borrower, any Security Party, the Agent or the Security Trustee unless it is effected, evidenced or perfected by a Transfer Certificate.

26.6
Lender re-organisation; waiver of Transfer Certificate
 
However, if a Lender enters into any merger, de-merger or other reorganisation as a result of which all its rights or obligations vest in another person (the " successor "), the Agent may, if it sees fit, by notice to the successor and the Borrowers and the Security Trustee waive the need for the execution and delivery of a Transfer Certificate; and, upon service of the Agent's notice, the successor shall become a Lender with the same Commitment and Contribution as were held by the predecessor Lender.

26.7
Effect of Transfer Certificate
 
A Transfer Certificate takes effect in accordance with English law as follows:

(a)
to the extent specified in the Transfer Certificate, all rights and interests (present, future or contingent) which the Transferor Lender has under or by virtue of the Finance Documents are assigned to the Transferee Lender absolutely, free of any defects in the Transferor Lender's title and of any rights or equities which any Borrower or any Security Party had against the Transferor Lender;
 
(b)
the Transferor Lender's Commitment is discharged to the extent specified in the Transfer Certificate;
 
(c)
the Transferee Lender becomes a Lender with the Contribution previously held by the Transferor Lender and a Commitment of an amount specified in the Transfer Certificate;
 
(d)
the Transferee Lender becomes bound by all the provisions of the Finance Documents which are applicable to the Lenders generally, including those about pro-rata sharing and the exclusion of liability on the part of, and the indemnification of, the Agent and the Security Trustee and, to the extent that the Transferee Lender becomes bound by those provisions (other than those relating to exclusion of liability), the Transferor Lender ceases to be bound by them;
 
(e)
any part of the Loan which the Transferee Lender advances after the Transfer Certificate's effective date ranks in point of priority and security in the same way as it would have ranked had it been advanced by the transferor, assuming that any defects in the transferor's title and any rights or equities of any Borrower or any Security Party against the Transferor Lender had not existed;
 
(f)
the Transferee Lender becomes entitled to all the rights under the Finance Documents which are applicable to the Lenders generally, including but not limited to those relating to the
 
 
61

 

Majority Lenders and those under Clause 5.7 and Clause 20, and to the extent that the Transferee Lender becomes entitled to such rights, the Transferor Lender ceases to be entitled to them; and
 
(g)
in respect of any breach of a warranty, undertaking, condition or other provision of a Finance Document or any misrepresentation made in or in connection with a Finance Document, the Transferee Lender shall be entitled to recover damages by reference to the loss incurred by it as a result of the breach or misrepresentation, irrespective of whether the original Lender would have incurred a loss of that kind or amount.
 
The rights and equities of any Borrower or any Security Party referred to above include, but are not limited to, any right of set off and any other kind of cross-claim.
 
26.8
Maintenance of register of Lenders
 
During the Security Period the Agent shall maintain a register in which it shall record the name, Commitment, Contribution and administrative details (including the lending office) from time to time of each Lender holding a Transfer Certificate and the effective date (in accordance with Clause 26.4) of the Transfer Certificate; and the Agent shall make the register available for inspection by any Lender, the Security Trustee and the Borrowers during normal banking hours, subject to receiving at least 3 Business Days' prior notice.

26.9
Reliance on register of Lenders
 
The entries on that register shall, in the absence of manifest error, be conclusive in determining the identities of the Lenders and the amounts of their Commitments and Contributions and the effective dates of Transfer Certificates and may be relied upon by the Agent and the other parties to the Finance Documents for all purposes relating to the Finance Documents.

26.10
Authorisation of Agent to sign Transfer Certificates
 
Each Borrower, the Security Trustee and each Lender and each Swap Bank irrevocably authorise the Agent to sign Transfer Certificates on its behalf.

26.11
Registration fee
 
In respect of any Transfer Certificate, the Agent shall be entitled to recover a registration fee of $5,000 from the Transferor Lender or (at the Agent's option) the Transferee Lender.

26.12
Sub-participation; subrogation assignment
 
A Lender may sub-participate all or any part of its rights and/or obligations under or in connection with the Finance Documents without the consent of, or any notice to, any Borrower, any Security Party, the Agent or the Security Trustee; and the Lenders may assign, in any manner and terms agreed by the Majority Lenders, the Agent and the Security Trustee, all or any part of those rights to an insurer or surety who has become subrogated to them.

26.13
Disclosure of information
 
A Lender may disclose to a potential Transferee Lender or sub-participant any information which the Lender has received in relation to any Borrower, any Security Party or their affairs under or in connection with any Finance Document, unless the information is clearly of a confidential nature.

26.14
Change of lending office
 
 
62

 

A Lender may change its lending office by giving notice to the Agent and the change shall become effective on the later of:

(a)
the date on which the Agent receives the notice; and
 
(b)
the date, if any, specified in the notice as the date on which the change will come into effect.
 
26.15
Notification
 
On receiving such a notice, the Agent shall notify the Borrowers and the Security Trustee; and, until the Agent receives such a notice, it shall be entitled to assume that a Lender is acting through the lending office of which the Agent last had notice.

26.16
Security over Lenders' rights
 
In addition to the other rights provided to Lenders under this Clause 26, each Lender may without consulting with or obtaining consent from any Borrower or any Security Party, at any time charge, assign or otherwise create a Security Interest in or over (whether by way of collateral or otherwise) all or any of its rights under any Finance Document to secure obligations of that Lender including, without limitation:

(a)
any charge, assignment or other Security Interest to secure obligations to a federal reserve or central bank; and
 
(b)
in the case of any Lender which is a fund, any charge, assignment or other Security Interest granted to any holders (or trustee or representatives of holders) of obligations owed, or securities issued, by that Lender as security for those obligations or securities;
 
(c)
except that no such charge, assignment or Security Interest shall:
 
 
(i)
release a Lender from any of its obligations under the Finance Documents or substitute the beneficiary of the relevant charge, assignment or Security Interest for the Lender as a party to any of the Finance Documents; or
 
 
(ii)
require any payments to be made by any Borrower or any Security Party or grant to any person any more extensive rights than those required to be made or granted to the relevant Lender under the Finance Documents.
 
27
VARIATIONS AND WAIVERS
 
27.1
Variations, waivers etc. by Majority Lenders
 
Subject to Clause 27.2, a document shall be effective to vary, waive, suspend or limit any provision of a Finance Document, or any Creditor Party's rights or remedies under such a provision or the general law, only if the document is signed, or specifically agreed to by fax, by the Borrowers, by the Agent on behalf of the Majority Lenders, by the Agent and the Security Trustee in their own rights, and, if the document relates to a Finance Document to which a Security Party is party, by that Security Party.

27.2
Variations, waivers etc. requiring agreement of all Lenders
 
However, as regards the following, Clause 27.1 applies as if the words "by the Agent on behalf of the Majority Lenders" were replaced by the words "by or on behalf of every Lender":
 
(a)
a reduction in the Margin;
 
 
63

 

(b)
a postponement to the date for, or a reduction in the amount of, any payment of principal, interest, fees or other sum payable under this Agreement;
 
(c)
an increase in any Lender's Commitment;
 
(d)
a change to the definition of " Majority Lenders ";
 
(e)
a change to Clause 3 or this Clause 27;
 
(f)
any release of, or material variation to, a Security Interest, guarantee, indemnity or subordination arrangement set out in a Finance Document; and
 
(g)
any other change or matter in respect of which this Agreement or another Finance Document expressly provides that each Lender's consent is required.
 
27.3
Exclusion of other or implied variations
 
Except for a document which satisfies the requirements of Clauses 27.1 and 27.2, no document, and no act, course of conduct, failure or neglect to act, delay or acquiescence on the part of the Creditor Parties or any of them (or any person acting on behalf of any of them) shall result in the Creditor Parties or any of them (or any person acting on behalf of any of them) being taken to have varied, waived, suspended or limited, or being precluded (permanently or temporarily) from enforcing, relying on or exercising:
 
(a)
a provision of this Agreement or another Finance Document; or
 
(b)
an Event of Default; or
 
(c)
a breach by a Borrower or a Security Party of an obligation under a Finance Document or the general law; or
 
(d)
any right or remedy conferred by any Finance Document or by the general law,
 
and there shall not be implied into any Finance Document any term or condition requiring any such provision to be enforced, or such right or remedy to be exercised, within a certain or reasonable time.
 
28
NOTICES
 
28.1
General
 
Unless otherwise specifically provided, any notice under or in connection with any Finance Document shall be given by letter or fax; and references in the Finance Documents to written notices, notices in writing and notices signed by particular persons shall be construed accordingly.
 
28.2
Addresses for communications
 
A notice by letter or fax shall be sent:
 
(a)
to the Borrowers:
94 Vassileos Georgiou B' and 2 Nikis Street
166 75 Glyfada
Athens, Greece
Fax No: +30 210 894 7275
FAO: Finance Department
 
 
64

 

(b)
to a Lender:
At the address below its name in Schedule 1 or a Swap Bank Schedule 2 or (as the case may require) in the relevant Transfer Certificate.
 
(c)
to the Agent:
St. Alban-Graben 1-3
4002 Basel
Switzerland
Fax No: +41 61 266 79 39
FAO: Ship Finance
(Attn: Ms Lydia Lampadaridou-Gonzalez)

(d)
to the Security
Trustee:
St. Alban-Graben 1-3
4002 Basel
Switzerland
Fax No: +41 61 266 79 39
FAO: Ship Finance
(Attn: Ms Lydia Lampadaridou-Gonzalez)

 
or to such other address as the relevant party may notify the Agent or, if the relevant party is the Agent or the Security Trustee, the Borrowers, the Lenders, the Swap Banks and the Security Parties.
 
28.3
Effective date of notices
 
Subject to Clauses 28.4 and 28.5:
 
(a)
a notice which is delivered personally or posted shall be deemed to be served, and shall take effect, at the time when it is delivered; and
 
(b)
a notice which is sent by fax shall be deemed to be served, and shall take effect, 2 hours after its transmission is completed.
 
28.4
Service outside business hours
 
However, if under Clause 28.3 a notice would be deemed to be served:
 
(a)
on a day which is not a business day in the place of receipt; or
 
(b)
on such a business day, but after 5 p.m. local time,
 
the notice shall (subject to Clause 28.5) be deemed to be served, and shall take effect, at 9 a.m. on the next day which is such a business day.
 
28.5
Illegible notices
 
Clauses 28.3 and 28.4 do not apply if the recipient of a notice notifies the sender within 1 hour after the time at which the notice would otherwise be deemed to be served that the notice has been received in a form which is illegible in a material respect.
 
28.6
Valid notices
 
A notice under or in connection with a Finance Document shall not be invalid by reason that its contents or the manner of serving it do not comply with the requirements of this Agreement or, where appropriate, any other Finance Document under which it is served if:
 
 
65

 

(a)
the failure to serve it in accordance with the requirements of this Agreement or other Finance Document, as the case may be, has not caused any party to suffer any significant loss or prejudice; or
 
(b)
in the case of incorrect and/or incomplete contents, it should have been reasonably clear to the party on which the notice was served what the correct or missing particulars should have been.
 
28.7
Electronic communication
 
The Agent and the Borrowers, agree that information may be sent via e-mail to each other, and to (or from) third parties involved in the provision of services. In particular, the Borrowers are aware that:

·
the unencrypted information is transported over an open, publicly accessible network and can, in principle, be viewed by others, thereby allowing conclusions to be drawn about a banking relationship;

·
the information can be changed and manipulated by a third party;

·
the sender's identity (sender of the e-mail) can be assumed or otherwise manipulated;

·
the exchange of information can be delayed or disrupted due to transmission errors, technical faults, disruptions, malfunctions, illegal interventions, network overload, the malicious blocking of electronic access by third parties, or other shortcomings on the part of the network provider. In certain situations, time-critical orders and instructions might not be processed on time;

·
the Agent assumes no liability for any loss incurred as a result of manipulation of the e-mail address or content nor is it liable for any loss incurred by the Borrowers and any other Relevant Persons due to interruptions and delays in transmission caused by technical problems.

28.8
The Lender is entitled to assume that all the orders and instructions, and communications in general, received from a Borrower or a third party are from an authorized individual, irrespective of the existing signatory rights in accordance with the commercial register (or any other applicable equivalent document) or the specimen signature provided to the Lender. The Borrowers shall further procure that all third parties referred to herein agree with the use of e-mails and are aware of the above terms and conditions related to the use of e-mail.
 
28.9
English language
 
Any notice under or in connection with a Finance Document shall be in English.
 
28.10
Meaning of "notice"
 
In this Clause 28, " notice " includes any demand, consent, authorisation, approval, instruction, waiver or other communication.
 
29
JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY
 
29.1
General
 
All liabilities and obligations of the Borrowers under this Agreement shall, whether expressed to be so or not, be several and, if and to the extent consistent with Clause 29.2, joint.
 
 
66

 

29.2
No impairment of Borrower's obligations
 
The liabilities and obligations of a Borrower shall not be impaired by:
 
(a)
this Agreement being or later becoming void, unenforceable or illegal as regards any other Borrower;
 
(b)
any Lender or the Security Trustee entering into any rescheduling, refinancing or other arrangement of any kind with any other Borrower;
 
(c)
any Lender or the Security Trustee releasing any other Borrower or any Security Interest created by a Finance Document; or
 
(d)
any combination of the foregoing.
 
29.3
Principal debtors
 
Each Borrower declares that it is and will, throughout the Security Period, remain a principal debtor for all amounts owing under this Agreement and the Finance Documents and no Borrower shall in any circumstances be construed to be a surety for the obligations of any other Borrower under this Agreement.
 
29.4
Subordination
 
Subject to Clause 29.5, during the Security Period, no Borrower shall:
 
(a)
claim any amount which may be due to it from any other Borrower whether in respect of a payment made, or matter arising out of, this Agreement or any Finance Document, or any matter unconnected with this Agreement or any Finance Document; or
 
(b)
take or enforce any form of security from any other Borrower for such an amount, or in any other way seek to have recourse in respect of such an amount against any asset of any other Borrower; or
 
(c)
set off such an amount against any sum due from it to any other Borrower; or
 
(d)
prove or claim for such an amount in any liquidation, administration, arrangement or similar procedure involving any other Borrower or other Security Party; or
 
(e)
exercise or assert any combination of the foregoing.
 
29.5
Borrower's required action
 
If during the Security Period, the Agent, by notice to a Borrower, requires it to take any action referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d) of Clause 29.4, in relation to any other Borrower, that Borrower shall take that action as soon as practicable after receiving the Agent's notice.
 
30
SUPPLEMENTAL
 
30.1
Rights cumulative, non-exclusive
 
The rights and remedies which the Finance Documents give to each Creditor Party are:
 
(a)
cumulative;
 
(b)
may be exercised as often as appears expedient; and
 
 
67

 

(c)
shall not, unless a Finance Document explicitly and specifically states so, be taken to exclude or limit any right or remedy conferred by any law.
 
30.2
Severability of provisions
 
If any provision of a Finance Document is or subsequently becomes void, unenforceable or illegal, that shall not affect the validity, enforceability or legality of the other provisions of that Finance Document or of the provisions of any other Finance Document.
 
30.3
Counterparts
 
A Finance Document may be executed in any number of counterparts.
 
30.4
Third party rights
 
A person who is not a party to this Agreement has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce or to enjoy the benefit of any term of this Agreement.
 
30.5
Disclosure
 
The Borrowers authorise any Creditor Party to disclose all information related or connected to:
 
(a)
the Ships or any other vessel owned or operated by a Security Party;
 
(b)
the negotiation, drafting and content of this Agreement, the Finance Documents and any Master Agreement;
 
(c)
the Loan; or
 
(d)
any Security Party
 
to any service provider (included but not limited to professional advisers, auditors, lawyers, accountants, surveyors, valuers, insurers, insurance advisers and brokers) or other party which that Creditor Party may deem necessary in connection with this Agreement or any other Financing Document or Master Agreement, or the protection or enforcement of its rights thereunder.
 
31
LAW AND JURISDICTION
 
31.1
English law
 
This Agreement and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with it shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, English law.
 
31.2
Exclusive English jurisdiction
 
Subject to Clause 31.3, the courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any Dispute.
 
31.3
Choice of forum for the exclusive benefit of the Creditor Parties
 
Clause 31.2 is for the exclusive benefit of the Creditor Parties, each of which reserves the right:
 
(a)
to commence proceedings in relation to any Dispute in the courts of any country other than England and which have or claim jurisdiction to that Dispute; and
 
 
68

 

(b)
to commence such proceedings in the courts of any such country or countries concurrently with or in addition to proceedings in England or without commencing proceedings in England.
 
Neither Borrower shall commence any proceedings in any country other than England in relation to a Dispute.
 
31.4
Process agent
 
Each Borrower irrevocably appoints Intermar Chartering (UK) Ltd. at their office for the time being, presently at 52-54 Gracechurch Street, London EC3V 0EH, England, to act as its agent to receive and accept on its behalf any process or other document relating to any proceedings in the English courts which are connected with a Dispute.
 
31.5
Creditor Party rights unaffected
 
Nothing in this Clause 31 shall exclude or limit any right which any Creditor Party may have (whether under the law of any country, an international convention or otherwise) with regard to the bringing of proceedings, the service of process, the recognition or enforcement of a judgment or any similar or related matter in any jurisdiction.
 
31.6
Meaning of "proceedings"
 
In this Clause 31, " proceedings " means proceedings of any kind, including an application for a provisional or protective measure and a " Dispute " means any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement (including a dispute relating to the existence, validity or termination of this Agreement) or any non-contractual obligation arising out of or in connection with this Agreement.
 
THIS AGREEMENT has been entered into on the date stated at the beginning of this Agreement.
 
 
69

 
 
SCHEDULE 1
 
LENDERS AND COMMITMENTS
 
PART 1
 

 
Lender
Lending Office
Commitment
(US Dollars)
     
CREDIT SUISSE AG
St. Alban-Graben 1-3
Basel, Switzerland
4002 Basel
Switzerland
262,125,000
     
 
Fax No: +41 61 266 79 39
 
     
 
FAO: Ship Finance
(Attn: Ms Lydia Lampadaridou-Gonzalez)
 
 
70

 

SCHEDULE 2
 
SWAP BANKS
 

 
Swap Bank
Booking Office
   
CREDIT SUISSE AG
St. Alban-Graben 1-3
Basel, Switzerland
4002 Basel
Switzerland
   
 
Fax No: +41 61 266 79 39
   
 
Fax No: +41 61 266 79 39
   
 
FAO: Ship Finance
(Attn: Ms Lydia Lampadaridou-Gonzalez)
   
   
 
 
71

 
 
SCHEDULE 3
 
DRAWDOWN NOTICE
 

 
To:            CREDIT SUISSE AG
 
St. Alban-Graben 1-3
 
Basel, Switzerland
 
4002 Basel
 
Switzerland
 
FAO: Ship Finance
(Attn: Ms Lydia Lampadaridou-Gonzalez)
 [ l ]
 
1
We refer to the loan agreement (the " Loan Agreement ") dated [ l ] November 2013 and made between ourselves, as Borrowers, the Lenders referred to therein, and yourselves as Agent and as Security Trustee in connection with a reducing revolving credit facility of up to US$262,125,000.  Terms defined in the Loan Agreement have their defined meanings when used in this Drawdown Notice.
 
2
We request to borrow as follows:
 
(a)
Amount: US$[ l ];
 
(b)
Drawdown Date: [ l ];
 
(c)
Duration of the Interest Period shall be [ l ] months; and
 
(d)
Payment instructions : account in our name and numbered [ l ] with [ l ] of [ l ].
 
3
We represent and warrant that:
 
(a)
the representations and warranties in Clause 10 of the Loan Agreement would remain true and not misleading if repeated on the date of this notice with reference to the circumstances now existing; and
 
(b)
no Event of Default or Potential Event of Default has occurred or will result from the borrowing of the Loan.
 
4
This notice cannot be revoked without the prior consent of the Majority Lenders.
 

 
[Name of Signatory]
 
__________________________
Director
for and on behalf of
PEGASUS SHIPHOLDING S.A.
LANCE SHIPPING S.A. and
SEACROWN MARITIME LTD.
 
 
72

 
 
SCHEDULE 4
 
CONDITION PRECEDENT DOCUMENT
 
PART A
 
The following are the documents referred to in Clause 9.1(a) required before service of the first Drawdown Notice.
 
1
A duly executed original of each Finance Document (and of each document then required to be delivered by each Finance Document) other than those referred to in Part B.
 
2
Copies of the certificate of incorporation and constitutional documents of each Borrower and each other Security Party, including an executed copy of the LPA.
 
3
Copies of resolutions of the shareholders and directors of each Borrower and each Security Party authorising the execution of each of the Finance Documents to which that Borrower or that Security Party is a party and, in the case of a Borrower, authorising named officers to give the Drawdown Notices and other notices under this Agreement.
 
4
The original of any power of attorney under which any Finance Document is executed on behalf of a Borrower or a Security Party.
 
5
Copies of all consents which any Borrower or any Security Party requires to enter into, or make any payment under, any Finance Document.
 
6
The originals of any mandates or other documents required in connection with the opening or operation of the Earnings Accounts.
 
7
The Market Value of each Ship, stated to be for the purposes of this Agreement and dated not earlier than 15 days before its respective Drawdown Date.
 
8
Documentary evidence that the agent for service of process named in Clause 31 has accepted its appointment.
 
9
Favourable legal opinions from lawyers appointed by the Agent on such matters concerning the laws of the Marshall Islands and such other relevant jurisdictions as the Agent may require.
 
10
If the Agent so requires, in respect of any of the documents referred to above, a certified English translation prepared by a translator approved by the Agent.
 
11
Evidence satisfactory to the Agent in its absolute discretion that the Existing Guarantees have been irrevocably and unconditionally released and the Borrowers and Dynagas have no further obligations thereunder.
 
12
All such documentation and information as the Agent may require from any Security Party pursuant to a Lenders' "know your customer" requirements, including but not limited to the Swiss "Declaration A" document duly completed evidencing the Permitted Holders and the ultimate beneficial owners of each Borrower.
 

 
PART B
 
The following are the documents referred to in Clause 9.1(b) required before the first Drawdown Date.
 
 
73

 
 
1
A duly executed original of the Mortgages, the General Assignments, the Accounts Pledges, the Charter Assignments in respect of the Approved Charters, the Approved Manager's Undertakings in respect of each Ship (and of each document to be delivered by each of them).
 
2
Documentary evidence that:
 
(a)
Each Ship is definitively and permanently registered in the name of the relevant Borrower under the Marshall Islands flag;
 
(b)
Each Ship is in the absolute and unencumbered ownership of the relevant Borrower save as contemplated by the Finance Documents;
 
(c)
Each Ship maintains the highest available class with a classification society which is a member of the International Association of Classification Societies acceptable to the Agent free of all overdue recommendations and conditions of such classification society;
 
(d)
the Mortgage relating to each Ship has been duly registered or recorded (as the case may be) against the relevant Ship as a valid first preferred Marshall Islands ship mortgage in accordance with the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
 
(e)
each Ship is insured in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and all requirements therein in respect of insurances have been complied with; and
 
(f)
Dynagas has successfully completed its Initial Public Offering.
 
3
Documents establishing that each Ship will, as from the first Drawdown Date, be managed by the Approved Manager on terms acceptable to the Lenders, together with:
 
(a)
a letter of undertaking executed by the Approved Manager in favour of the Agent in the terms required by the Agent agreeing certain matters in relation to the management of each Ship and subordinating the rights of the Approved Manager against the relevant Borrower and its Ship to the rights of the Creditor Parties under the Finance Documents; and
 
(b)
copies of the Approved Manager's Document of Compliance and of each Ship's Safety Management Certificate (together with any other details of the applicable safety management system which the Agent requires) and ISSC.
 
4
Favourable legal opinions from lawyers appointed by the Agent on such matters concerning the law of the Marshall Islands and such other relevant jurisdictions as the Agent may require.
 
5
A favourable opinion from an independent insurance consultant acceptable to and appointed by the Agent on such matters relating to the insurances for each Ship as the Agent may require.
 
6
If the Agent so requires, in respect of any of the documents referred to above, a certified English translation prepared by a translator approved by the Agent.
 
Each of the documents specified in paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 of Part A and every other copy document delivered under this Schedule shall be certified as a true and up to date copy by a director or the secretary (or equivalent officer) of a Borrower.
 
 
74

 

Schedule 5
 
Transfer Certificate
 
The Transferor and the Transferee accept exclusive responsibility for ensuring that this Certificate and the transaction to which it relates comply with all legal and regulatory requirements applicable to them respectively.
 
To:           [Name of Agent] for itself and for and on behalf of each Borrower, each Security Party, the Security Trustee and each Lender, as defined in the Loan Agreement referred to below.
 
[ l ]
 
1
This Certificate relates to a Loan Agreement (the " Loan Agreement ") dated [ l ] November 2013 and made between (1) Pegasus Shipholding S.A., Lance Shipping S.A. and Seacrown Maritime Ltd. (the " Borrowers "), (2) the banks and financial institutions named therein as Lenders, (3) the banks and financial institutions named therein as Swap Banks, (4) Credit Suisse AG as Agent and (5) Credit Suisse AG as Security Trustee for a reducing revolving credit facility of up to US$262,125,000.
 
2
In this Certificate, terms defined in the Loan Agreement shall, unless the contrary intention appears, have the same meanings and:
 
" Relevant Parties "  means the Agent, each Borrower, each Security Party, the Security Trustee and each Lender and each Swap Bank;
 
" Transferor "  means [full name] of [lending office]; and
 
" Transferee "  means [full name] of [lending office].
 
3
The effective date of this Certificate is [ l ]   Provided that this Certificate shall not come into effect unless it is signed by the Agent on or before that date.
 
4
The Transferor assigns to the Transferee absolutely all rights and interests (present, future or contingent) which the Transferor has as Lender under or by virtue of the Loan Agreement and every other Finance Document in relation to [ l ] per cent. of its Contribution, which percentage represents $[ l ].
 
5
By virtue of this Certificate and Clause 26 of the Loan Agreement, the Transferor is discharged entirely from its Commitment which amounts to $[ l ]] [from [ l ] per cent. of its Commitment, which percentage represents $[ l ]] and the Transferee acquires a Commitment of $[ l ].
 
6
The Transferee undertakes with the Transferor and each of the Relevant Parties that the Transferee will observe and perform all the obligations under the Finance Documents which Clause 26 of the Loan Agreement provides will become binding on it upon this Certificate taking effect.
 
7
The Agent, at the request of the Transferee (which request is hereby made) accepts, for the Agent itself and for and on behalf of every other Relevant Party, this Certificate as a Transfer Certificate taking effect in accordance with Clause 26 of the Loan Agreement.
 
8
The Transferor:
 
(a)
warrants to the Transferee and each Relevant Party that:
 
 
75

 
 
 
(i)
the Transferor has full capacity to enter into this transaction and has taken all corporate action and obtained all consents which are in connection with this transaction; and
 
 
(ii)
this Certificate is valid and binding as regards the Transferor;
 
(b)
warrants to the Transferee that the Transferor is absolutely entitled, free of encumbrances, to all the rights and interests covered by the assignment in paragraph 4 above; and
 
(c)
undertakes with the Transferee that the Transferor will, at its own expense, execute any documents which the Transferee reasonably requests for perfecting in any relevant jurisdiction the Transferee's title under this Certificate or for a similar purpose.
 
9
The Transferee:
 
(a)
confirms that it has received a copy of the Loan Agreement and each of the other Finance Documents;
 
(b)
agrees that it will have no rights of recourse on any ground against either the Transferor, the Agent, the Security Trustee or any Lender or any Swap Bank in the event that:
 
 
(i)
any of the Finance Documents prove to be invalid or ineffective;
 
 
(ii)
any Borrower or any Security Party fails to observe or perform its obligations, or to discharge its liabilities, under any of the Finance Documents;
 
 
(iii)
it proves impossible to realise any asset covered by a Security Interest created by a Finance Document, or the proceeds of such assets are insufficient to discharge the liabilities of the Borrowers or Security Party under the Finance Documents;
 
(c)
agrees that it will have no rights of recourse on any ground against the Agent, the Security Trustee or any Lender or any Swap Bank in the event that this Certificate proves to be invalid or ineffective;
 
(d)
warrants to the Transferor and each Relevant Party that:
 
 
(i)
it has full capacity to enter into this transaction and has taken all corporate action and obtained all consents which it needs to take or obtain in connection with this transaction; and
 
 
(ii)
this Certificate is valid and binding as regards the Transferee; and
 
(e)
confirms the accuracy of the administrative details set out below regarding the Transferee.
 
10
The Transferor and the Transferee each undertake with the Agent and the Security Trustee severally, on demand, fully to indemnify the Agent and/or the Security Trustee in respect of any claim, proceeding, liability or expense (including all legal expenses) which they or either of them may incur in connection with this Certificate or any matter arising out of it, except such as are shown to have been mainly and directly caused by the gross and culpable negligence or dishonesty of the Agent's or the Security Trustee's own officers or employees.
 
11
The Transferee shall repay to the Transferor on demand so much of any sum paid by the Transferor under paragraph 10 as exceeds one-half of the amount demanded by the Agent or the Security Trustee in respect of a claim, proceeding, liability or expense which was not reasonably foreseeable at the date of this Certificate; but nothing in this paragraph shall affect the liability of each of the Transferor and the Transferee to the Agent or the Security Trustee for the full amount demanded by it.
 
 
76

 
 
[Name of Transferor]  [Name of Transferee] 
   
By:  By: 
   
Date:  Date: 
   
Agent   
   
Signed for itself and for and on behalf of itself
as Agent and for every other Relevant Party
 
 
 
 
 
 
[Name of Agent]   
   
By:   
   
Date:   
 
 
77

 

Administrative Details of Transferee
 
Name of Transferee:
 
Lending Office:
 
Contact Person
(Loan Administration Department):
 
Telephone:
 
Fax:
 
Contact Person
(Credit Administration Department):
 
Telephone:
 
Fax:
 
Account for payments:
 
Note:  This Transfer Certificate alone may not be sufficient to transfer a proportionate share of the Transferor's interest in the security constituted by the Finance Documents in the Transferor's or Transferee's jurisdiction.  It is the responsibility of each Lender to ascertain whether any other documents are required for this purpose.
 
 
78

 


EXECUTION PAGES
 
BORROWERS
 
SIGNED by
)
Konstantinos Lampsias
)  /s/ Konstantinos Lampsias
for and on behalf of
)
PEGASUS SHIPHOLDING S.A.
)
in the presence of:
)
Alexander Rennie
   /s/ Alexander Rennie


SIGNED by
)
Konstantinos Lampsias
) /s/ Konstantinos Lampsias
for and on behalf of
)
LANCE SHIPPING S.A.
)
in the presence of:
)
Alexander Rennie
   /s/ Alexander Rennie



SIGNED by
)
Konstantinos Lampsias
)  /s/ Konstantinos Lampsias
for and on behalf of
)
SEACROWN MARITIME LTD.
)
in the presence of:
)
Alexander Rennie
   /s/ Alexander Rennie


LENDERS
 
   
   
SIGNED by
)
Georgina Asimalcopenlos
)  /s/ Georgina Asimalcopenlos
for and on behalf of
)
CREDIT SUISSE AG
)
in the presence of:
)
Alexander Rennie
   /s/ Alexander Rennie

 
AGENT
 
   
   
SIGNED by
)
Georgina Asimalcopenlos
)  /s/ Georgina Asimalcopenlos
for and on behalf of
)
CREDIT SUISSE AG
)
in the presence of:
)
Alexander Rennie
   /s/ Alexander Rennie

 
SECURITY TRUSTEE
 
   
   
SIGNED by
)
Georgina Asimalcopenlos
)  /s/ Georgina Asimalcopenlos
for and on behalf of
)
 
 
79

 
 
CREDIT SUISSE AG
)
in the presence of:
)
Alexander Rennie
   /s/ Alexander Rennie

SWAP BANK
 
   
   
SIGNED by
)
Georgina Asimalcopenlos
)  /s/ Georgina Asimalcopenlos
for and on behalf of
)
CREDIT SUISSE AG
)
in the presence of:
)
Alexander Rennie
   /s/ Alexander Rennie
 
Watson, Farley & Williams
 
348 Syngrou Avenue
 
Kallithea 176-74
 
Athens


 
80
 

Exhibit 4.11

EXECUTIVE SERVICES AGREEMENT
 
 
Made this   21 st day of March, 2014 by and between
 
DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP, a Marshall Islands limited partnership having its registered office at Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, Majuro, Marshall Islands MH 96960 (the "Partnership"),
 
and
 
DYNAGAS LTD. a Liberian corporation having its registered office at 80 Broad Street, Monrovia, Liberia ("Dynagas Ltd.").
 
in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements set forth herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:
 
1.    The Partnership. The Partnership is engaged directly and/or through its subsidiaries (collectively the "Dynagas Partners Group") in the ownership of LNG carriers.
 
2.        Engagement. The Partnership hereby employs and engages Dynagas Ltd. to act as Executive Services Provider as directed by the Partnership, and carry out the duties of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer and Dynagas Ltd.  hereby accepts such employment. The duties of the Chief Executive Officer will be performed by Mr. Tony Lauritzen and the duties of the Chief Financial Officer will be performed by Mr. Michael Gregos (the "Executives") on behalf of Dynagas Ltd.
 
3.       Duration. The duration of the engagement shall commence retroactively as of 18 th November, 2014 (the "Effective Date") and shall have a term of five rolling years (the "Term").  This agreement shall be automatically renewed for an additional five (5) year period after the expiration of the Term unless validly terminated pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement. The engagement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated, at any time, by either party giving to the other a sixty (60) days prior written notice of termination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement shall terminate if any party terminates the engagement hereunder in accordance with the terms of Paragraph 6 below.
 
4.        Services.    Dynagas Ltd. shall provide to the Partnership the Executives and Executive Services. The Executives shall be the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer ("CEO" and "CFO") of the Partnership and Dynagas Ltd. shall provide its services, using all its experience, resources and due diligence. Dynagas Ltd. represents that they have the personnel, including the Executives, fully qualified, without the benefit of any further training or experience and has obtained all necessary permits and licenses, to perform the duties customarily incident to such services. The duties of Dynagas Ltd. shall be offered οn a worldwide basis, as per directions of the Partnership. Dynagas Ltd. shall report to the Board of Directors of the Partnership (the "Board") and/or its Committees (if any) about the affairs of the Partnership and its affiliates with which it deals, in such manner and at such times as

 
1

 

may from time to time be requested by the Board. Dynagas Ltd.'s duties and responsibilities hereunder shall always be subject to the policies and directives of the Board as communicated from time to time to the Dynagas Ltd. by the Board.

The Executives shall perform all duties incident to the office of CEO and CFO of a partnership engaged in the international shipping business and such other duties consistent therewith as shall from time to time be assigned by the Board.

The Executives will determine the Partnership's growth strategy and make proposals to the Board, as regards acquisitions or disposals of shipping assets. These may be in the form of vessels or mergers and acquisitions of other companies, private or public involved in shipping.

The Executives shall have the main responsibi1ity in terms of policy or operating decision making. They will submit to the Board proposals to capitalize ο n any market trend which will have been identified by them. The Executives shall cause to be kept proper records of account with respect to all transactions of the Partnership and shall procure for the full compliance of the Partnership with the applicable rules and regulations, including compliance with SOX and Nasdaq's regulations. They will try to maximize through the above mentioned actions unitholder value, increase distributable cash flow and realize capital appreciation of the Partnership's assets.

The Executives agree that during the term of their employment hereunder, they shall devote substantially their attention, knowledge and experience and give their best effort, skill and abi1ities, to promote the business and interests of the Partnership. CEO's and CFO's duties and responsibi1ities hereunder shall always be subject to the policies and directives of the Board, as communicated from time to time to the Executives.

This is a managerial position, and it is expected from the Executives to provide services worldwide commensurate with the high level of service provided by the Partnership and the importance of the Executives positions.

Within the foregoing broad categories, it is the role of the Executives to both inform the Board and to carry out their instructions, regarding all matters falling within the CEO's and CFO's responsibi1ities. Ι n order to properly carry out their job, the Executives will have the auth ο rity to direct the actions of other employees whose functions involve matters falling within the Executives' responsibi1ities and such employees will report directly to the Executives.

Subject to the above, the precise duties, responsibi1ities and authority of Dynagas Ltd. may be expanded, limited or modified, from time to time, at the discretion of the Board. Dynagas Ltd. agrees that during the term of the engagement hereunder, its personnel shall devote the necessary working time, attention knowledge and experience and give its best effort, skill and abi1ities, to promote the business and interests of the Partnership.

The granting by the Partnership to the Executives of any title and/or of a right and/or auth ο rity to represent the Partnership and/or its affiliates is made only and exclusively for the serving of the business needs of the Partnership and/or its affiliates, is not

 
2

 

connected with a certain position or grade, nor with any specific duties, it does not, regardless of its duration, entail in the acquiring of any rights from the part of the Executives, and may be revoked at any time without this being considered as a demotion of the Executives or as a unilateral harmful alteration of his position. The above are valid in all cases of such granting without need of repetition of such condition in each case.

Each Executive is a Directing Executive and therefore he is not subject to limitations as regards days and hours of work. Nevertheless, even in case the contrary would have been accepted, it is expressly agreed that the days and hours of work are specified from time to time by the Partnership within the limits established by the legal provisions in effect from time to time. Establishment of hours of work less than those permitted by the law shall be always considered as provisional, and shall never be construed to constitute an agreement for fewer work hours, or as a waiver by the Partnership's right to request the rendering of work for the full working hours permitted by the law.

The natural persons serving as Executive Officers pursuant to this Section 4 shall serve the Partnership in such manner and at the sole discretion of the board of directors of the Partnership. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, including without limitation Section 6 below, the board of directors of the Partnership shall have the right to instruct Dynagas Ltd. from time to time as to the identity of the natural persons appointed to serve as Executive Officers and may terminate the services of any such person or appoint a replacement for such person at any time without prior notice to Dynagas Ltd.
 
5.           In consideration of the services provided hereunder, Dynagas Ltd.
 
(a) Shall be paid an executive services fee of € 538,000 (Euros) per annum, (the" Executive Services Fee") paid in 12 monthly installments, payable three working days prior to the last business day of each calendar month, commencing with the first payment falling due five working days after the signing of this agreement. The Executive Services Fee shall at all times be subject to any changes that might have been incurred in the number of the Executives and/or any changes to the Executive Services provided hereunder.
 
Dynagas Ltd.'s fee shall be reviewed annually or occasionally, as the case may be, by the Partnership's Board of Directors or a committee thereof;

(b) shall be covered at the expense of the Partnership with appropriate Directors and Officers liability insurance in accordance with the Partnership's insurance plan for Directors and Officers.

(c) The Partnership shall reimburse Dynagas Ltd. for expenses, travelling, lodging and victualling expenses, and other out of pocket expenses properly incurred by Dynagas Ltd. and/or the Executives in pursuance of the Executive Services Agreement.

6.            Termination.

 
3

 

 
a.            For Cause. The Partnership may immediately terminate Dynagas Ltd. engagement under this Agreement for "Cause" (as defined herein). In such event, or if Dynagas Ltd. terminates the engagement (other than for Good Reason or as the result of a Change of Control or its engagement is terminated by the Partnership without Cause) the obligations of the Partnership shall cease immediately and Dynagas Ltd. shall not be entitled to any further payments of any kind. For purposes of this Agreement, "Cause" shall include (i) a material breach of the terms of this Agreement; (ii) dishonesty, willful misconduct or fraud in connection with the performance of its duties, or in any way related to the Partnership's business; or (iii) a violation of applicable policies, practices and standards of behavior of the Partnership.
 
b.            Good Reason.   Dynagas Ltd. may terminate its engagement voluntarily for Good Reason (as defined herein). For purposes of this Agreement, "Good Reason" shall mean the following: (i) the Partnership fails to pay Dynagas Ltd. any fee due and payable hereunder within ten (10) days after Dynagas Ltd. provides written notice to the Partnership of such failure to pay; or (ii) a breach by the Partnership of any material provision of this Agreement, in any case without Dynagas Ltd.'s written consent.
 
c.            Payment Upon Termination. In the event of Dynagas Ltd.'s termination for Good Reason, or in the event that its engagement is terminated by the Partnership, other than in accordance with subparagraph (a) of this Section 6, i.e. without Cause, Dynagas Ltd. shall be entitled to receive its fee payable pursuant to Section 5(a) of this Agreement through the Termination Date, as defined below.
 
d.         Termination Date.   For purposes of this Agreement, "Termination Date" shall mean: (i) if Dynagas Ltd.'s engagement is terminated by the Partnership for Cause, the date of such termination; (ii) if Dynagas Ltd.'s engagement is terminated by the Partnership without Cause or by Dynagas Ltd. without Good Reason, the date set forth in the notice of termination (which no event shall be earlier than the date such notice is effective); and (iii) if Dynagas Ltd.'s  engagement is terminated by Dynagas Ltd. for Good Reason, thirty (30) days after such notice is given unless the Partnership has cured the grounds for such termination within the applicable cure period.

e.            Change of Control. In the event of a "Change in Control" (as defined herein) during the Term of this Agreement, the Partnership and Dynagas Ltd. have the option to terminate this Agreement within six (6) months following such Change in Control, and Dynagas Ltd. shall be eligible to receive a compensation equal to (three) 3 years annual Executive Services Fee then applicable, in addition to any payments that have been earned and are due and payable under this Agreement as of the Termination Date and
 
For purposes of this Agreement, the term "Change of Control" shall mean if Dynagas GP LLC ceases to be the General Partner of the Partnership;

7.            Representations by Dynagas Ltd.     Dynagas Ltd. represents and warrants the following:

 
4

 


 
 
(a)            Capacity; Authority; Validity. Dynagas Ltd. has all necessary capacity, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to perform all the obligations to be performed by Dynagas Ltd. hereunder; this Agreement and the consummation by Dynagas Ltd. of the transactions contemplated hereby has been duly and validly authorized by all necessary action of Dynagas Ltd.; this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by Dynagas Ltd.; and assuming the due execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Partnership, this Agreement constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligation of the Partnership enforceable against Dynagas Ltd. in accordance with its terms.
 
(b)            No Violation of Law or Agreement. Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement by Dynagas Ltd., nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby by Dynagas Ltd., will violate any judgment, order, writ, decree, law, rule or regulation or agreement applicable to Dynagas Ltd.   Dynagas Ltd. is not in breach of any agreement requiring the preservation of the confidentiality of any information, client lists, trade secrets or other confidential information or any agreement not to compete or interfere with any prior employer, and that neither the execution of this Agreement nor the performance by Dynagas Ltd. of its obligations hereunder will conflict with, result in a breach of, or constitute a default under, any agreement to which Dynagas Ltd. is a party or to which Dynagas Ltd. may be subject.
 
8.        Confidentiality.   Except as directed in writing, Dynagas Ltd. will not disclose or use at any time, either during the period of this Agreement or thereafter, any Confidential Information (as defined below) of which it is or becomes aware, except to the extent required by applicable law. Dynagas Ltd. will take all appropriate steps to safeguard any Confidential Information, as defined herein, and to protect it against disclosure, misuse, espionage, loss and theft. As used in this Agreement, the term "Confidential Information" means information relating to the Partnership's vessels that is not generally known to the public or that is used or developed by the Partnership including, without limitation, all products and services, fees, costs and pricing structures, financial and trading information, accounting and business methods, analyses, reports, data bases, computer software (including operating systems, applications and program listings), manuals and documentation, customers and clients and customer and client lists, account files, travel agents and travel agent lists, charter contracts, salesmen and salesmen lists, technology and trade secrets and all similar and related information in whatever form relating to the business of the Partnership, provided however, that Dynagas Ltd. may disclose or use Confidential Information at the direction of the Partnership.
 
9 .       Injunctive Relief.   Dynagas Ltd. agrees that if it breaches or attempts to breach or violate any of the provisions of this Agreement, the Partnership will be irreparably harmed and monetary damages will not provide an adequate remedy. Accordingly, it is agreed that the Partnership may apply for and shall be entitled to temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief (without the necessity of posting a bond or other security) in order to prevent breach of this Agreement or to specifically enforce the provisions hereof, and Dynagas Ltd. hereby consents to the granting of such relief, without having to prove the inadequacy of the available remedies at law or actual damages. It is understood that any such injunctive remedy shall not be exclusive or waive any rights to seek other remedies at law or in equity. The parties further agree that the covenants and undertakings covered by this Agreement are

 
5

 

reasonable in light of the facts as they exist on the date of this Agreement. However, if at any time, a court or panel of arbitrators having jurisdiction over this Agreement shall determine that any of the subject matter or duration is unreasonable in any respect, it shall be reduced, and not terminated, as such court or panel of arbitrators determines may be reasonable.
 
10.      Assignments. This Agreement and Dynagas Ltd. rights and obligations hereunder, may not be assigned by Dynagas Ltd.; any purported assignment in violation hereof shall be null and void. This Agreement, and the Partnership's rights and obligations hereunder, may not be assigned by the Partnership.
 
11.         Entire Agreement.   This Agreement constitutes the entire and only agreement between the parties in relation to its subject matter and replaces and extinguishes all prior agreements, undertakings, arrangements, understandings or statements of any nature made by the parties or any of them whether oral or written with respect to such subject matter.
 
12.     Notices. Every notice, request, demand or other communication under this Agreement shall:
 
(a)    be in writing delivered personally, by courier or served through a process server;
 
(b)    be deemed to have been when delivered personally or through courier or served at the address below; and
 
(c)     be sent:
 
(i)      If to the Partnership, to:
 
DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP
Attention: CEO
E-mail: management@dynagaspartners.com
 
(ii)     If to DYNAGAS LTD., to:
Attention: President/Director
Email: lngcoordination@dynagas.com
 
or to such other person or address, as is notified by the relevant party to the other parties to this Agreement and such notification shall not become effective until notice of such change is actually received by the other parties. Until such change of person or address is notified, any notification to the above addresses are agreed to be validly effected for the purposes of this Agreement.
 
13.       Amendments to this Agreement. No modification, alteration or waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be effective unless in writing and signed on behalf of each of the parties. No delay or omission by the Partnership in exercising any right or power vested in it under this Agreement shall impair such right or power or be construed as a waiver of, or acquiescence in, any default or breach by Dynagas Ltd. of any of its obligations under this Agreement.

 
6

 



If any one or more provisions of these presents is, or at any time becomes, for any reason invalid, illegal, void, voidable or otherwise unenforceable under the laws of any jurisdiction or pursuant to a decision or declaration of any court, such invalidity, illegality, voidability or non-enforceability shall not affect the validity, voidability, legality or enforceability of any other provision or provisions of this Agreement or the validity, voidability, legality or enforceability of this Agreement as a whole or the validity, voidability, legality or enforceability of same under the laws of any other jurisdiction.
 
The headings in this Agreement do not form part thereof.
 
14.       Applicable Law This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.
 
15.        Arbitration
 
15.01           All disputes arising out of this Agreement shall be arbitrated in London in the following manner.
 
One arbitrator is to be appointed by each of the parties hereto and a third arbitrator by the two so chosen. Their decision or that of any two of them shall be final and for the purpose of enforcing any award, this Agreement may be made a rule of the court.
 
The arbitrators shall be commercial persons, conversant with shipping matters. Such arbitration is to he conducted in accordance with the rules of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association terms current at the time when the arbitration proceeding are commenced and in accordance with the Arbitration Act 1996 or any statutory modification or reenactment thereof.
 
15.02           In the event that either party state a dispute and designates an Arbitrator in writing, the other party shall have twenty (20) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays to designate its arbitrator, failing which the decision of the appointed arbitrator shall apply and the appointed arbitrator can render an award thereunder in accordance with this Clause 15.
 
15.03           Until such time as the arbitrators finally close the hearings, either party shall have the right by written notice served on the arbitrators and on the other party to specify further disputes or differences under this Agreement for hearing and determination.
 
 
15.04           The arbitrators may grant any relief, and render an award, which they or a majority of them deem just and equitable and within the scope of the Agreement of the parties, including but not limited to the posting of security. Awards pursuant to this Clause may include costs, including a reasonable allowance for attorney's fees and judgments may be entered upon any award made herein in any court having jurisdiction.

 
7

 


 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties signed the present document the day and year first above written.

For and on behalf of,

DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LP

/s/ Tony Lauritzen
By: Tony Lauritzen
Title: Chief Executive Officer
 
 
 
DYNAGAS LTD.
 
/s/ Stratis Athanassakos
By: Stratis Athanassakos
Title:  President/Director
 
 




 
8

 

Exhibit 8.1
Significant subsidiaries


Dynagas Operating LP
Marshall Islands
Holding Company
100%
       
Dynagas Operating GP LLC
Marshall Islands
General Partner of Dynagas Operating LP
100%
       
Dynagas Equity Holding Ltd.
Liberia
Holding Company
100%
       
Quinta Group Corp.
Nevis
Holding Company
100%
       
Pelta Holdings S.A.
 Nevis
Holding Company
100%
       
Pegasus Shipholding S.A.
Marshall Islands
Vessel Owning
100%
       
Seacrown Maritime Ltd.
Marshall Islands
Vessel Owning
100%
       
Lance Shipping S.A.
Marshall Islands
Vessel Owning
100%
Exhibit 12.1

CERTIFICATION OF THE PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER

I, Tony Lauritzen, certify that:

1.           I have reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of Dynagas LNG Partners LP;

2.           Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.           Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the Partnership as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.           The Partnership's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the Partnership and have:

(a)           Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the Partnership, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b)           Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c)           Evaluated the effectiveness of the Partnership's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the Partnership's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by the annual report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Partnership's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.           The Partnership's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the Partnership's auditors and the audit committee of the Partnership's Board of Directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a)           All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Partnership's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

(b)           Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Partnership's internal control over financial reporting.


Date:  March 24, 2014


/s/ Tony Lauritzen                                 
Tony Lauritzen
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Exhibit 12.2
 
 
CERTIFICATION OF THE PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER

I, Michael Gregos, certify that:

1.           I have reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of Dynagas LNG Partners LP;

2.           Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.           Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the Partnership as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.           The Partnership's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the Partnership and have:

(a)           Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the Partnership, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b)            Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c)           Evaluated the effectiveness of the Partnership's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d)           Disclosed in this report any change in the Partnership's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by the annual report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Partnership's internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The Partnership's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the Partnership's auditors and the audit committee of the Partnership's Board of Directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a)           All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Partnership's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

(b)           Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Partnership's internal control over financial reporting.


Date:  March 24, 2014


/s/ Michael Gregos                                 
Michael Gregos
Chief Financial Officer
Exhibit 13.1

PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER CERTIFICATION

PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350

In connection with this Annual Report of Dynagas LNG Partners LP (the "Partnership") on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on or about the date hereof (the "Report"), I, Tony Lauritzen, Principal Executive Officer of the Partnership, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002, that:

(1)           The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(2)           The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Partnership.

A signed original of this written statement has been provided to the Partnership and will be retained by the Partnership and furnished to the SEC or its staff upon request.


Date: March 24, 2014


/s/ Tony Lauritzen                                 
Tony Lauritzen
Chief Executive Officer and Director


Exhibit 13.2

PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER CERTIFICATION

PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350

In connection with this Annual Report of Dynagas LNG Partners LP (the "Partnership") on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on or about the date hereof (the "Report"), I, Michael Gregos, Principal Financial Officer of the Partnership, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

(1)           The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(2)           The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Partnership.

A signed original of this written statement has been provided to the Partnership and will be retained by the Partnership and furnished to the SEC or its staff upon request.


Date:  March 24, 2014


/s/ Michael Gregos
Michael Gregos
Chief Financial Officer