Knot Offshore Partners LP (KNOP) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to today's KNOT Offshore Partners Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Results Conference Call. My name is Jordan, and I'll be coordinating your call today. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加今天的 KNOT Offshore Partners 2023 年第二季獲利結果電話會議。我叫喬丹，今天我將協調您的電話。 （操作員說明）

I'm now going to hand over to Gary Chapman, CEO and CFO, to begin. Gary, please go ahead.

我現在將由執行長兼財務長加里·查普曼 (Gary Chapman) 開始。加里，請繼續。

Thank you, and welcome, everybody, to our second quarter 2023 earnings call. The earnings release and this presentation are available on our website at knotoffshorepartners.com.

謝謝大家，歡迎大家參加我們的 2023 年第二季財報電話會議。收益報告和本簡報可在我們的網站 knotoffshorepartners.com 上取得。

Slide 2 of the presentation gives guidance on the inclusion of forward-looking statements in today's presentation that are made in good faith and reflect management's current views, known and unknown risks and are based on 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 in forward-looking statements and the partnership does not have or undertake a duty to update any such forward-looking statements made as of the date of this presentation. And for further information, please consult our annual and quarterly SEC filings.

簡報的幻燈片2 提供了有關在今天的簡報中納入前瞻性陳述的指導，這些前瞻性陳述是真誠地做出的，反映了管理層當前的觀點、已知和未知的風險，並且基於本質上受到重大不確定性和意外事件影響的假設和估計。 ，其中許多是我們無法控制的。實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的結果有重大差異，且合作夥伴沒有也不承擔更新截至本簡報之日所做的任何此類前瞻性陳述的義務。如需了解更多信息，請查閱我們向 SEC 提交的年度和季度文件。

Today's presentation also includes certain non-U.S. GAAP measures and our earnings release includes a reconciliation of these to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

今天的演示還包括某些非美國公認會計原則措施，我們的收益發布包括這些措施與最直接可比較的公認會計原則措施的調節。

On Slides 3, 4 and 5 are highlights from the second quarter of 2023 and some subsequent developments. Beginning on Slide 3. We announced our 41st consecutive quarterly cash distribution since our IPO in respect to the second quarter and which was paid in August 2023 under our 1099 structure. We had a strong operational quarter as our fleet operated with 99.3% utilization for scheduled operations and 95.5% utilization taking into account the scheduled dry dockings of the Brasil Knutsen and the Hilda Knutsen.

幻燈片 3、4 和 5 介紹了 2023 年第二季的亮點以及後續的一些進展。從幻燈片 3 開始。我們宣布了自 IPO 以來第二季度連續 41 次季度現金分配，並於 2023 年 8 月根據我們的 1099 結構支付。我們的季度營運表現強勁，我們的船隊預定營運利用率為 99.3%，考慮到 Brasil Knutsen 和 Hilda Knutsen 的預定乾船塢，利用率為 95.5%。

We successfully closed our new 5-year $240 million senior secured term loan facility in June, which was scheduled to mature in September 2023, secured by the 6 vessels listed on the slide. And in August, we also successfully closed the refinancing of our first $25 million revolving credit facility with the facility being rolled until August 2025 on similar terms. We're discussing with the lender under our second $25 million revolving credit facility, which will mature in November 2023. And we also expect this will be successfully refinanced on acceptable and similar terms prior to its maturity.

我們於 6 月成功完成了新的 5 年期 2.4 億美元高級擔保定期貸款融資，該貸款計劃預計於 2023 年 9 月到期，由幻燈片上列出的 6 艘船舶提供擔保。 8 月，我們也成功完成了首筆 2,500 萬美元循環信貸融資的再融資，該融資將按類似條款延期至 2025 年 8 月。我們正在與貸方討論第二筆 2500 萬美元循環信貸額度，該額度將於 2023 年 11 月到期。我們還預計，該額度將在到期前以可接受的類似條款成功進行再融資。

Then coming to some recent contract developments. In August, we agreed a 100-day extension to the existing bareboat charter party for the Dan Cisne with Transpetro, which will extend the vessels employment to around the end of December 2023. This is not yet signed, but it is only subject to agreements of customary documentation, and we expect that it will be signed in the coming days.

然後是最近的一些合約進展。 8月，我們同意將 Dan Cisne 與 Transpetro 現有的光船租約延長 100 天，這將把船舶的使用期限延長到 2023 年 12 月底左右。該協議尚未簽署，但僅受協議約束慣例文件，我們預計將在未來幾天內簽署。

On August 8, 2023, we entered into a new time charter contract for the Brasil Knutsen with a major independent operator in Brazil, to commence in January 2024 for a fixed period of 1 year. We agreed with Equinor to substitute the Brasil Knutsen for the Windsor Knutsen in the time charter contract we have with Equinor that is due to commence in the fourth quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025, with the time charter otherwise remaining unchanged. This allowed us to move forward and agreed commercial terms in July 2023 for a new time charter contract for the Windsor Knutsen with an oil major to commence within the window from February 1, 2025 to May 1, 2025, for a fixed period of the charterer's option of either 1 year with an option for the charterer to extend the charter by a further year or a single firm period of 2 years.

2023年8月8日，我們與巴西一家主要獨立運營商簽訂了一份新的Brasil Knutsen期租合同，將於2024年1月開始，固定期限為1年。我們與Equinor 同意，在我們與Equinor 簽訂的期租合約中，用Brasil Knutsen 號取代Windsor Knutsen 號，該合約將於2024 年第四季或2025 年第一季度開始，期租合約其他方面保持不變。這使我們能夠在2023 年7 月就Windsor Knutsen 與石油巨頭簽訂新的期租合約達成商業條款，該合約將在2025 年2 月1 日至2025 年5 月1 日的窗口期內開始，租船人的固定期限為可選擇 1 年（租船人可選擇將租船延長一年）或單一固定期限 2 年。

Signing of this new contract does remain subject to the charterer's management approval, agreements of certain operational details and customary documentation, but we are confident at this moment that this will be successfully concluded within September 2023.

這份新合約的簽署仍需獲得承租人管理層的批准、就某些營運細節和慣例文件達成一致，但我們目前有信心這將在 2023 年 9 月內成功簽訂。

On Slide 4, the Hilda Knutsen and the Torill Knutsen each continue to operate on separate time charter contracts with a subsidiary of the partnership sponsor, Knutsen NYK, at a reduced charter rate, and we are continuing to market both vessels for new third-party charter employment, and we are in active discussions with potential charters, including Knutsen NYK, and we hope to be able to give more details in a future release.

在幻燈片4 上，Hilda Knutsen 和Torill Knutsen 分別繼續與合作夥伴贊助商Knutsen NYK 的子公司簽訂單獨的定期租船合同，以降低的租船費率運營，並且我們將繼續向新的第三方推銷這兩艘船包機僱傭，我們正在與包括 Knutsen NYK 在內的潛在包機進行積極討論，我們希望能夠在未來的版本中提供更多詳細資訊。

As we have disclosed previously, in April 2023, a new time charter contract for the Recife Knutsen was signed with Transpetro for a firm period of 3 years, and the vessel began operating under this new time charter contract on August 3, 2023. Directly after the expiration of the then existing bareboat charter also with Transpetro, and the vessel is now fixed until around August 2026.

正如我們之前披露的，2023 年 4 月，Recife Knutsen 與 Transpetro 簽署了一份為期 3 年的新期租合同，該船於 2023 年 8 月 3 日開始根據該新期租合同運營。當時與Transpetro 簽訂的光船租賃合約也已到期，該船目前已修復至2026 年8 月左右。

The Tordis Knutsen operated under a time charter contract with a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, which expired on July 1, 2023. And on the same day, the vessel was delivered to Shell to commence on its new 3-year time charter.

Tordis Knutsen 號根據與 TotalEnergies 子公司簽訂的期租合約運營，該合約於 2023 年 7 月 1 日到期。同日，該船被交付給殼牌，開始其新的 3 年期租約。

On August 1, PetroChina took its final option on Vigdis Knutsen, such that the time charter contract was extended by 6 more months to March 2024, after which the vessel is due to be delivered to Shell to commence on a new 3-year time charter. The Lena Knutsen operated under a time charter contract with a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, which is, in fact, anticipated to end today, August 31, following which the vessel will start on its new 3-year time charter contract with Shell, which we expect will start in early September 2023.

8月1日，中油對Vigdis Knutsen做出最終選擇，將期租合約再延長6個月至2024年3月，之後該船將交付給殼牌，開始新的3年租約。 Lena Knutsen 號根據與TotalEnergies 子公司簽訂的期租合約運營，事實上，該合約預計將於今天（8 月31 日）結束，隨後該船將開始與殼牌簽訂新的3 年期租船合同，我們預計合約將在8 月31 日結束。將於 2023 年 9 月初開始。

Following discussions with Ernst & Young, or EY, our auditors, in the second quarter, we recognized noncash impairments in respect of the Dan Cisne and Dan Sabia in accordance with U.S. GAAP in a total amount of $49.6 million. This was due to the vessel's current charter contracts moving closer to their expiry, their high carrying value and their smaller size not being optimal for the Brazilian market. These vessels are the partnerships only to smaller Panamax size vessels, and we do not currently expect there to be any wider implications on the rest of the fleet from the same issue.

在第二季與我們的審計師安永（EY）討論後，我們根據美國公認會計原則確認了 Dan Cisne 和 Dan Sabia 的非現金減值總額為 4,960 萬美元。這是因為該船目前的租船合約即將到期，其高帳面價值和較小的尺寸不適合巴西市場。這些船舶僅與較小的巴拿馬型船舶合作，我們目前預計相同問題不會對船隊的其他船舶產生更廣泛的影響。

In terms of employment of the Dan Cisne and Dan Sabia, we are actively assessing options should Transpetro or Petrobras not wish to enter into a new charter for 1 or both of the vessels. And these options include a potential sale, though at this stage, no decisions have been made, and discussions remain ongoing as both vessels are under contract until at least the end of 2023.

就 Dan Cisne 和 Dan Sabia 的僱用而言，如果 Transpetro 或 Petrobras 不希望為其中一艘或兩艘船簽訂新的租約，我們正在積極評估各種選擇。這些選項包括潛在的出售，儘管現階段尚未做出任何決定，並且討論仍在進行中，因為兩艘船的合約至少到 2023 年底為止。

We expect to be able to give more details in a future release. The scheduled 10-year special survey drydockings of the Brasil Knutsen and Hilda Knutsen commenced in the second quarter of 2023, with both drydockings being successfully completed in Europe in July 2023. We were able to secure a cargo voyage from Brazil to Europe for the Brasil Knutsen, and it allowed us to avoid incurring the majority of bunker fuel costs in transit from Brazil to the European yard and as well reduce the number of days off-hire. Following the work this quarter and beforehand, we have now essentially secured employment across the fleet for the vast majority of 2023, allowing us to focus on the gaps remaining in 2024 and beyond.

我們希望能夠在未來的版本中提供更多詳細資訊。 Brasil Knutsen 和 Hilda Knutsen 計劃於 2023 年第二季度開始為期 10 年的特別調查乾船塢，兩艘乾船塢均於 2023 年 7 月在歐洲成功完成。Knutsen，它使我們避免了從巴西到歐洲船廠運輸過程中產生的大部分船用燃料成本，並減少了停租天數。繼本季度和之前的工作之後，我們現在基本上已經在 2023 年的大部分時間裡確保了整個船隊的就業，使我們能夠專注於解決 2024 年及以後仍存在的缺口。

On Slide 5, the partnership had $68.1 million in available liquidity at the end of the second quarter. We had around 67% of our debt hedged or effectively operating on a fixed interest rate basis, we had $620 million of remaining contracted forward revenue, excluding charterer's options and excluding contracts agreed or signed after June 30, 2023. The fleet was on average 9.2 years old, over a useful life of 23 years, and we continue to see very encouraging tightening in the Brazilian market, a very limited newbuild order book. And although the North Sea market is still expected to take several more quarters before it begins to rise again, the supportive fundamentals of vessel supply set against the faster pace of new offshore oil production that will drive demand, we believe this partnership is well placed over the coming years to benefit from our market-leading position.

在投影片 5 中，該合作夥伴在第二季末擁有 6,810 萬美元的可用流動資金。我們約67% 的債務進行了對沖或在固定利率基礎上有效運營，我們擁有6.2 億美元的剩餘合約遠期收入，不包括承租人的選擇權，也不包括2023 年6 月30 日之後商定或簽署的合約。船隊平均為9.2已有 20 年歷史，使用壽命超過 23 年，我們繼續看到巴西市場非常令人鼓舞的緊縮狀況，新建訂單非常有限。儘管北海市場預計仍需要幾個季度才能再次開始上漲，但船舶供應的支撐性基本面與新海上石油生產的更快步伐相悖，這將推動需求，但我們相信這種夥伴關係在未來幾年，我們將受益於我們的市場領先地位。

Slide 6, 7 and 8 are our summary of financial results for the quarter. On Slide 6, our revenues were strong in the second quarter. Operating expenses were broadly in line with our expectations, excluding the noncash impairment charge, and although interest expenses increased over the first quarter, we're hopeful that interest rate increases may now have peaked.

投影片 6、7 和 8 是我們本季財務表現的摘要。在幻燈片 6 上，我們第二季的營收強勁。營運支出大致符合我們的預期（不包括非現金減損費用），儘管第一季利息支出有所增加，但我們希望利率漲幅現在可能已見頂。

On Slide 7, you can see our cash and cash equivalents balance at the end of the quarter of $63.1 million, and the current portion of long-term debt has reduced as the refinancings have closed.

在投影片 7 上，您可以看到本季末我們的現金和現金等價物餘額為 6,310 萬美元，並且隨著再融資的結束，長期債務的流動部分有所減少。

On Slide 8, which eliminates the noncash impairment, you can see that adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was again solid.

在投影片 8 上，消除了非現金減值，您可以看到第二季調整後的 EBITDA 再次保持穩健。

Slide 9 shows our contractual position and the updates are also set out in the earnings release, so I won't repeat them here. As at June 30, 2023, excluding charterer's options and contracts agreed after this date, we had $620 million of forward contracted revenue. And of our firm charters, these have 2 years remaining on average, and charterers had options to extend these charters by further 2.2 years on average.

投影片 9 顯示了我們的合約狀況，最新情況也在收益發布中列出，所以我在這裡不再重複。截至 2023 年 6 月 30 日，不包括承租人的選擇權和此後商定的合同，我們的遠期合約收入為 6.2 億美元。在我們公司的租船合約中，平均還剩 2 年，承租人可以選擇將這些租船合約平均再延長 2.2 年。

On Slide 10, you will see that we now have contract coverage for practically the entire of 2023 and several vessels are now under contract for much longer periods as you could see on Slide 9. As a result, most of our focus has moved on to the vessels that are yet to be fixed in 2024, principally the Hilda Knutsen, Torill Knutsen, Dan Cisne and Dan Sabia and these vessels are where our main efforts are being directed. With only 5 new shuttle tankers to come into the market between now and 2026, the total supply of shuttle tankers is likely to become tight in view of oil production increases. And with newbuild shuttle tanker prices remaining very elevated, this helps the competitiveness of our fleet.

在幻燈片10 上，您將看到我們現在的合約覆蓋範圍幾乎涵蓋整個2023 年，並且如您在幻燈片9 中看到的那樣，幾艘船舶的合約期限現在更長。因此，我們的大部分重點已轉移到2024 年尚未修復的船舶，主要是 Hilda Knutsen、Torill Knutsen、Dan Cisne 和 Dan Sabia，這些船舶是我們主要努力的方向。從現在到2026年，只有5艘新的穿梭油輪進入市場，鑑於石油產量的增加，穿梭油輪的總供應可能會變得緊張。由於新建穿梭油輪的價格仍然非常高，這有助於提高我們船隊的競爭力。

Whereas in recent years, we have been cautious about vessels nearing the end of their firm periods, the balance in Brazil, in particular, is shifting. That is -- while we can't say that a given vessel option will or will not be taken up by a charterer at the end of a firm period, we're increasingly confident that either options will be exercised or we would, at that time, be in a good negotiating position to secure new employment. As noted, the size of the Dan vessels makes them something of an outlier for Brazil, but the majority of the fleet would be well positioned. Finally, do please bear in mind that this slide does not talk to vessel utilization. It refers to future charterer contract coverage.

近年來，我們對接近穩定期結束的船舶一直持謹慎態度，但巴西的平衡正在改變。也就是說，雖然我們不能說特定的船舶選擇權在固定期限結束時會或不會被承租人採用，但我們越來越有信心，要么選擇權將被行使，要么我們會執行。時間，處於有利的談判地位以獲得新的就業機會。如前所述，丹號船隻的規模使它們在巴西顯得有些異類，但大部分船隊都處於有利位置。最後，請記住，這張投影片不涉及船舶利用率。它指的是未來租船人合約的範圍。

Then on Slide 11, we list the potential drop-down vessels currently owned by our sponsor KNOT. As stated, the acquisition by the partnership of any such vessel in the future would be subject to approval of the partnership's independent conflicts committee as well as the Board of Directors of each of KNOP and KNOT, and there can be no assurance that any potential acquisitions will actually occur. As we have said, our top priorities are securing additional contract coverage, forward visibility for our existing fleet and rebuilding our liquidity position, and that remains unchanged.

然後在投影片 11 上，我們列出了贊助商 KNOT 目前擁有的潛在下拉船舶。如前所述，合夥企業未來收購任何此類船舶均需獲得合夥企業的獨立衝突委員會以及 KNOP 和 KNOT 董事會的批准，並且不能保證任何潛在的收購將會實際發生。正如我們所說，我們的首要任務是確保額外的合約覆蓋範圍、現有機隊的前瞻性可見性以及重建我們的流動性狀況，這一點保持不變。

Slide 12. We've shown this slide before, and I will just dwell on it for a moment to emphasize that we are, in fact, seeing these new FPSOs making their way to the Brazilian offshore region as anticipated, with Petrobras alone starting up 2 of them during the second quarter, indicating that another will start during the third quarter and Equinor announcing that another is currently on its way. As a practical matter, FPSOs do not simply arrive on the scene and immediately produce at maximum capacity but these processes are underway and building significant momentum in the manner that we had anticipated.

投影片 12。我們之前已經展示過這張投影片，我只想強調一下，事實上，我們正​​在看到這些新的 FPSO 按預期進入巴西近海地區，只有巴西國家石油公司 (Petrobras) 啟動其中2 個是在第二季度進行的，這表明另一個將在第三季度開始，而Equinor 則宣布另一個正在進行中。實際上，FPSO 並不是簡單地到達現場並立即以最大產能生產，而是這些過程正在進行中，並以我們預期的方式形成強大的勢頭。

Just as further context in as one example, Petrobras' Mero 2 with the Sepetiba FPSO, will be the largest project anticipated to start up during the second half of 2023. Once sailed from China and installed in the pre-salt field, it is expected to produce around 154,000 barrels per day at its peak. With a low carbon score and low marginal cost of oil production, combined with a general need to utilize shuttle tankers for much of this growth, this hopefully helps to explain why we feel very positive with respect to the mid- to long-term outlook for our business, particularly in Brazil. And we have also retained a further slide in the appendix to this presentation that gives some more detail.

作為進一步的例子，巴西國家石油公司 (Petrobras) 的 Mero 2 與 Sepetiba FPSO 將成為預計在 2023 年下半年啟動的最大項目。一旦從中國起航並安裝在鹽下油田，預計高峰時每天生產約154,000桶。由於石油生產的碳排放分數較低，邊際成本較低，加上普遍需要利用穿梭油輪來實現大部分增長，這有望有助於解釋為什麼我們對中長期前景感到非常樂觀我們的業務，特別是在巴西。我們還在本簡報的附錄中保留了進一步的投影片，其中提供了更多詳細資訊。

On top of this, Slide 13 sets out our investment case in summary form, listing the various key attributes of our business and which helps us to explain even further why we are so positive about the partnership's mid- and long-term outlook. I won't read these out, but hopefully, you will agree that we are able to present a very strong case.

除此之外，投影片 13 以摘要形式列出了我們的投資案例，列出了我們業務的各種關鍵屬性，這有助於我們進一步解釋為什麼我們對合作夥伴的中長期前景如此樂觀。我不會讀出這些內容，但希望您會同意我們能夠提出一個非常有力的案例。

So in summary for this quarter on Slide 14. Our fleet operated with 99.3% utilization for scheduled operations and 95.5% utilization taking into account the scheduled drydocking of the Brasil Knutsen and Hilda Knutsen and we paid our 41st consecutive distribution since the partnership listed in 2013 under our 1099 structure.

因此，投影片14 上的本季總結如下。我們的船隊預定營運利用率為99.3%，考慮到Brasil Knutsen 和Hilda Knutsen 的預定幹塢，利用率為95.5%，自2013 年列出合作夥伴關係以來，我們已連續41 次支付分配在我們的 1099 結構下。

We've now largely addressed our near-term refinancing needs having successfully closed the new 5-year $240 million senior secured term loan facility, which was scheduled to mature in September 2023 and the first $25 million revolving credit facility with the facility being rolled until August 2025 on similar terms. And we expect that the second $25 million revolving credit facility, which will mature in November 2023 will also be successfully refinanced, on acceptable and similar terms prior to its maturity.

現在，我們已成功完成了新的5 年期2.4 億美元優先擔保定期貸款融資（計劃於2023 年9 月到期）和首筆2500 萬美元循環信貸融資（該融資將展期至到期日），基本上解決了我們的近期再融資需求。2025 年 8 月，條款類似。我們預計 2023 年 11 月到期的第二筆 2,500 萬美元循環信貸額度也將在到期前以可接受的類似條款成功進行再融資。

We completed a new contract with the Brasil Knutsen, agreed terms for a new contract for the Windsor Knutsen. PetroChina took up their option to extend their existing charter for the Vigdis Knutsen, and we agreed a short charter extension for the Dan Cisne.

我們與 Brasil Knutsen 完成了一份新合同，並就 Windsor Knutsen 的新合同條款達成了一致。中油選擇延長 Vigdis Knutsen 號的現有租船期限，我們同意對 Dan Cisne 號進行短期租船延期。

Then in the near term, we'll continue to focus on safety as our #1 priority and plan for the remaining two 2023 scheduled drydocks, look to maintain high scheduled operational utilization in line with our historically strong track record and continue to rebuild liquidity and earnings visibility by working to secure additional charter coverage, in particular, across 2024, and with our focus on the Hilda Knutsen, Torill Knutsen, Dan Cisne and Dan Sabia.

然後在短期內，我們將繼續將安全作為我們的第一要務，並為2023 年剩餘的兩個預定乾船塢制定計劃，尋求與我們歷史上強勁的業績記錄保持一致的高預定運營利用率，並繼續重建流動性和透過努力確保額外的包機覆蓋範圍（特別是在 2024 年），並專注於 Hilda Knutsen、Torill Knutsen、Dan Cisne 和 Dan Sabia 來提高盈利可見性。

So overall, I believe we have had a strong and successful quarter, notwithstanding the noncash impairments on our 2 smallest vessels. We've been successful in getting new charters, though we acknowledge there's more to do, and we've now largely addressed our near-term refinancing needs, all moving us in the right direction.

總的來說，我相信我們度過了一個強勁而成功的季度，儘管我們的兩艘最小的船舶出現了非現金減值。儘管我們承認還有更多工作要做，但我們已經成功獲得了新的許可，而且我們現在基本上已經解決了近期的再融資需求，所有這些都使我們朝著正確的方向前進。

We remain committed to being open and transparent in what we are doing and delivering what we say we will. As you've hopefully heard me say many times, we believe that there are clear signs of a positive mid- to long-term future. And as the partnership moves forward in the very capable hands of Mr. Derek Lowe as the new incoming CEO, CFO, I believe our and our sponsor's decades-long experience and market-leading position in the shuttle tanker sector will serve the partnership very well. Thank you very much for your time today, and I'll now take any questions.

我們仍然致力於在我們正在做的事情和兌現我們承諾的事情上保持開放和透明。正如您希望多次聽到我所說的那樣，我們相信有明顯的跡象表明中長期未來是積極的。隨著新任執行長兼財務長德里克·洛先生(Derek Lowe) 先生的出色領導，我們的合作夥伴關係不斷向前發展，我相信我們和我們的贊助商在穿梭油輪領域數十年的經驗和市場領先地位將為我們的合作夥伴關係提供良好的服務。非常感謝您今天抽出時間，我現在將回答您的任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) We have a question from Liam Burke of B. Riley to begin.

（操作員說明） 首先，我們有 B. Riley 的 Liam Burke 提出的問題。

Hi Gary. How are you today?

嗨加里。你今天怎麼樣？

Hello, Liam. I am Very well. Thank you. How are you?

你好，利亞姆。我很好。謝謝。你好嗎？

Good. Thank you. I guess the 4 vessels you talked about, the 2 Dans and then the Torill and Hilda. But taking a step back, what needs to happen for the partnership? Is it just those 4 vessels when you can get back to what has created value traditionally, a higher payout or a resumption of taking drop-downs from your sponsor.

好的。謝謝。我猜你提到的 4 艘船是 2 艘 Dans 號，然後是 Torill 號和 Hilda 號。但退一步來說，合作夥伴關係需要發生什麼？當您可以回到傳統上創造價值的方式時，是否只是這 4 艘船，更高的支出或恢復從贊助商那裡獲取下拉式選單？

Yes. I think just let me address that last point first. Drop-downs right now, they're not a priority for us. Clearly, it's something that's still there. And our focus is on other things, as we've said. I think if you recall, when we reduced the distribution in January, we set back then that the priority is longer-term charter visibility and building liquidity. And I think those 4 vessels will go a long way to helping with that. We've sorted out the short-term refinancing or the vast majority of it. We've got a couple of dry docks still to go this year, so we need to be mindful of those. And I think that the Board's discretion really then comes into play in terms of how they view the required level of visibility and liquidity. But certainly, those 4 vessels, and we've highlighted them for a reason because when you look at the charter diagram, that is kind of where the obvious hole is at the moment and where we need to focus our efforts. And we think we're moving in the right direction, but there's clearly still some work to do.

是的。我想先讓我解決最後一點。目前，下拉清單並不是我們的首要任務。顯然，它仍然存在。正如我們所說，我們的重點是其他事情。我想如果你還記得的話，當我們在一月減少分配時，我們當時就認為優先事項是長期包機可見性和建立流動性。我認為這四艘船將在很大程度上幫助實現這一目標。我們已經整理了短期再融資或說絕大部分。今年我們還有幾個乾船塢要建設，所以我們需要注意這些。我認為董事會的自由裁量權實際上會在他們如何看待所需的可見性和流動性水平方面發揮作用。但當然，這四艘船，我們強調它們是有原因的，因為當你查看包機圖時，這就是目前明顯的漏洞所在，也是我們需要集中精力的地方。我們認為我們正朝著正確的方向前進，但顯然仍有一些工作要做。

Well, just looking at Brazil, you have -- would the Torill and Hilda makes sense to take -- I know it costs a lot of money, but does it make sense to move them to the Brazilian market and charter them there?

好吧，就巴西而言，托里爾和希爾達是否有意義？我知道這要花很多錢，但是將它們轉移到巴西市場並在那裡包租是否有意義？

Yes. I mean I think we've said previously, we certainly haven't ruled that out, but timing really is everything there. It would cost us a fair chunk to get them down there. And we -- it's an option, absolutely. But it's all about the timing and the choice there. So I think, yes, it's on our list of options, if you like. But I think you can be assured that we are looking at it very carefully to make sure that if we ever went down that route, we do it at the right time and for the right reasons.

是的。我的意思是，我想我們之前已經說過，我們當然沒有排除這種可能性，但時機確實就是一切。我們要花一大筆錢才能把他們弄到那裡。我們——這絕對是一個選擇。但這完全取決於時機和選擇。所以我認為，是的，如果您願意的話，它在我們的選項清單中。但我想你可以放心，我們正在非常仔細地考慮它，以確保如果我們走這條路，我們會在正確的時間、出於正確的理由這樣做。

Our next question comes from Poe Fratt of Alliance Global Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自 Alliance Global Partners 的 Poe Fratt。

First of all, Gary, I'd like to just congratulate you on your new position and navigator and just say that I've really enjoyed working with you as your -- while we've covered KNOT Offshore. So I'll miss you at least. Yes, [this is last drive]. I did have a couple of questions, just a little more detail. Can you just remind me on where the Dan Cisne and the Dan Sabia have been written down to?

首先，Gary，我想祝賀您就任新職位和領航員，並且我非常高興與您一起工作，同時我們已經報道了 KNOT Offshore。所以至少我會想念你。是的，[這是最後一次駕駛]。我確實有幾個問題，只是更詳細一些。你可以提醒我 Dan Cisne 和 Dan Sabia 被記錄在哪裡嗎？

Yes. So their book values were in the region of $65 million and we've taken $25 million off each of them, broadly speaking.

是的。因此，他們的帳面價值約為 6500 萬美元，一般來說，我們已經從他們每人身上扣除了 2500 萬美元。

Okay. And then how realistic is it to think that those 2 could be sold?

好的。那麼認為這兩個可以出售有多現實呢？

Yes. I mean, of course, it's always an option. And I think the discussions that the board has had, encompasses all sorts of things. So our first choice is always to utilize the vessels, utilize them for a good charter rate, run them very well. It's only when that doesn't become an option that we start to look at other things. But obviously, you have to factor in time, and we can't leave those discussions until the very last moment. We need to start thinking about them now. So again, in the interest of transparency, we've mentioned that on this call and in this earnings release. But we're far from having made any decisions about that. We don't know that the vessels won't be taken by either Transpetro, Petrobras or another charterer. The problem being is that today, we don't know that they will either. The vessels have been on very long-term charters, bareboat charters. They've been very, very busy.

是的。我的意思是，當然，這總是一個選擇。我認為董事會的討論涵蓋了各種各樣的事情。因此，我們的第一個選擇始終是利用這些船舶，以良好的租船費率利用它們，並很好地運行它們。只有當這不再成為一種選擇時，我們才會開始考慮其他事情。但顯然，你必須考慮時間因素，我們不能把這些討論留到最後一刻。我們現在需要開始考慮它們。因此，為了透明起見，我們在這次電話會議和本財報發布中提到了這一點。但我們還遠遠沒有就此做出任何決定。我們不知道這些船隻是否會被 Transpetro、Petrobras 或其他承租人接收。問題是，今天我們也不知道他們會不會。這些船隻都是長期租船，即光船租船。他們一直非常非常忙碌。

The Brazilian market is tightening, as we've said. And although the environment in Brazil isn't optimum for those smaller vessels today, with an absence of other vessels in Brazil, who used to say what might happen. So sale is possible. I think it's arguably, perhaps the slightly harder option, particularly if we're trying to sell it into a conventional market. But I think we've got other options before that. And certainly, our preference is to seek a new charter and run it to the shuttle tanker.

正如我們所說，巴西市場正在趨緊。儘管如今巴西的環境並不適合這些小型船舶，但由於巴西沒有其他船舶，過去曾說過可能會發生什麼。所以出售是可能的。我認為這可以說是一個稍微困難的選擇，特別是如果我們試圖將其出售到傳統市場的話。但我認為在此之前我們還有其他選擇。當然，我們更傾向於尋求新的包機並將其運行到穿梭油輪上。

Great. And what is the more optimal market for those 2? You said that Brasils are smaller, there's -- it's suboptimal. Is there a more optimal market out there? In the shuttle tanker market. You just talked about the conventional market in the shuttle tanker.

偉大的。對於這兩個市場來說，哪個市場比較優？你說巴西比較小，這不是最理想的。是否有更優化的市場？在穿梭油輪市場。您剛才談到了穿梭油輪的常規市場。

Yes. If you force me to answer that question, I would say they're probably slightly more suited to the North Sea. They're not North Sea compatible at the moment, but they could be made to be, so that is also an option. But clearly, right now, as we sit here today, perhaps the North Sea, transferring them immediately to the North Sea wouldn't be a sensible idea. But nonetheless, both of them are contracted to the end of 2023 anyway. So we've still got several months before we even need to do anything with them. So that's why at this stage, we just want people to be aware that we are looking at all options in case we aren't able to secure a new charter at the end of these ones.

是的。如果你強迫我回答這個問題，我會說它們可能更適合北海。目前它們與北海不相容，但可以使其相容，所以這也是一種選擇。但顯然，現在，當我們今天坐在這裡時，也許北海，立即將它們轉移到北海並不是一個明智的想法。但無論如何，兩人的合約都到了2023年底。因此，在我們需要對它們採取任何行動之前，我們還有幾個月的時間。因此，在現階段，我們只是希望人們知道，我們正在考慮所有選擇，以防我們在這些選擇結束時無法獲得新的許可。

Great. And how much time and money would it take to make them North Sea compatible?

偉大的。需要多少時間和金錢才能使它們相容於北海？

It's not like -- it's not a huge conversion exercise like trying to convert a conventional vessel into a shuttle tanker. It's equipment, and it's substantial, but it's not -- I don't think it's something that our investors need to be concerned about from a material CapEx perspective. It's something that we would bake into a transaction or a decision to bring them to the North Sea if that's what we decide to do.

這不像——這不是像試圖將傳統船隻改裝成穿梭油輪那樣的大型改裝活動。它是設備，而且很重要，但它不是——我認為從實質資本支出的角度來看，我們的投資者不需要擔心它。如果我們決定這樣做的話，我們會將其納入交易或將它們帶到北海的決定中。

Okay. And then there was a higher revenues that came in $1.3 or $1.4 million. What were they associated with?

好的。然後收入更高，達到 1.3 美元或 140 萬美元。他們與什麼有關？

Yes, they would all go back to slightly historic, and I would say slightly historic because it's probably in the last 1, 2, 3 quarters of claims. So if you go back to some of our previous earnings releases, we have disclosed some of the more material off-hires that we suffered in terms of vessels suffering a few problems when we claimed on insurance. And that money coming through is a closure of those insurance claims from previous quarters. Under U.S. GAAP, you have to be really sure that you're going to get the money before you can book it. So we always end up with a mismatch between when we put the insurance claim in and know about the problem on a ship, when we actually get the money in and we can recognize it is in the accounts.

是的，它們都會回到歷史性的水平，我會說歷史性的，因為它可能是在過去 1、2、3 個季度的索賠中。因此，如果你回顧我們之前發布的一些收益報告，我們已經披露了一些在我們索賠保險時遇到一些問題的船舶所遭受的更重大的停租。這筆資金用於結束前幾季的保險索賠。根據美國公認會計原則，您必須真正確定自己能收到這筆錢，然後才能預訂。因此，當我們提出保險索賠並了解船上的問題時，當我們實際收到錢並認識到它在帳戶中時，我們總是會出現不匹配的情況。

And I think I read that you don't have any additional claims outstanding at this point in time?

我想我讀到您目前沒有其他未決索賠？

Yes, yes, that's right.

是的，是的，沒錯。

Okay. And then looking at the Hilda and Torill, they're currently on short-term charter agreements that runs through the year-end with your subsidiary of one of your [GPs]. Is that something we should expect to continue to sort of filled the gap until the North Sea market rebalances, you've said it's going to take a little longer than expected, a couple more quarters. Is that something we should sort of expect as sort of a stop gap until you can get firm work?

好的。然後看看 Hilda 和 Torill，他們目前與您的一位 [GP] 的子公司簽訂了貫穿年底的短期包機協議。在北海市場重新平衡之前，我們應該期望繼續填補這一空白嗎？您說過，這將需要比預期更長的時間，多幾季。這是我們應該期待的事情，作為你找到穩定工作之前的權宜之計嗎？

Obviously, I can't speak for the other side of that in terms of our sponsor and KNOT, but certainly, we worked with them and come to an agreement with them to date on those vessels. And if nothing further is forthcoming, as Liam talked about, there's the Brazil option moving them to Brazil. But again, we'd have to assess the merits of that. But we would probably be turning to KNOT and seeking to negotiate with them a further extension if need be. Obviously, I can't talk to their reaction and to their response to that. But certainly, so far, they have proven and shown to be very supportive.

顯然，我不能代表我們的贊助商和 KNOT 的另一面，但當然，我們與他們合作並迄今為止就這些船隻與他們達成協議。如果沒有進一步的進展，正如利亞姆所說，巴西可以選擇將他們轉移到巴西。但同樣，我們必須評估其優點。但如果需要的話，我們可能會轉向 KNOT 並尋求與他們協商進一步延期。顯然，我無法談論他們的反應以及他們對此的反應。但可以肯定的是，到目前為止，他們已經證明並表現出非常支持。

Okay. Great. And then just one last one, if you wouldn't mind. When I look at the options in Brazil, that's really where there might be a little bit uncertainty in looking into '24 with the Carmen and Windsor in the first quarter and then (inaudible) in the third quarter. But you did say that your -- given the tightening in the market, you're pretty confident that those will be exercised. When will we find out that those options have been exercised?

好的。偉大的。如果你不介意的話，就說最後一張。當我考慮巴西的選擇時，這確實是在第一季和第三季（聽不清楚）研究 24 年卡門和溫莎時可能存在一點不確定性的地方。但您確實說過，鑑於市場緊縮，您非常有信心這些措施將會得到執行。我們什麼時候才能知道這些選擇權已被行使？

All the charters, unfortunately -- prior folks of you and for us, all the charters have different terms and notice periods. So it's not a simple thing to say or to answer that question. I think we're increasingly confident given the market in Brazil that even if the options are not taken that there is alternative employment opportunities for each and all of those vessels in Brazil. So yes, we are confident that options will be taken, particularly if customers have got a good charter rate locked in. But notwithstanding that, I think the point is really that option or no option, we're increasingly confident that we would find employment for any or all of those vessels in Brazil anyway.

不幸的是，所有的章程都有不同的條款和通知期。所以說或回答這個問題並不是一件簡單的事。我認為，考慮到巴西的市場，我們越來越有信心，即使不採取這些選擇，巴西的每艘船舶都有其他就業機會。所以，是的，我們有信心會採取選擇，特別是如果客戶鎖定了良好的包機費率。但儘管如此，我認為關鍵是選擇或不選擇，我們越來越有信心我們會找到工作無論如何，對於巴西的任何或所有這些船隻。

Great. And just -- I apologize, Gary. Just one more, if you wouldn't mind. What should be built in for a Torill and the Ingrid as far as dry docks coming up in the fourth quarter, roughly 30 days? Or sort of what's a ballpark number for those dry docks?

偉大的。只是——我很抱歉，蓋瑞。如果你不介意的話，就再來一張。就第四季（大約 30 天）即將建成的乾船塢而言，Torill 和 Ingrid 應該建造什麼？或是那些幹船塢的大概數字是多少？

Yes. Torill and Ingrid, are obviously European-based vessels, and we perform all of our dry docks in Europe. So they're much quicker. So similar to the Hilda that you'd probably expect in the region of 30 days.

是的。 Torill 和 Ingrid 顯然是歐洲船舶，我們所有的乾船塢都在歐洲進行。所以他們的速度要快得多。與您可能期望的 30 天左右的希爾達非常相似。

Great. And Gary, good luck in your new endeavor.

偉大的。加里，祝你新的努力好運。

Thank you, Poe. It's a pleasure working with you.

謝謝你，波。很高興與您合作。

Our next question comes from Robert Silvera of R.E. Silvera & Associates.

我們的下一個問題來自 R.E. 的 Robert Silvera。西爾維拉及同事。

Gary, I'm looking at the balance sheet and the current assets, current liabilities, we're seeing that our cash since the end of '22 has climbed substantially, which is good, and the current portion of long-term debt has dropped very significantly, but then dropping down a little bit to the long-term assets, the net vessels and equipment has dropped about roughly $100 million, and the long-term debt has gone up to $820 million. And I'm having problem understanding this. I wonder if you could explain to me why this dynamic is happening where the long-term debt has gone up so substantially since the end of '22, while your cash and the rest of the things seem to improve and the current liabilities have dropped so much?

加里，我正在查看資產負債表以及流動資產、流動負債，我們看到自 22 年底以來我們的現金大幅攀升，這是好事，而且長期債務的流動部分已經下降非常顯著，但長期資產略有下降，船舶和設備淨值下降了約1 億美元，長期債務上升至8.2 億美元。我無法理解這一點。我想知道你能否向我解釋為什麼會出現這種動態，自 22 年底以來長期債務大幅增加，而你的現金和其他東西似乎有所改善，而流動負債卻下降瞭如此之多。很多？

Yes. The cash position has risen through operations, but also we hold back money for dry docks. So as we come towards dry docks, the cash position, we will be slightly elevated in order that we've got excess cash to pay for those dry docks I think that's 1 side of it. The other side in terms of the debt and the current versus the long term or, let's call it, noncurrent, it's just reclassification between pre refinancing and post refinancing. So as we come up to a refinance, obviously, we're within 1 year of that refinance maturity date and quite a lot of the debt moves into the current category. As we refinance, it shifts back into the long term. So if you compare one quarter to the other quarter and there has been a refinance at some point, you will probably see movements such as that happening, and that's exactly what's happened on our balance sheet in Q2 compared to Q1 or even the end of Q4 last year.

是的。透過運營，現金頭寸有所增加，但我們也保留了用於乾船塢的資金。因此，當我們走向乾船塢時，我們的現金狀況將略有提高，以便我們有多餘的現金來支付這些幹船塢的費用，我認為這是一方面。另一方面，就債務以及當前與長期而言，或者我們稱之為非流動，它只是再融資前和再融資後之間的重新分類。因此，當我們進行再融資時，顯然，我們距離再融資到期日不到一年，而且相當多的債務都進入了當前類別。當我們進行再融資時，它會轉回長期。因此，如果您將一個季度與另一個季度進行比較，並且在某個時候進行了再融資，您可能會看到類似的變化，而這正是我們第二季度的資產負債表與第一季甚至第四季末相比所發生的情況是去年。

So the long-term asset drop of about $100 million, most of it is that reassessment of the value of the 2 ships?

那麼長期資產下降約1億美元，大部分是對2艘船價值的重新評估？

The reduction in the asset will be normal depreciation and the impairment taken together, yes.

資產的減少將是正常折舊和減值，是的。

Really, in 6 months, we've gone down $100 million almost -- equipment, net investment and equipment?

真的，在 6 個月內，我們幾乎減少了 1 億美元——設備、淨投資和設備？

The impairment itself was $50 million of that.

其中減損額為 5000 萬美元。

Yes. And that's what I'm saying. Okay. Well, our feelings are please do not take any more drop-downs until we show that the Brazilian market really has improved substantially and our charter rates are climbing before we'll entertain the risk of taking some more drop-downs. That's...

是的。這就是我要說的。好的。好吧，我們的感覺是，在我們證明巴西市場確實有了實質性改善並且我們的包機費率正在攀升之前，請不要再採取任何降價措施，然後我們才會承擔採取更多降價措施的風險。那是...

Yes, as I expect, I think one of the other question is drop downs at the moment, really not our priority. It's still part of the strategy of the business to grow the fleet, but the focus at the moment is visibility of earnings and liquidity.

是的，正如我所期望的，我認為目前另一個問題是下拉式選單，這確實不是我們的首要任務。擴大機隊規模仍然是該公司策略的一部分，但目前的重點是盈利和流動性的可見性。

Right, reducing debt like that. Do you have any feeling as the rate you're doing, what you're doing and assuming that the Brazilian market continues to strengthen, how long might it take in your estimation? And you won't be around to have to stand up to this estimation in the long run because you're off to a new career. But -- how long do you think it might take before you see the dividend begin to rise again? Charter of 6 months, 2 years? What do we do in?

是的，這樣減少債務。您對您正在做的事情有什麼感覺，假設巴西市場繼續走強，您估計需要多長時間？從長遠來看，你不會因為要開始新的職業而不得不忍受這個估計。但是——您認為需要多長時間才能看到股息再次開始上升？租期6個月，2年？我們在做什麼？

Look, I think when we reduced the distribution only earlier this year, and I know it's been a couple of quarters since then. And we said that we needed longer-term charter visibility, and we needed to build liquidity. Clearly, we've sorted out the majority of our refinancing near term. We've got some dry docks to take care of. And we're making moves in the right direction, I think, with still some work to do. But ultimately, the level at which we've got enough charter visibility and enough liquidity, that's really up to the board's discretion. But I think we're moving in the right direction. I think there's still work to do. But ultimately, it's the Board's discretion. So it's difficult to answer that. I personally don't -- I don't think we're there yet. We only got the distribution earlier this year.

聽著，我想當我們今年早些時候才減少分配時，我知道從那時起已經有幾個季度了。我們說我們需要長期的包機可見性，我們需要建立流動性。顯然，我們已經解決了近期大部分的再融資問題。我們有一些乾船塢需要照顧。我認為，我們正在朝著正確的方向前進，但仍有一些工作要做。但最終，我們獲得足夠的特許可見性和足夠的流動性的水平，這實際上取決於董事會的自由裁量權。但我認為我們正朝著正確的方向前進。我認為還有工作要做。但最終，這是董事會的自由裁量權。所以很難回答這個問題。我個人不認為——我認為我們還沒有做到這一點。我們今年早些時候才得到分配。

I know. So we're at 6 months and that -- but I'm trying to get a feeling is it another 6 months and not a whole year before we could entertain? We remember the sweet days of $0.52 a quarter -- and truly, you must have some feeling. I don't hold you to an exact number, but you must have some feeling of your strategy, the changing market dynamic in Brazil, particularly the demand, et cetera, where the cash flows and the reduction of debt would play out to a time frame of 6 months, a year, 2 years, and you've got to have some feeling for that.

我知道。所以我們已經 6 個月了，但我想知道是否還需要 6 個月而不是一整年我們才能娛樂？我們還記得每季 0.52 美元的甜蜜日子——說實話，您一定有一些感覺。我不要求你提供確切的數字，但你必須對你的策略、巴西不斷變化的市場動態、特別是需求等有一些感覺，其中現金流和債務減少將在一段時間內發揮作用六個月、一年、兩年，你必須對此有一些感覺。

Robert, even though I'm leaving, I would be a fool to answer that question in a way because we've stated what we are trying to do and where we need to get to. But first of all, I can't predict the future actually. And secondly, ultimately, it's the Board's discretion. So it's when the Board feels that all of these things that you've mentioned there, the market, the liquidity, the feeling, the outlook is when the Board feels and the Board's discretion to decide, yes, okay, now we feel we can do something. And I can't possibly really second guess that. We've tried to put out information and explain where we are and what we think and where we see it. But ultimately, in future quarters, like we've said right at the start with forward-looking statements, it's very difficult to predict that.

羅伯特，即使我要離開，我在某種程度上回答這個問題也是愚蠢的，因為我們已經說明了我們正在努力做什麼以及我們需要達到的目標。但首先，我實際上無法預測未來。其次，最終，這是董事會的自由裁量權。因此，當董事會認為你提到的所有這些事情，市場，流動性，感覺，前景時，董事會的感覺和董事會的自由裁量權決定，是的，好的，現在我們覺得我們可以做一點事。我不可能真的再猜測這一點。我們試圖發布資訊並解釋我們在哪裡、我們的想法以及我們在哪裡看到的。但最終，在未來的幾個季度，就像我們在前瞻性陳述一開始所說的那樣，很難預測這一點。

Okay. Going down another line then, there has been some chatter in financial markets that what the parent might do is reach down and absorb the partnership at this lower level of pricing where we are now around $5. Do you see that as a possibility? Or could you say pretty hard and fast that no, that's not going to happen. The parent company is going to continue to honor the partnership and let it -- work its way back up into the higher price ranges of this -- the share price?

好的。另一方面，金融市場上有一些討論稱，母公司可能會採取行動，以較低的定價水平（目前約為 5 美元）吸收合作夥伴關係。您認為有這種可能性嗎？或者你可以非常堅決和快速地說不，這不會發生。母公司將繼續尊重合作關係，並讓它——努力回到更高的價格範圍——股價？

Yes. Well, I can't speak for the sponsor. And I'm not involved or party to the sponsors, discussions and thoughts. All I can do is tell you that we've had a Board meeting yesterday, and our strategy as a company remains unchanged, and we're focusing on what we can do. And what we are looking at is the things within our control, and we're focused on getting more charters and we're building liquidity. And I think if we focus on that, it's for everybody's benefit, and we're trying to look after all the unitholders here. The sponsor is a unitholder, just like everybody else. So it's almost impossible for me to make any comment on that. And even if I did make a comment on it, the sponsor tomorrow could decide it has a different view. So we're just trying to stick with what we can control and what we're focused on. And hopefully, that's for everybody's benefit.

是的。好吧，我不能代表贊助商說話。我沒有參與或參與贊助商、討論和想法。我能做的就是告訴你，我們昨天召開了董事會會議，我們公司的策略保持不變，我們專注於我們能做的事情。我們關注的是我們控制範圍內的事情，我們專注於獲得更多的特許權，並正在建立流動性。我認為，如果我們專注於此，這對每個人都有好處，而且我們正在努力照顧這裡的所有單位持有者。發起人是單位持有人，就像其他人一樣。所以我幾乎不可能對此發表任何評論。即使我確實對此發表了評論，贊助商明天也可能會決定有不同的觀點。所以我們只是努力堅持我們能控制的事情和我們關注的事情。希望這對每個人都有好處。

Okay. Well, that's somewhat encouraging. At least we know -- we've stated our feelings with thousands of shares that we would not like to see that. So thank you very much, and may your future career be blessed. Gary.

好的。嗯，這有點令人鼓舞。至少我們知道——我們已經透過數千次分享表達了我們的感受，我們不希望看到這種情況。非常感謝您，祝福您未來的職業生涯順利。加里.

Thank you very much, Robert. I appreciate it.

非常感謝你，羅伯特。我很感激。

Our next question comes from [Honey Hoffmeyer of Private Investor.]

我們的下一個問題來自[私人投資者的Honey Hoffmeyer。]

Gary, how are you doing today?

加里，你今天過得怎麼樣？

Yes. Well, thank you.

是的。嗯，謝謝。

Wonderful. Thank you so much for all the effort that you guys are doing and trying to stabilize the cash flow and as well increasing liquidity. My question comes in actually onto the potential future acquisitions. So there are 7 vessels out there that we can actually -- I'm not sure where we are in terms of discussions, have they been offered to us in order to acquire because they're still at the early stage. And they're fairly 5 years or more, or almost 7 years. So are we entertaining any of those acquisitions at this time? Or has it not been in our discussion at the time being?

精彩的。非常感謝你們為穩定現金流和增加流動性所做的一切努力。我的問題實際上涉及未來潛在的收購。所以我們實際上可以有 7 艘船——我不確定我們的討論進展到什麼程度，是否有人向我們提供了它們以獲取，因為它們仍處於早期階段。他們有相當5年或更長的時間，或接近7年。那麼我們現在是否正在考慮進行這些收購呢？或者說我們目前還沒有討論過這個問題？

At the moment, honey, it's the latter. I mean, we -- they are still there, and our sponsor has been flexible. And those acquisitions are still available to us. But first of all, it's difficult to do them right now anyway. But secondly, as I've said, once or twice already on this call and previously. It's not at the moment, our priority.

目前，親愛的，是後者。我的意思是，我們——他們仍然在那裡，而且我們的贊助商一直很靈活。我們仍然可以進行這些收購。但首先，現在無論如何都很難做到。但其次，正如我所說，這次通話和之前已經有一兩次了。這不是目前我們的首要任務。

I understand. But it really -- I understand that it will take more on the long-term debt and will increase the long-term debt. But it also will keep us on the positive cash flow side of things. That's really where I'm coming from.

我明白。但我確實知道，這將需要更多的長期債務，並且會增加長期債務。但這也將使我們保持正現金流。這確實是我來自的地方。

Yes. I think -- of course, first of all, we would never do an acquisition unless it was accretive, first of all. But I think -- yes, but I think where we are sitting here today, I think our liquidity position, the requirement to make sure we have cash for dry docks and to run the fleet and to get into a very comfortable position again, so that we've got options. I think that's more important at the moment than acquisitions. And I believe that the Board shares that view.

是的。我認為——當然，首先，我們永遠不會進行收購，除非它首先是增值的。但我認為 - 是的，但我認為我們今天坐在這裡，我認為我們的流動性狀況，確保我們有現金用於乾船塢和運營船隊並再次進入非常舒適的位置的要求，所以我們有選擇。我認為目前這比收購更重要。我相信董事會也同意這一點。

So I don't think we're concerned about necessarily adding debt to the balance sheet, provided that the transaction is accretive and the cash flow can handle that debt, et cetera. I don't think that's a concern particularly, certainly not the first concern, but the first concern today is getting stability of liquidity and getting to a comfortable position to have options again. And at that point, we could then start again to look at acquisitions.

因此，我認為我們不必擔心在資產負債表上增加債務，只要交易具有增值性並且現金流可以處理該債務等等。我不認為這是一個特別令人擔憂的問題，當然也不是第一個問題，但今天的第一個問題是獲得流動性的穩定性並達到一個舒適的位置以再次擁有選擇權。到那時，我們就可以重新開始考慮收購。

Okay. I guess the way I look at it, we have about $63 million in cash and the dry dock for the last 2 vessels were around $11 million. I guess we're anticipating another $11 million for the 2 other dry docks this year, correct? If we're like kind of an average ballpark?

好的。我想，從我的角度來看，我們有大約 6300 萬美元的現金，最後兩艘船的乾船塢大約有 1100 萬美元。我想今年我們預計另外 2 個乾船塢將再投入 1,100 萬美元，對嗎？如果我們就像一個普通的球場？

You mean each or for both?

你的意思是每個還是兩個？

Both, for both?

兩者，為了兩者？

Yes, probably less than that because they're both European-based vessels. So -- but -- you're not...

是的，可能比這個少，因為它們都是歐洲的船。所以——但是——你不是……

Yes, I understand. So even with the dry dock, we still have enough cash flow, and we can add up 1 or 2 vessels at least from the potential acquisition. And that's really what I'm trying to get to. Has that been discussed? Has it been not agreed upon or has it not really in our scope at this time?

是的我明白。因此，即使有了乾船塢，我們仍然有足夠的現金流，我們至少可以從潛在的收購中增加一到兩艘船。這確實是我想要達到的目標。有討論過嗎？是否尚未達成一致或目前不在我們的範圍內？

I think the one extra thing that you have to take into consideration is that we have financial covenants as part of our debt structure and some of our loan agreements. And as a ballpark figure, and it's more complex than this, but as a ballpark figure, we need to retain in the region of $40 million in available liquidity. So that $63 million that we have isn't fully available to spend, if you see what I mean. It's obviously our cash, but it's not something -- plus as well, notwithstanding that, we also, of course, have to maintain sufficient working capital, et cetera, to run 18 ships, and this is an expensive business. We're taking quite a lot of revenue, but we also have quite high costs.

我認為你必須考慮的另一件事是，我們的債務結構和一些貸款協議中都有財務契約。作為一個大概的數字，它比這更複雜，但作為一個大概的數字，我們需要保留 4000 萬美元左右的可用流動性。因此，如果您明白我的意思的話，我們擁有的 6300 萬美元並不能完全用於支出。這顯然是我們的現金，但它不是什麼東西——此外，儘管如此，我們當然還必須維持足夠的營運資金等等，以運營 18 艘船，這是一項昂貴的業務。我們獲得了相當多的收入，但我們的成本也相當高。

No, I understand that. Well, thank you so much, Gary. Appreciate it. That kind of answers my questions.

不，我明白。嗯，非常感謝你，加里。欣賞它。這回答了我的問題。

Okay. Thanks very much, honey. Appreciate it.

好的。非常感謝，親愛的。欣賞它。

Yes, have a great one. And good luck for your future endeavors.

是的，祝你過得愉快。祝你未來的事業好運。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Jim Altschul of the Aviation Advisory Service.

（操作員指示）我們的下一個問題來自航空諮詢服務部門的 Jim Altschul。

I guess, first of all, I want to join the others Gary, I'm thanking you for your really exceptional responsiveness and professionalism during the years, some of the years I've been an investor in participating in these calls. I got a couple of questions for it. First of all, looking at the news release. With regard to the extensions, the new charters, I mean, for example, we signed a new charter or a new time charter for the Recife Knutsen. And what -- I'm sorry, I just looked at scrolling down the Windsor Knutsen and the Brasil Knutsen. Without giving specific numbers, how do the charter rates on these newer extended charters compared to what you were receiving under the prior charters.

我想，首先，我想加入其他人的行列，加里，我感謝你這些年來非常出色的反應能力和專業精神，其中一些年來我一直是參與這些電話會議的投資者。我有幾個問題。首先，看新聞稿。關於延期，新的租船合同，我的意思是，例如，我們為累西腓克努森號簽署了新的租船合同或新的定期租船合同。抱歉，我只是往下滾動溫莎克努森和巴西克努森。在沒有給出具體數字的情況下，與您根據先前的包機獲得的價格相比，這些新的延期包機的包機費率如何。

Yes. They reflect the tightening market, I think, is the simple answer to that question. We've seen that gradually over the last few quarters in Brazil. We're not yet seen that in the North Sea. But yes, they are, for sure, reflecting a tightening market with less available tonnage to customers.

是的。我認為，它們反映了市場緊縮，這是這個問題的簡單答案。過去幾季我們在巴西逐漸看到了這一點。我們在北海還沒有看到這種情況。但是，是的，它們肯定反映出市場緊縮，可供客戶使用的噸位減少。

It's tightening in -- in favor of KNOT Offshore Partners -- is that what you mean?

它正在收緊——有利於 KNOT Offshore Partners——這就是你的意思嗎？

Yes, correct.

是，對的。

Okay. Next thing, over the next -- in addition -- after the -- you complete these 2 dry dockings, do you have any other dry dockings anticipated schedule over the next 12 months?

好的。接下來，在接下來的事情中，此外，在您完成這 2 次乾船塢之後，您在未來 12 個月內還有其他乾船塢預期時間表嗎？

The last dry dock, the Ingrid might split into January of next year if it's not -- depending on the exact timing of it. But leaving that aside, there are no dry dock scheduled for 2024. I think you should be able to see that on the Slide 9. We put the green boxes on each of the vessel charter time lines to show where the dry docks are. And if you look down the 2024 column, you'll see that there are not in there. Like I said, the last couple of vessels may tumble a little bit for a few days into 2024, but really, we treat them as 2023 dry docks.

作為最後一個乾船塢，英格麗德號可能會在明年一月分裂——如果不是的話，這取決於具體的時間。但撇開這一點不談，2024 年沒有安排乾船塢。我想您應該能夠在幻燈片9 上看到這一點。我們在每條船舶租賃時間線上都放置了綠色框，以顯示乾船塢的位置。如果你往下看 2024 欄，你會發現那裡沒有。正如我所說，最後幾艘船可能會在 2024 年的幾天內出現一些下滑，但實際上，我們將它們視為 2023 年的乾船塢。

Okay. Excellent.

好的。出色的。

No problem, Jim. Thanks for your kind words as well.

沒問題，吉姆。也感謝您的客氣話。

We have a follow-up question from Robert Silvera of R.E. Silvera and Associates.

我們有來自 R.E. 的 Robert Silvera 的後續問題。西爾維拉及其同事。

Gary, the previous caller just talked to you about changing in the rates for new contracts now versus the old established contracts and you implied that things are getting better because of the tighter Brazilian marketplace at this point. Can you give us a feeling percentage-wise, are they 2%, 3% better, 10% better, 15% what's -- how fast kind of thing do you see this going up and to what percentage extent in the near future, from what you see?

蓋瑞（Gary），上一位來電者剛剛與您談到了現在新合約相對於舊合約的費率變化，您暗示由於巴西市場目前緊張，情況正在好轉。你能否給我們一個百分比的感覺，他們是2%、3%、10%、15%嗎？你認為這種情況會以多快的速度上升，在不久的將來會達到多少百分比？你看到什麼了？

Robert it's not quite as simple as to talk about percentage increases because, obviously, then you don't have to sort of talk about from what date to what date and all charters are different or customers are different. And the discussions we have with each customer, every customer is in a different place in terms of their own operations and demands and volumes that they need to transport in numbers of cargoes and ton miles -- so there's a lot of variables that goes into it. And each discussion with each customer is pretty unique.

羅伯特，這並不像談論百分比增長那麼簡單，因為顯然，你不必談論從什麼日期到什麼日期，並且所有包機都不同或客戶不同。我們與每個客戶進行的討論，每個客戶在他們自己的運營、需求以及他們需要運輸的貨物數量和噸英里數方面都處於不同的位置 - 因此其中存在很多變量。與每位客戶的每次討論都是非常獨特的。

So yes, overall, for sure, we have seen a robust strengthening of rates. It's more than negligible, that's for sure. But I think trying to give you percentages would be as misleading as us trying to give you precise numbers. So I think it's -- the message we're trying to give is that the market is materially tightening, we're the beneficiaries of that. It may take some time to come through. We have long-term charters. So yes, we've signed a couple of new charters as we've disclosed. And we've got 1 or 2 more, hopefully, in the pipeline. But obviously, the majority of our vessels today are operating on charters that have been agreed sometime in the past.

所以，是的，總體而言，我們確實看到了利率的強勁走強。這是肯定的，這不僅僅是可以忽略不計的。但我認為試圖給你百分比會像我們試圖給你精確的數字一樣具有誤導性。所以我認為，我們試圖傳達的訊息是，市場正在實質收緊，我們是受益者。可能需要一些時間才能完成。我們有長期包機。所以，是的，正如我們所揭露的，我們已經簽署了幾份新章程。希望我們還有 1 到 2 個正在籌備中。但顯然，我們今天的大多數船隻都是根據過去某個時候商定的租約運作的。

So we have to wait for things to work through a little bit as well. So there's an extra complexity there when you add in the time line. So the simple answer to your question is that it's a robust tightening for sure. But trying to put percentages or numbers on to that, I'm afraid, is I'm going to mislead somebody, I almost guarantee.

所以我們也必須等待事情解決。因此，當您添加時間軸時，就會產生額外的複雜性。因此，對你的問題的簡單回答是，這肯定是一次強而有力的緊縮。但我幾乎可以保證，試圖用百分比或數字來表示這一點，恐怕會誤導某人。

Okay. Well, I like the word robust. It's got a good connotation and putting percentages on sounds like the U.S. government who is trying to tell us what inflation we really are living with. And it all depends on whether you're dealing with gasoline, eggs or something else. So thank you very much for that extra color on that. It gives me a stronger feeling that the market really is moving in a robust manner.

好的。嗯，我喜歡「穩健」這個詞。它有一個很好的內涵，並且把百分比放在聽起來像美國政府試圖告訴我們我們真正面臨的通貨膨脹。這完全取決於您處理的是汽油、雞蛋還是其他東西。非常感謝您為此提供的額外顏色。這讓我更加強烈地感覺到市場確實正在以強勁的方式運作。

We have no further questions on the line, so I'll hand back for closing remarks.

我們沒有其他問題了，所以我將作結束語。

Yes. Thank you very much, everybody. I appreciate the time you've spent today and the questions, and I wish you all the best for the future. Thank you.

是的。非常感謝大家。感謝您今天花費的時間和提出的問題，祝福您未來一切順利。謝謝。

Thank you for joining. This concludes today's call. You may now disconnect your lines.

感謝您的加入。今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。