Navios Maritime Partners LP Aktie

Hello, and welcome, everyone joining today's Navios Maritime Partners Q2 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note this call is being recorded, and we are standing by if you should need any assistance.

With us today from the company are Chairwoman and CEO, Ms. Angeliki Frangou; Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Stratos Desypris; Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Eri Tsironi; and Chief Trading Officer, Mr. Vincent Vandewalle. As a reminder, this conference call is being webcast. To access the webcast, please go to the Investors section of Navios Partners website at www.navios-mlp.com. You'll see the webcasting link in the middle of the page, and a copy of the presentation referenced in today's earnings conference call will also be found there.

Now I will review the safe harbor statement. This conference call could contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about Navios Partners. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Navios Partners' management and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such risks are more fully discussed in Navios Partners' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The information set forth herein should be understood in light of such risks. Navios Partners does not assume any obligation to update this information contained in this conference call.

The agenda for today's call is as follows: First, Ms. Frangou will offer opening remarks. Next, Mr. Desypris will give an overview of Navios Partners segment data. Next, Ms. Tsironi will give an overview of Navios Partners' financial results. Then Mr. Vandewalle will provide an industry overview. And lastly, we'll open the call to take questions.

Now I turn the call over to Navios Partners Chairwoman and CEO, Ms. Angeliki Frangou. Angeliki?

Good morning, and thank you all for joining us on today's call. I am pleased with our results. For the second quarter and first 6 months of 2026, we reported net income of $167.9 million and $274.3 million, EBITDA of $275.2 million and $487.8 million, earnings per common unit of $5.78 and $9.42. We also announced a $0.06 distribution per unit for the quarter. We continue to operate in a world marked with uncertainty and conflict. The war between Russia and Ukraine remains unresolved. The persistent attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and more recent ones in the Red Sea have caused persistent disruptions to global trade flows.

Against this backdrop, trade has been surprisingly resilient and energy prices, while volatile, remain relatively muted. These conflicts are causing lasting implications for global trade patterns. Countries and companies are reassessing their exposure for critical resources to maritime chokepoints. They are placing greater value on supply chain resilience, looking to diversify through alternative suppliers, routes, storage capacity and transportation infrastructure. This trend may have a net effect of creating longer long-haul routes.

As you can see on Slide 3, our fleet has an average age of 8.7 years compared to an industry average of 13.7 years. Our tanker fleet with an average age of 5 years is particularly young relative to the broader tanker market. Overall, Navios fleet modernization program has created a fleet with almost 40% younger than the industry average and about 65% younger in comparison to the global tanker fleet, preparing us for the future. We believe the use of our fleet provides a competitive advantage through, among other things, lower operating cost, better fuel efficiency and higher charterer preference.

Please turn to Slide 4. Navios is a leading maritime transportation company owning, operating and chartering a modern fleet of 176 vessels across 3 segments and 15 asset classes. Our fleet is split in 2/3 by value with about 1/3 in each of the tanker, dry bulk and container segments. The overall value of our fleet, including a newbuilding program is $10.2 billion. Our fleet in the water has a $4.8 billion in net vessel equity value. We continue to make headway in reducing our net LTV towards our target of 20% to 25%. At the quarter end, we had a net LTV of 27.9%. Our balance sheet is strong with $625 million available liquidity and credit ratings of Ba3 from Moody's and BB from S&P.

Please turn to Slide 5. Diversification is a core strength of Navios and our platform provides optionality across markets. We complement this flexibility with a disciplined risk management culture, continuously monitoring and assessing our exposures, diligently evaluating and structuring transactions and maintaining robust insurance coverage, particularly important in a war risk environment.

Please turn to Slide 6. Since the beginning of the year, we have acted to capitalize on a robust tanker market and reposition our VLCC fleet for both the current cycle and the years ahead. We initially sold two 16-year-old VLCCs for an aggregate amount of $136.5 million. Sale prices were approximately 18% above the prior historical peak for vessels of this age. We subsequently acquired 7 newbuilding VLCCs for an aggregate purchase price of $844 million, including the 1 vessel that remains subject to ongoing discussions. We have entered into period charters for these vessels for an average period of 6.1 years at an average net daily rate of $45,224.

These transactions allow us to rebuild our VLCC fleet with modern tonnage supported by long-term employment. The associated charter arrangements are expected to generate approximately $700 million of revenue while reducing our residual value exposure measured at the end of the initial charters to roughly 40% below the 20-year historical average. Across the entire tanker segment, we have secured a total of $922 million of contracted revenue from 14 vessels with an average charter duration of approximately 5 years. Of this total, $893 million relates to 11 newbuilding tankers. This strategy enhances cash flow visibility, modernizes the fleet and positions the company to benefit from the current tanker market strength while retaining substantial upside for the next cycle.

Turning to our Dry Bulk segment. There, we are systematically rotating into larger, more fuel-efficient vessels while increasing the quality and visibility of our contracted cash flows. We sold 2 Panamax vessels with an average age of 18 years for aggregate proceeds of $22.8 million. We then reinvested in 3 newbuilding Capesize vessels for an aggregate purchase price of $204 million. Two of these Capesize newbuildings have been fixed on 5-year charters, providing a minimum of $86 million in contracted revenue in addition to profit sharing potentially. Across the dry bulk fleet, we have secured $125 million of minimum contracted revenue from 4 vessels with an average charter duration of approximately 3 years.

In container ships, our focus is on harvesting the value of contracted backlog while preserving flexibility for future capital allocation. We sold 2 4,730 TEU vessels with an average age of 19 years for an aggregate proceeds of $64.5 million. The remaining fleet continues to provide meaningful cash flow visibility with $194 million of contracted revenue secured across 6 vessels with an average remaining charter duration of approximately 3 years. Overall, we have been monetizing mature assets at attractive values while building and maintaining contracted earnings and optionalities as charter market and asset values evolve.

Please turn to Slide 7, where we outline our recent developments. For the second quarter, revenue was $410.2 million. EBITDA was $275.2 million. Net income was $167.9 million. Earnings per common unit were $5.78. In terms of our balance sheet, net LTV was 27.9%, half of our total debt of $1.3 billion has no LTV covenant. 43% of our total debt is fixed rate. Our debt has a staggered maturity profile with no near-term refinancing cliff. We have $1.9 billion of debt-free vessel values across 55 vessels, representing potential incremental financing capacity. Available liquidity totaled $625 million. Contracted revenue backlog was $4.4 billion, extending through 2037. For the second half of 2026, contracted revenue exceeded projected cash operating cost by $151 million. As of August 12, 2026, Navios has 6,250 open or index-linked days in 2026, preserving participation in a stronger spot markets while maintaining a substantial contracted earnings base.

Please turn to Slide 8. Navios Partners announced a new $200 million common unit repurchase authorization, double the size of our current program. We view this program as an important tool for creating value for our common unitholders, particularly when our units trade at a meaningful discount to underlying NAV. In allocating capital to a unit repurchase program, we consider the relative attractiveness of alternative uses of capital, including the availability of investments that can enhance long-term cash flow generation, the preservation of liquidity, maintaining prudent leverage and safeguarding balance sheet strength. All of this must be considered in the context of an industry that suffers change quickly.

Since the current program began in the second quarter of 2024, the company has repurchased 1.9 million common units for $92.6 million, including 135,846 units for $9.8 million in the second quarter of 2026. During the last 12 months, we returned $46 million of capital to our unitholders, of which $6 million was cash distribution in addition to $40 million of unit repurchases. Overall, the program has created a $6.30 per unit of accretion. Common units outstanding declined by about 6% from 30.2 million before the program to 28.3 million as of August 12, 2026.

Please now turn to Slide 9. Navios has been executing its strategy through a challenging environment. We are focused on building a platform of excellency. Over the past 5 years, we have grown contracted revenue by more than 30% to a record high of $4.4 billion. We have an EBITDA run rate of over $900 million and have expanded our fleet value, including our newbuilding program to $10.2 billion.

Importantly, we have not sacrificed financial discipline in achieving these goals. In this process, we reduced our net loan-to-value by 38% to 27.9%. We recognize that there is more work ahead. But in an uncertain world, we believe that our proven platform, combining a diversified fleet with a disciplined risk management culture position us to continue delivering value through any market condition.

I now turn the presentation over to Mr. Stratos Desypris, Navios Partners' Chief Operating Officer. Stratos?

Thank you, Angeliki, and good morning, all. Please turn to Slide 10, which details our operating free cash flow potential for the remaining 6 months of 2026. We fixed 77% of available days at a net average rate of $28,100 per day. Contracted revenue exceeds estimated total cash operating cost by $151.2 million, and we have 6,250 remaining open or index-linked days, offering meaningful upside.

Moving to Slide 11. Our contracted revenue backlog provides strong earnings visibility in an uncertain market. Taking advantage of the current strong rate environment, we continue to grow contracted revenue. In Q2 and Q3 quarter-to-date, we added approximately $666 million, $439 million from 6 tankers, $38 million from 2 dry bulk vessels and $129 million from 4 containerships. Total contracted revenue reached a record high of $4.4 billion, $2 billion for tankers, $2.1 billion for containerships and $0.3 billion for dry bulk. Charters are extended through 2037 with a diverse group of quality counterparties.

Slide 12 summarizes the fleet developments for Q2 and Q3 quarter-to-date. During the period, we agreed to acquire 3 newbuilding VLCCs for $362 million with delivery expected in the second half of '28 and 2029. We also agreed to acquire one scrubber-fitted Japanese newbuilding Capesize vessel for $70 million. The vessel is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2029. We also sold one 19-year-old 4,730 TEU containership for $34.5 million. Additionally, we took delivery of 1 newbuilding, Aframax/LR2 vessel, which is chartered out for about 5 years at a net daily rate of $27,420.

We continue to actively renew our fleet to maintain a young age profile. We have 29 newbuilding vessels delivering to our fleet through 2029, representing $2.5 billion of investment. Based on our financing, both agreed and in process, we have about $290 million of equity remaining to be paid. We have mitigated the residual value risk of our newbuilding program with long-term creditworthy charters expected to generate about $1.8 billion in contracted revenue over a 5-year average charter duration.

Moving to Slide 13. Our diversified fleet provides revenue visibility and market exposure. For the year, we have 53,546 available days, of which 88% are fixed and 12% are open or indexed. I would note that while we generally favor long-term charters, until recently, period charters made little sense in the dry bulk sector as the rates were weak for a prolonged period of time. Thus, about 24% of our dry bulk fleet is open or indexed.

I now pass the call to Eri Tsironi, our CFO, who will take you through the financial highlights. Eri?

Thank you, Stratos, and good morning, all. I will briefly review our unaudited financial results for the second quarter and the first half of 2026. The financial information is included in the press release and is summarized in the slide presentation available on the company's website.

Moving to the earnings highlights on Slide 14. Total revenue for the second quarter of 2026 increased by 25% to $410 million compared to $328 million for the same period in 2025 due to higher combined time charter equivalent rate despite lower available days. Our combined TCE rate for the second quarter of '26 increased by 24% to $28,512 per day, while our available days decreased by 2% to 13,152 days compared to Q2 2025.

In terms of sector performance, our TCE rate per day was higher by 53% to $23,682 for our bulkers and by 25% to $33,159 for our tankers. Our Q2 2026 TCE rate per day for our containerships was in line with 2025 levels at $31,191 per day.

EBITDA, net income and earnings per common unit for the second quarter and the first half of 2026 were adjusted as explained in the press release and in the slide footnote. Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 2026 increased by $70 million to $242 million compared to Q2 '25. The increase was primarily driven by the increase in revenue and a $2 million decrease in vessel operating expenses due to a decrease in OpEx days. Fleet OpEx daily rate was in line with '25 levels at $7,152. Adjusted EBITDA was negatively affected by a $14 million increase in time charter and voyage expenses, primarily reflecting additional insurance premiums reimbursed by charterers. Adjusted net income for Q2 '26 increased by $71 million to $135 million. Adjusted earnings and net earnings per common unit for the second quarter of '26 were $4.65 and $5.78, respectively.

Total revenue for the first half of '26 increased by 21% to $767 million compared to $632 million for the same period in '25 due to higher combined time charter equivalent rate despite lower available days. Our combined TCE rate for the first half of '26 increased by 22% to $27,098 per day, while our available days decreased by 2% to 26,256 days compared to the first half of '25.

In terms of sector performance, our TCE rate per day was higher in all 3 sectors as follows: 47% increase to $20,632 for our bulkers, 24% increase to $32,694 for our tankers and 2% increase to $31,444 for our containerships.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first half of '26 increased by $120 million to $446 million compared to the first half of '25. The increase was primarily driven by the increase in revenue and a $2 million decrease in vessel operating expenses due to a decrease in OpEx days. Fleet OpEx daily rate was 2% higher than '25 levels at $7,174. Adjusted EBITDA was negatively affected by a $15 million increase in time charter and voyage expenses, primarily reflecting additional insurance premiums reimbursed by charterers and a $3 million increase in general and administrative expenses, mainly due to higher euro-dollar exchange rate prevailing during the first half of '26. Adjusted income for the first half of '26 increased by $121 million to $233 million. Adjusted earnings and earnings per common unit for the first half of '26 were $8.00 and $9.42, respectively.

Turning to Slide 15. I will briefly discuss some key balance sheet data. As of June 30, '26, cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash and time deposits in excess of 3 months were $469 million. In addition, we had $156 million available under 2 revolving credit facilities. During the first half of '26, we paid $190 million under our newbuilding program, net of debt, and we concluded the sale of 4 vessels for $123 million, adding about $99 million cash after debt repayment. Long-term borrowings, including the current portion and the senior unsecured bond net of deferred fees increased by $103 million to $2.26 billion following the delivery of 5 new buildings during the first half of the year. Net debt to book capitalization improved to 30.6%.

Slide 16 highlights our debt structure. At quarter end, we had 55 debt-free vessels, including 19 vessels securing our unutilized revolving credit facilities. We have a diversified financing base consisting of leasing structures in Japan and China, more than 15 active banking relationships and a $330 million senior unsecured bond trading in the Oslo Bors. In addition, 43% of our debt is fixed at an average interest rate of 6.3%, while 50% carries no loan-to-value covenant. We have also partly mitigated higher interest rate costs by lowering the average margin on our floating rate debt and bareboat liabilities for the in the water fleet to 1.7%.

I would like to note that the average margin for the committed floating rate debt of our newbuilding program is 1.5%. Our maturity profile is staggered with no significant balloons due in any single year until 2030 when the bond matures. Finally, in July, we concluded the financing of 1 newbuilding Capesize vessel under a 10-year bareboat contract with purchase options with an implied financing amount of $64.6 million and a 6% fixed interest rate.

I'll now pass the call to Vincent Vandewalle, Navios Partners' Chief Trading Officer, to take you through the industry section. Vincent?

Thank you, Eri. Please turn to Slide 18. Strait of Hormuz closure has created a major energy and shipping shock, affecting about 20% of the worldwide crude, product and LNG flows. The disruption has tightened tanker availability and driven freight rates sharply higher. Rates for VLCCs hit all-time highs, reaching $602,000 per day and remain elevated with a significant portion of the fleet trapped inside the Gulf. The shortfall has been partially mitigated by increased crude volumes from U.S.A., Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana heading to both Europe and Asia adding more ton-miles. At the same time, renewed disruption in the Red Sea has led Saudi crude to alternatively being shipped via the Mediterranean to Asia. Higher fuel costs and security of supply concerns are driving the purchasing and transportation of commodities and finished goods. This has raised rates in the dry bulk sector for both Capesizes and Panamaxes and has continued to support container time charter rates. The conflict in the Ukraine and the recent Panama Canal draft reductions due to El Nino also add ton-miles for most vessel types.

With negotiations between the U.S. and Iran at an impasse and the Strait of Hormuz and South Red Sea effectively closed, vessels utilization will continue to run at high levels, supporting elevated rates for the near term. Medium-term trade adjustments will depend on how long oil prices stay elevated and whether demand for other commodities like coal rise to substitute for LNG or decreased fertilizer availability affects crop supply later this year. Strategic and commercial crude and product reserves will need to be restocked, which should keep tanker rates elevated over the long term. However, prolonged Hormuz closure could still trigger a global slowdown or a recessionary demand shock, which could affect all shipping markets.

Please turn to Slide 20 for the review of the dry bulk industry. Demand growth for dry bulk trade has been relatively stable over the last 25 years at about 4% average annual ton-mile growth. The current order book stands about 14% of the total fleet and is expected to remain low due to high newbuilding prices, uncertainty about new fuel regulations, yard availability and general market outlook. The fleet is aging quickly with 39% of the vessels 15 years old with older vessels far exceeding those on order. Supply should be constrained over the medium term.

Please turn to Slide 21. The main driver of dry bulk demand will be strong Atlantic basin iron ore growth over the next several years with new projects in Guinea, Brazil and Liberia. The largest new project is Simandou in Guinea, which started shipments at the end of last year and is expected to ramp up to 120 million tons by '28. All its year-to-date shipments were about 9 million long-haul tons from 0 last year. Vale in Brazil has 3 new projects totaling 50 million tons expected to start exporting by the end of '26. Liberia adds 10 million tons of exports in '26. In total, these 180 million tons are all long-haul ton-mile trades, creating demand for an additional 249 capes. With the current order book of only 227 capes due by '28, a further tightening of supply and demand is expected over the next years, benefiting rates. Overall, the dry bulk market looks positive based on steady long-term demand growth and a constrained supply of vessels.

Please turn to Slide 23 for the review of the tanker industry. As to supply, we see a tanker order book of 26%. About 50% of the fleet is already over 15 years old, rising quickly in the next few years. With older vessels exceeding the order book and yards offering first deliveries in late '28 or early '29, supply is set to be tight for several years.

Please turn to Slide 24. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, the EU and the U.K. continue to sanction Russian and Iranian oil revenues and ships delivering their crude and product cargoes. The U.S. recently imposed sanctions on 5 Iranian-linked VLCCs and 3 product tankers, along with sanctions on several individuals and companies involving trades in Iranian cargoes or aiding payments to Iran. These tight sanctions have 2 main effects. Sanctioned oil volumes from these countries have more difficulty finding willing buyers, raising demand for compliant barrels and non-sanctioned vessels to carry that oil. With 875 mostly overage tankers now sanctioned, the fleet has already seen a significant reduction of about 15.3% of total capacity. The tanker market also looks positive over the medium term based on a low order book compared with an aging and reduced fleet due to sanctions.

Please turn to Slide 26 for a review of the container industry. After the COVID pandemic, container ship orders were mainly for the biggest units with fleet expansions in the large vessels set to continue at high level. Currently, 72% of the order book for ships with 9,000 TEU capacity or greater and only 24% of the order book is for 2,000 to 9,000 TEU capacity where Navios is most active. Note that by '29, more than 50% of the 2,000 to 9,000 TEU fleet will be 20 years old or older. Smaller segments of the fleets are well positioned to take advantage of the shifting trading patterns.

As shown at the right-hand graph, growth in non-mainline trades far exceeds the traditional mainline trades to the U.S. and Europe due to the tariffs and higher growth in developing countries. Trades involving the Southern Hemisphere, mostly served by smaller sized vessels are expected to see continued healthy growth as this trade shift continues. Overall, Navios fleet is well positioned within the container market and continues to benefit from long-term employment with our high-quality charters.

This concludes our presentation. I would now like to turn the call over to Angeliki Frangou for her final comments. Angeliki?

Thank you, Vincent. This completes the formal presentation. We open the call to questions.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question today will come from Omar Nokta with Clarksons Securities.

Nice update today, and thank you for the overall market commentary and company update. Clearly, I guess, as we think about things, there continues to be a good amount of uncertainty, as you highlighted, across the different markets. But freight rates are very firm across all of your segments, and you've been taking advantage of that. And I just wanted to ask about the dry bulk fleet as it is now because that seems to be really where there is the most spot exposure, call it, or at least you do have vessels on charters that are on an index-linked basis. I just wanted to get a sense from you, as you look ahead with this fleet in particular, is the idea or the plan to continue deploying these vessels the way that they are, which is on these spot-linked charters? Or do you start to look to convert some of these on to fixed rate contracts?

Omar, I think this is a good observation. I mean, basically, if you see on Stratos' slide, there is -- we have about 6,250 days that are opening mainly are index is a dry bulk days. What we see is a very firm market. We have been able to fix even our very, very old cape on 2.5-year durations at healthy rates by historical standards. So you will see some contracted revenue because it's at levels that do make sense. But we also keep -- you will have part of that also on index. So you will have seen that we added in the contracted revenue and Stratos can take you through a little bit on the recent deals we did.

Actually, Omar, I mean, as Angeliki said, we have about 25% of our days for the second half of this year, which are indexed on the dry bulk. And this is very important because on index, you see the strength of the spot market today, and we are able to capture that 100% basically. And on top of that, we have already fixed another 2 vessels on longer duration. It's an average of about 2 years on average. And as Angeliki pointed out, one of the vessels was a 21-year-old vessel, which we fixed for 2 years, taking out the age to 23.5. So this is indications of a very, very healthy market with good prospects. People feel that this market is there at least for the foreseeable future.

Yes. Got it. Understood. And then maybe just one follow-up, and I'll pass it back. Obviously, nice to see the share buyback. You've nearly exhausted the original $100 million. You're commencing a new $200 million buyback you announced today. Just a really simple question. Does this new $200 million replace what's left of the $100 million? Or is the plan to finish off the remainder of the $100 million before shifting towards the new one?

This is on top of the remaining. So we gave visibility as we are coming to the end of our $100 million. We bought about 6% of our shares. So we are ready to position the company, doubling our buyback.

And we'll move next to Kristoffer Skeie with Arctic Securities.

Congrats on another great quarter. So my question relates a bit to what Omar was touching upon. The LTV is now 27.9% as of quarter end. And I was wondering if you could give some guidance on when you expect the target to be reached? And what do you expect that will change in terms of the capital allocation? So -- and on the $200 million buyback program, is it fair to assume that we could expect more than $10 million a quarter?

Kristoffer, the thing -- the one thing I can tell you is that we doubled today our buyback, and we have been doing that while we are building quite significantly -- we build a lot of value for the company. And this buyback is measured by the considerations we have, which is we are renewing our fleet. We have a $4.2 billion newbuilding program, rebuilding and renewing our fleet quite significantly. And we are deleveraging at the same time, leverage today is about 27%, which is quite significantly reduced from when we started this process. So our buyback is based on an ability to have a flexible company to be able to operate in any market condition and without creating stress in the system. So this is where we are, and we are working on towards the 20% to 25% level.

And we'll take our next question from Stephanie Moore with Jefferies.

This is Peter Sullivan calling on behalf of Stephanie Moore. My question was centered around counterparty concentration, looking at revenue backlog standing at $4.4 billion going through 2037. How do you guys evaluate concentration risk within the backlog? Which metrics should investors focus when assessing counterparty quality and then renewal risk across all 3 subsectors? And then as your backlog has expanded, has this changed over time?

Peter, for us, risk is something very, very important. It's not about -- as you very well said, we have a backlog of $4.4 billion, which is quite significant and until 2037, but absolute -- the most important thing is what we collect. So the risk management is quite significant because we are in different sectors, the huge diversification between oil -- major oil companies to [ green houses ] to major container counterparties. So basically, you have a lot of different entities. And Stratos can give a little bit on concentrations.

I mean if you see on the presentation, Peter, you can see that the counterparties that we have are basically, I would say, blue chip counterparties. They are top of the line in say, rated names. And as Angeliki said, it's on the oil side, of course, you have oil majors and major oil players. But there is also diversification between the segments. So you're not exposed in just one segment. You see that the contracted revenue comes about 50-50 between containers and tankers. And this changes depending on the opportunities that you see in the market. And we are always focusing on the quality of the counterparty in order to make sure that this counterparty can always perform the contract irrespective of the market conditions.

Perfect. Very helpful. And then as a follow-up, you've spoken about a longer-term reconfiguration of global supply flows driven by geopolitical and national security considerations. As shipping routes lengthen and vessel deployment patterns kind of evolve over time, how should investors think about the balance between the benefits of higher ton mile demand and then the associated increases with operating costs such as fuel, insurance, crewing, et cetera? Then I'll pass it on.

Let me explain one thing. The longer ton-mile is like removing from the supply of vessels. Like I will give you an example. I mean, we thought Red Sea under the previous condition was long, taking 10 days more for the container vessels to go around the Cape of Africa. Today, the disruption that is happening with Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, which basically the VLCCs cannot go down, that adds via Mediterranean 2.5x -- I mean, quite significant more days. You are talking about 2.5x the voyage and Vincent has gone in depth on that. So the disruptions today add to the ton miles. So basically, we are paid for more days at sea.

And just to add to what Angeliki is saying, for us, the longer ton miles, the fuel cost and the voyage expenses that are associated because we are focusing mostly on time charters. For us, this is a pass-through. So basically, the rate environment that we see is benefiting operators like us that operate on longer-term duration in the time charters.

And the insurance cost...

[Operator Instructions] This does conclude today's question-and-answer session. I will now turn the meeting back to Angeliki for closing remarks.

Thank you. This completes our Q2 results. Thank you.

Thank you. This brings us to the end of today's meeting. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect.

Thank you for joining us for Navios Maritime Partners First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. With us today from the company are Chairwoman and CEO, Ms. Angeliki Frangou; Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Efstratios Desypris; Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Erifili Tsironi; and Chief Trading Officer, Mr. Vincent Vandewalle.

As a reminder, this conference call is being webcast. To access the webcast, please go to the Investors section of Navios Partners website at www.navios-mlp.com. You'll see the webcasting link in the middle of the page, and a copy of the presentation referenced in today's earnings conference call will also be found there.

Now I will review the safe harbor statement. This conference call could contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about Navios Partners. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Navios Partners' management and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such risks are more fully discussed in Navios Partners' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The information set forth herein should be understood in light of such risks. Navios Partners does not assume any obligation to update this information contained in this conference call.

The agenda for today's call is as follows: First, Ms. Frangou will offer opening remarks. Next, Mr. Desypris will give an overview of Navios Partners segment data. Next, Mrs. Tsironi will give an overview of Navios Partners' financial results. Then Mr. Vandewalle will provide an industry overview. And lastly, we'll open the call to take questions. Now I turn the call over to Navios Partners Chairwoman and CEO, Ms. Angeliki Frangou. Angeliki?

Good morning, and thank you all for joining us on today's call. I am pleased with our results for the first quarter of 2026, in which we reported net income of $106.3 million and EBITDA of $212.7 million. Earnings per common unit were $3.64 for the quarter, and we announced a $0.06 distribution per unit for the quarter. Last quarter, we spoke about the emergence of a new world order, one which trade is used as an instrument of national policy. National security considerations are increasingly central to decision-making and governments are asserting greater control over strategic supply chains.

The Iranian conflict underscores this shift. It also focuses global awareness on the critical importance of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for the movement of essential commodities, from LNG and crude oil to refined products and fertilizers. We expect this conflict to have lasting implications on trade as countries and companies look to reduce their exposure to this choke point and diversify supply routes to safer areas.

It is too early to assess the long-term impact, and we are monitoring developments closely. As you can see on Slide 3, our fleet has an average age of 9.1 years compared with an industry average of 13.7 years for our 3 segments. Our tanker fleet with an average age of 5.5 years is particularly useful relative to the broader tanker market. Overall, Navios fleet modernization program has created a fleet that is almost 35% younger than the industry average and more than 60% younger in comparison to the global tanker fleet.

Please turn to Slide 4. Navios is a leading maritime transportation company, owning, operating and chartering a modern fleet of 173 vessels across 3 segments and 15 asset classes. Our fleet is split in 2/3 by value with about 1/3 in each of the tanker, dry bulk and container segments. The overall value of our fleet, including our newbuilding program is $9.7 billion. As to our fleet in the water, it has $4.6 billion in net vessel equity value.

We continue to make headway in reducing our net LTV towards our target of 20%, 25%. At the quarter end, we had a net LTV of 28.3%. Our balance sheet is strong with $593 million available liquidity and credit ratings of Ba3 by Moody's and BB by Standard & Poor's.

Please turn to Slide 5. Diversification is our strength, coupled with the culture of risk management. Navios can provide significant optionality. You can see this optionality in our actions over the past quarter, which I will discuss in a moment. We are continuously monitoring and assessing risk. We evaluate and structure transactions diligently. We also obtained robust insurance coverage, particularly important during a war environment, and we have implemented many tools to manage operational risks.

Please turn to Slide 6. This slide lays out our actions since the beginning of the year as we witnessed increasing values in the tanker space. We were disciplined initially taking advantage of a strengthening tanker market. We subsequently leveraged the significant VLCC appetite generated by the Iranian conflict. In early 2026, we observed a firming of VLCC values. We used this opportunity to sell VLCCs with an average age of 16 years for $136.5 million.

Our thinking at the time was that these prices were 102% above the 20-year average and 18% above the prior historical peak value. If there was any upside left, we thought that it was best for others. Subsequently, the Iranian conflict erupted. Spot VLCC rates were in a frenzy and there was a great appetite for VLCC tonnage. We were able to take advantage of these dynamics by engineering a transaction in which we purchased 4 newbuilding VLCCs and charter out each of them for 5-year periods at almost $48,000 per day.

This charter rate is about 24% above the 20-year average time charter rate. The VLCC themselves were purchased at values that were only 11% above 20-year averages. This effective arbitrage de-risked our VLCC fleet expansions as we captured $357 million in contracted revenue and reduced the average age of our VLCC fleet by almost 40% to 5.9 years. I know -- that's a pretty dense sentence. So, let me simplify. We expanded our VLCC fleet by almost 60% with minimal risk in a volatile time, and we have options for 4 more VLCCs that may allow us to continue to expand our fleet further, which we will do if we can do it accretively.

Turn now to Slide 7, where we outline what actions we have taken in each of our segments. The net result is summarized on the right-hand part of the slide. Our backlog for contracted revenue is a record high of $4.1 billion. We increased our backlog by 16% -- and for the remaining 9 months of 2026, we already have excess contracted revenue of a cash cost of $179 million, and we materially reduced our fleet average rate, which now stands at 34% below the market.

Please now turn to Slide 8. Our diversified fleet provides revenue visibility and market exposure. For the year, we have 53,713 available days, of which 80% are fixed and 20% are open or indexed. I would note that while we generally favor long-term charters until recently, period charters made little sense in the dry bulk sector as the rates were weak for a prolonged period of time. Thus, about 40% of our dry bulk fleet is open or indexed.

Please turn to Slide 9, recent development. This slide gives you a snapshot of key financial indicators. First quarter performance was strong. We generated $106.3 million of net income and $212.7 million of EBITDA from $357 million of revenue. Our debt package is designed to mitigate risk and give maximum flexibility. Our 28.3% net LTV is on the path to our target, and 43% of our debt is at a fixed interest rate.

In addition, over half of our debt package has no LTV covenant, and we have almost $2 billion of assets that were debt-free.

Please turn to Slide 10, where we outline our return of capital program. For the first quarter, we returned about $1.7 million in distributions to our unitholders. This represents a 20% increase from the prior level. In addition, year-to-date in 2026, we repurchased 240,502 units or 0.8% of the float before this repurchase for $15.6 million. Overall, under $100 million unit repurchase program, we have purchased 5.8% of the units outstanding, which in a strange quirk of numbers provide $5.8 value accretion per unit. We have approximately $16.4 million remaining purchase capacity under our original authorization.

Please turn to Slide 11. Navios has been executing its strategy through a challenging environment. We are focused on building a platform of excellency. Over the past 5 years, we have grown contracted revenue by more than 20% to a record high of $4.1 billion. We have an EBITDA run rate of over $750 million and have expanded our fleet value, including a newbuilding program to $9.7 billion.

Importantly, we have not sacrificed financial discipline in achieving these goals. In this process, we reduced our net loan-to-value by 37% to 28.3%. We recognize that there is more work ahead. But in an uncertain world, we believe that our proven platform, combining a diversified fleet with a disciplined risk management culture position us to continue delivering value through any market condition.

I now turn the presentation over to Mr. Efstratios Desypris, Navios Partners' Chief Operating Officer. Efstratios?

Thank you, Angeliki, and good morning, all. Please turn to Slide 12, which details our operating free cash flow potential for the remaining 9 months of 2026. We fixed 73% of available days at a net average rate of $27,869 (sic) [ $27,859] per day. Contracted revenue exceeds estimated total cash operating cost by $179.2 million, and we have 10,838 remaining open or index-linked days, offering meaningful upside.

Moving to Slide 15. Our contracted revenue backlog provides strong earnings visibility in an uncertain market. Taking advantage of the current strong rate environment, we grew contracted revenue by 16%, adding approximately $549 million, of which $483.5 million from 8 tankers, $65.2 million from 2 containership vessels. Total contracted revenue reached a record high of $4.1 billion, $1.7 billion for tankers, $2.1 billion for containerships and $0.3 billion for dry bulk. Charters are extending through 2037 with a diverse group of quality counterparties.

Slide 14 summarizes the fleet developments for 2026 year-to-date. During the period, we agreed to acquire 4 newbuilding VLCCs for $482 million with delivery expected in the second half of 2028. The vessels have been chartered out for about 5 years at a net rate of $47,763 per day. As previously announced, we also agreed to acquire 2 scrubber-fitted Japanese newbuilding Capesize vessels for $134.3 million. These vessels are chartered out for 5 years at a rate linked to the BCI index with an average floor rate of $25,000 per day, an average fixed premium of about $3,000 per day over the index and 50% profit sharing above the floor rate. This structure provides downside protection, stable returns and upside participation.

The vessels are expected to be delivered in the second half of 2028 and Q1 of 2029. We also sold 5 vessels for about $190 million, 2 VLCCs with an average age of 16 years for $136.5 million, 2 dry bulk vessels for $22.8 million and one containerships for $30 million. Additionally, we took delivery of five newbuilding vessels, three Aframax/LR2 vessels, one MR2 vessel and one 7,900 TEU containership.

All vessels delivered are chartered out for an average duration of about 5 years at a weighted average net daily rate of $29,065. We continue to actively renew our fleet to maintain a young profile. We have 26 newbuilding vessels delivering to our fleet through 2029, representing $2.1 billion of investment. Based on our financing, both agreed and in process, we have about $329 million of equity remaining to be paid. We have mitigated the residual value risk of our newbuilding program with long-term creditworthy charters expected to generate about $1.5 billion in contracted revenue over a 5-year average charter duration. I now pass the call to Erifili Tsironi, our CFO, who will take you through the financial highlights. Erifili?

Thank you, Efstratios, and good morning all. I will briefly review our announced financial results for the first quarter of '26. The financial information is included in the press release and is summarized in the slide presentation available on the company's website.

Moving to the earnings highlights on Slide 15. Total revenue for the first quarter of '26 increased by 17% to $357 million compared to $304 million for the same period in '25 due to higher fleet combined time charter equivalent rate despite lower available days. Our combined TCE rate for the first quarter of '26 increased by 21% to $25,679 per day, while our available days decreased by 3% to 13,104 days compared to Q1 '25.

In terms of sector performance, our TCE rate per day was higher in all 3 sectors as follows: 39% increase to $17,632 for our bulkers, 23% increase to $32,209 for our tankers and 4% increase to $31,696 for our containers. EBITDA, net income and earnings per common unit for the first quarter of '26 were adjusted as explained in the slide footnote. Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 '26 increased by $51 million to $204 million compared to Q1 '25. The increase was primarily driven by a $53 million increase in revenues, partly mitigated by $2 million increase in general and administrative expenses, mainly due to the higher euro-dollar exchange rate prevailing during Q1 '26 compared to Q1 '25.

Adjusted net income for Q1 '26 increased by $15 million to $98 million. Adjusted earnings and earnings per common unit for the first quarter of '26 were $3.35 and $3.64, respectively.

Turning to Slide 16, I will briefly discuss some key balance sheet data. As of March 31, '26, cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash and time deposits in excess of 3 months were $421 million. In addition, we have $172 million available under 3 facilities. During the quarter, we paid $21 million under our newbuilding program, net of debt, and we concluded the sale of 1 vessel for $29 million, adding about $22 million cash after debt repayment. Long-term borrowings, including the current portion and the senior unsecured bond net of deferred fees increased by $12 million to $2.2 billion following the delivery of 2 newbuildings during the quarter. Net debt to book capitalization improved to 31.2%.

Slide 17 highlights our debt structure. At quarter end, we had 55 debt-free vessels, including 17 vessels securing our unutilized revolving credit facilities. We have a diversified financing base consisting of leasing structures in Japan and China, more than 15 active banking relationships and more recently, a $300 million senior unsecured bond trading in the Oslo Børs.

In addition, 43% of our debt is fixed at an average interest rate of 6.2%, while 51% carries no loan-to-value covenant. We have also partially mitigated higher interest rate costs by lowering the average margin on our floating rate debt and bareboat liabilities for the in-the-water fleet to 1.8%.

I would like to note that the average margin for the committed floating rate debt of our newbuilding program is 1.5%. Our maturity profile is staggered with no significant volumes due in any single year until 2030 when the bond matures. I'll now pass the call to Vincent Vandewalle, Navios Partners' Chief Trading Officer, to take you through the industry section. Vincent?

Thank you, Eri. Please turn to Slide 19. The Strait of Hormuz closure has created a major energy and shipping shock, affecting about 20% of the worldwide crude product, and LNG flows. The disruption has tightened tanker availability and driven freight rates sharply higher. Rates for VLCCs hit all-time highs at $602,000 per day and remain elevated with a significant portion of the fleet trapped inside the Gulf.

This shortfall has been partly mitigated by increased crude volumes from the U.S.A., Brazil, Venezuela heading to both Europe and Asia adding more ton miles. Product tanker rates have been extremely strong with MR Atlantic round voyages averaging $75,000 per day and the Pacific round voyages averaging 36,000 since the beginning of the war.

Higher fuel costs and security of supply concerns are driving the purchasing and transportation of commodities and finished goods. This has raised rates in the dry bulk sector for both Capes and Panamaxes and has continued to support container time charter rates. The conflicts in the Red Sea and Ukraine continue to add ton miles for most vessel types. With negotiations between the U.S. and Iran moving slowly and the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, vessel utilization will continue to run at high levels, supporting elevated rates for the near term. Medium-term trade adjustments depend on how long oil prices stay elevated and whether demand for other commodities like coal rise to substitute for LNG or decreased fertilizer availability affects crop supply later this year.

Prolonged Hormuz closure could still trigger a global slowdown or a recessionary demand shock, which could affect all shipping markets.

Please turn to Slide 20. Navios direct exposure to the Middle East conflict is limited and our charter and fleet mix position us to benefit from disruption rather than absorb it. In dry bulk, Cape rates have risen from $28,000 per day before the war to $45,000 a day recently and as an increased coal demand to replace lost Gulf LNG cargoes to add to seasonal strength.

Our index-linked charters allow us to benefit from a higher spot market due to these higher coal volumes as well as the seasonally strong iron ore, bauxite and grain volumes. In tankers, VLCC rates peaked at $602,000 per day on March 16, and stood recently at $447,000 per day as tanker supply remains disrupted with charters seek to control tonnage to benefit from tighter market conditions and to be able to transport any cargoes that become available as all is released from strategic reserves or from increased production.

Most of Navios vessels are fixed on time charter, providing continued revenue with 4 ships trading spot or in pools or having profit sharing to capture market upside. In addition, our VLCC newbuildings will provide modern eco ships to replace the older fleet. Container rates have been remained elevated as Red Sea diversions continue and the redirection of cargoes bound for the Gulf or adding to ton miles.

Our entire containership fleet is fixed on long-term charters, providing for a stable contracted cash flow. Across all 3 sectors, Navios combines limited direct exposure to the conflict with meaningful upside to the tanker and dry bulk dislocation with preserving contracted cash flow stability.

Please turn to Slide 22 for the review of the dry bulk industry. Demand growth for dry bulk trade has been relatively stable over the last 25 years at about 4% average annual ton-mile growth. The current order book stands at about 30% of the total fleet and will remain low due to high newbuilding prices, uncertainty about new fuel regulations and yard availability and general market outlook. The fleet is aging quickly with 39% of the vessels 15 years old and with all the ships far exceeding those on order, supply should be constrained over the medium term.

Please turn to Slide 23. The main driver of dry bulk demand will be strong Atlantic Basin iron ore growth over the next several years with new projects in Guinea, Brazil and Liberia. The largest new project is Simandou in Guinea, which started shipments at the end of last year and is expected to ramp up to 120 million by '27. April's 8 shipments jumped 4x from 2 in March.

Vale in Brazil has 3 new projects totaling 50 million tonnes expected to start exporting by the end of '26. Liberia will add 10 million tonnes of exports in '26. In total, these 180 million tons are all long-haul miles trading, creating demand for an additional 249 Capes. With the current order book of only 207 capes due in '28, a further tightening of supply and demand is expected over the next few years, benefiting rates. Overall, the dry bulk market looks positive based on steady long-term demand growth and a constrained supply of vessels.

Please turn to Slide 25 for the review of the tanker industry. As to supply, we see a tanker order book of 23%. About 50% of the fleet is already 15 years old, rising quickly in the next few years. With older vessels exceeding the order book and yards offering first deliveries in late '28 or early '29, supply is set to be tight for several years.

Please turn to Slide 26. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, the EU and the U.K. continue to sanction Russian and Iranian oil revenue and ships delivering their crude and products. The U.S. recently imposed secondary sanctions on certain Chinese refineries that have purchased Iranian crude and have seized 2 Iranian VLCCs laden with crude oil and disabled the third one was heading back to Iran to load.

These tighter sanctions have 2 main effects. Sanctioned oil volumes from these countries have more difficulty finding willing buyers, raising demand for compliant barrels and non-sanctioned vessels to carry that oil. With 855 mostly overaged tankers now sanctioned, the fleet has already seen a significant reduction of about 15% of total capacity. The tanker market also looks positive over the medium term based on a low order book compared with an aging and reduced fleet due to sanctions.

Please turn to Slide 28 for a review of the container industry. After the COVID pandemic, containership orders were mainly for the biggest units with fleet expansion in large ships set to continue at high levels. Currently, 75% of the order book is for ships with 9,000 TEU capacity or greater and only 21% of the order book is for 2,000 to 9,000 TEU capacity where Navios is most active.

Smaller segments of the fleet are well positioned to take advantage of shifting trading patterns. As shown on the right-hand graph, growth in non-mainland trades far exceeds the traditional main trades to the U.S. and Europe due to tariffs and higher growth in developing countries. Trades involving the Southern Hemisphere, mostly served by smaller sized vessels are expected to see continued health growth as this trade shift continues.

Overall, Navios fleet is well positioned within the container market and continues to benefit from long-term employment with our high-quality charters. This concludes our presentation. I would now like to turn the call over to Angeliki Frangou for her final comments. Angeliki?

Thank you, Vincent. And this concludes our formal presentation. We open the call to questions.

[Operator Instructions]

Our first question today comes from Omar Nokta with Clarksons Securities.

Always very thorough. Good update on the business and the markets. Just a couple of questions from me. As we kind of think about things, you've had a fairly balanced fleet here across tankers, dry bulk and containers. And also basically, all 3 are firing, you could say, on all cylinders, obviously, within a cloud of uncertainty. But the cash is starting to come in here a bit more aggressively now, especially as we kind of look forward to 2Q based off what we're seeing in dry bulk. How do you think about how this capital gets deployed as it starts to come in, in bigger amounts?

Obviously, you've continued this rejuvenation approach as you've highlighted. But as we think about this cash as it comes in, how do you balance where that goes in terms of keeping it on the balance sheet or paying down debt? Do you double down and add more vessels from here? Do you step up returns to shareholders? How, I guess, do you evaluate these different options given just how strong the cash is starting to come in?

Omar, I mean, actually, you know that we are a disciplined company. We have a target of reducing our LTV, which we are basically now very close to the 2025, as we said. We generate good cash flows on cash flows. And what we care about is -- we have a total return of policy of capital to our investors through dividends, buyback, which we are -- obviously, is a Board decision that we are very committed on that. But very importantly is also we redeployed cash and create NAV. Just -- I mean, you have been familiar with us, and you have seen when we started consolidating about over 3 years ago, what we have done, we doubled our NAV by building good transactions, cash flows, and backlog. That's a lot of effort. It sounds -- and at the same time, we are increasing our share price. So, these are the drivers of the market. And basically, this transaction that we actually announced today is basically this kind of a strategy.

It's basically 2 different transactions. We sold two VLCCs before the Iranian war started. Why? Because we saw good values. You had 16-year-old vessels, and we saw that the values of the vessels came -- became double the 20-year average value. So -- and about 18% above the historical peak. I'm not saying that the market could not have gone up. We don't know. But we left the rest. We prefer to sell those vessels and because we left the upside to someone else.

Then when the war started, we saw that there was a strong demand for VLCC. So, we canvassed the area and we spotted a good shipyard with the engines we wanted, and we went and we did 4 new buildings with optional transaction, and that gave us the ability to really fix order vessels at 11% of the historical 20-year average value on new buildings, while fixing them for 5 years at almost 25% of the rate -- the historical rate. This is kind of transaction that our platform is here, and we will do everything possible, return capital while creating NAV that really drives the long-term trends for our company. And we will do different strategy for different sectors. I mean you saw the way we stepped in 2026. When we stepped in on the dry sector, we were very -- we're about 25% fixed because we saw -- we didn't see the long-term rates that made sense. We captured part of the spot market today.

So, it is a mix of a strategy that the customer balances, the low leverage and our ability to really act on different ways where we see opportunities.

Angeliki -- very good summation of the approach. And I guess you did touch on those newbuildings, which I kind of wanted to ask a bit, clearly, very much an obvious way in terms of acquiring these newbuildings and derisking them with charters. And it looks like you're going to be able to pay down a good chunk of that investment in that initial charter. It's interesting because it seems like you canvassed this approach shortly after the war and you were able to secure a contract fairly quickly. As we think about those options that you have, I think you mentioned there's 2 newbuilding options. What's the likelihood that if you had that -- if you place them, you'd be able to repeat this type of charter? Is it that liquid of a TC market to be able to do that in conjunction? Or would you be taking on some risk by ordering those vessels?

You know the Navios MO. I mean we are not changing the way we act. So, the issue is that we have 2 plus 2 options. And we see interest on the vessels. We are reviewing opportunities. And if we have something, we will exercise. This is options that we can exercise if we like.

Okay. And then maybe just one final very -- hopefully, just a simple accounting question. I think I have in my notes at year-end, the newbuilding installments or the deposits on the balance sheet amounted to about $470 million. Do you have an updated figure for quarter end?

What do you mean? How much we have already paid for the newbuildings?

Yes.

In the quarter, just $21 million, but. You want the cumulative, maybe I will send the figure to you better. $475 million cumulative and $21 million during the quarter.

Our next question will come from Kristoffer Skeie with Arctic Securities.

Congrats on another good quarter. Angeliki, I must say you are one of few shipowners I talked to you right after the beginning of the war who was actually bullish on tankers and that paid out excellent. So, a good call. I just want to ask, given how strong the market is, I want to ask about charter backlog strategy. I mean those 4 VLCCs were -- seems like a really good deal. But going forward, should we expect continued emphasis on locking in similar type deals? So, could we see you sort of taking more value in retaining spot exposure, especially sort of how bright the dry bulk outlook is currently also?

I will tell you the truth. I never know where the opportunity will come. To be honest, we have seen that -- today, you can see opportunities on even the dry bulk to do period charters. So, the reason you see we are open is because we watch the market and we select the right time. On the tankers, we saw a good opportunity for 5-year deals at about 18%, 20% above the historical rate, and we fixed because it did make sense with the exposure we had.

On the dry bulk today, you see that there is a healthy -- all of a sudden is developing a market where it can be a 2-, 3-year period. So, I will say that this quarter, we fixed quite significant about -- you saw a quite significant backlog of about $550 million, which is significant. But there is always a strategy to add to our long-term charters if we see attractive deals. And I will say another thing, we are watching very much the Strait and how that will shape the world because this is the most important thing that we have to be mindful. It is when and if -- at the point where the Strait of Hormuz opens, there will be a new world order, and we will have to define what we like to do at that point. I think this is something we are very mindful.

No, sure. And then on those 4 VLCCs, which you added them, is this a resale with another owner? Or is it straight with the yard? And sort of can you comment a bit on terms and option price levels and these things?

No, it's hard work of creating the deal. So, we have a good team that works a lot with aspects. The bad thing is that I'm an engineer, so, I always end up to become too much of an engineer. So, it's aspects, specification are machinery leased and due diligence yard and the whole thing.

So, you have ordered it straight from the yard. It's a new order. It's nothing that's already in order.

Yes.

Yes. And the option price is at the same price or?

Yes.

Yes. Okay. And final one for me. As you commented on net LTV is dropping fast based on fleet on the water, how should we think about the trajectory towards 25% when -- given you have some committed newbuild CapEx and upcoming deliveries. So, what's your sort of internal note on when that's going to happen? And when that happens, sort of is it buybacks we should expect?

No, I think we are working towards the end of the year. We're following the bond. Also, we are doing some prepayments. If you see, we have basically paid down all our revolvers. So, actually, I think by the end of the year, we are in a good position to reach the target.

And our next question will come from Stephanie Moore with Jefferies.

I appreciate the very thorough presentation here this morning. I guess I wanted to touch a little bit about, I guess, capital allocation in some respects. But you did sell, I think, 5 vessels year-to-date, and you're taking delivery of several new buildings. So, I guess how active do you expect to be on asset sales from here? And then which segments or age bands are most likely? And is the goal kind of age reduction, deleveraging, recycling into higher return assets? I would love to get your just general thoughts on asset sales here and the optionality that it creates.

Actually, we see -- I mean, the older vessels, we see as a natural replacement. So, you saw that we sold on the dry sector. We sold vessels that we're about 18 years old. I mean it does make sense, absolute sense to sell those vessels. And also, I mean, the replacement is always on the older fleet. And depending on the opportunity, we step in on newbuilding. So, it was on -- and this is something that we'll continue to be doing.

I mean we like to reduce the average age of our fleet. We reduced it by 1/3, which is quite significant, of course, because we also bought the VLCCs. But this is a continued strategy. If you see it over the -- I mean, we sold, I would say, on the last 3 years, we sold over 50 vessels almost and redeployed 1,000 younger vessels.

Another example is the way we did with the VLCCs, 16 years at very attractive to historically. We saw the good earning capacity of those vessels. But we thought that the values we had by historical standards, this was a very attractive point to sell. You double the 20-year values of 16-year-old vessels. So, it did make sense. So, that's what we did. This is a strategy we will continue. I mean, depending what sector gives us the opportunity and redeploy where we find the maximum value.

No, that's really helpful. And then I just want to take maybe a higher-level question here. But with the Hormuz disruption continuing and it does continue to tighten tanker availability and pushing rates higher. I'd love to get just your thoughts in terms of maybe some of the second order impacts here you're watching across your other segments.

Anything that we should think about if this conflict does persist longer than maybe everyone expected at first, if that changes anything else across, again, your other segments, just given you are diversified outside of just tankers. So, again, higher level there, but I would love to get your thoughts.

I think this is a good question. I'll tell you one thing. I mean you have a deficit of oil. This deficit is 0.5 billion barrels over the period when the Strait of Hormuz will open that at this point, unless you end up on a recession, the reality is that you will have a move for buying -- replenishing the oil that has been used and replenishing depleted reserves. The other thing, naturally, you will go as there is for 1 metric ton of gas is equivalent to 2 metric tons of coal. You will see that drivers continue. You will see more fertilizers and other commodities move on the dry. So, you can see the macro level drivers. Absent this creating a different situation where you constrain demand, and that is a big question.

So, we are watching very carefully the market, and we are trying to assess to act as prudently as possible. The one good thing about Navios is that you have this good -- this backlog, you have the security and the speed of your earnings. So, we can be very quick on acting in any way we see that makes sense.

At this time, there are no further questions in queue. I will now turn the meeting back to Angeliki for closing comments.

Thank you. This completes our Q1 results.

Thank you. This brings us to the end of today's meeting. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect.

Thank you for joining us for Navios Maritime Partners' Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. With us today from the company are Chairwoman and CEO, Ms. Angeliki Frangou; Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Efstratios Desypris; Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Erifili Tsironi; and Chief Trading Officer, Mr. Vincent Vandewalle.

As a reminder, this conference call is being webcast. To access the webcast, please go to the Investors section of Navios Partners website at www.navios-mlp.com. You'll see the webcasting link in the middle of the page, and a copy of the presentation referenced in today's earnings conference call will also be found there.

Now, I will review the safe harbor statement. This conference call could contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about Navios Partners. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Navios Partners' management and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such risks are more fully discussed in Navios Partners' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The information set forth herein should be understood in light of such risks. Navios Partners does not assume any obligation to update the information contained in this conference call.

The agenda for today's call is as follows. First, Ms. Frangou will offer opening remarks. Next, Mr. Desypris will give an overview of Navios Partners' segment data. Next, Mrs. Tsironi will give an overview of Navios Partners' financial results. Then Mr. Vandewalle will provide an industry overview. And lastly, we'll open the call to take questions.

Now, I turn the call over to Navios Partners' Chairwoman and CEO, Ms. Angeliki Frangou. Angeliki?

Good morning, and thank you all for joining us on today's call. I am pleased with the results for the quarter and year-end 2025. For the quarter, we reported net income of $117.3 million and EBITDA of $224.8 million.

For the full year, we reported net income of $285.3 million and EBITDA of $744.6 million. Earnings per common unit was $3.99 for the quarter and $9.59 for the full year. We are also pleased to announce a 20% increase in our distribution policy to $0.24 per unit annually commencing for first quarter of this year.

We are witnessing the evolution of a new world order with new trade agreements arising out of the dust of the game institution. At the same time, it seems trade is now a tool of national policy as governments prioritize exports and strategic control of supply chains. National security interest are now a dominant consideration in the decision-making metrics.

In addition, conflicts and geopolitical tensions are rerouting trade, increasing voyage distances, cost and transit times. As political calculations increase, trade routes are no longer based only on efficiency considerations.

As you can see on Slide 3, our fleet has an average age of 9.6 years compared to an industry average of 13.5 years for our 3 segments. Our fleet modernization program has created a fleet that is almost 30% younger than the average and more than 50% younger in comparison to the tanker fleet.

Please turn to Slide 4. Navios is a leading maritime transportation company, owning, operating, and chartering a modern fleet of 171 vessels across 3 segments and 15 asset classes. Our fleet is split in 2/3 by value, with about 1/3 in each of the tanker, dry bulk, and container segments. The overall value of our fleet, including our newbuilding program, is $8.8 billion.

For our fleet in the quarter, we have $4.1 billion in net vessel equity value. We continue to make headway in reducing our net LTV towards our target of 20%, 25%. At year-end, we had a net LTV of 30.9%. Our balance sheet is strong with $580 million available liquidity and credit ratings of Ba3 for Moody's and BB for Standard & Poor's.

Please turn to Slide 5. We believe that diversification is strength when embedded in a culture of risk management. We have a business providing significant optionality in decision-making. For example, if we are unable to secure long-term charters that provide a reasonable return, we patiently wait. We allocate capital similarly, waiting for either opportunistic purchases or acquisitions that can be hedged by long-term charters.

Our organization promotes a strong risk management culture. We are continuously monitoring and assessing risk. We evaluate and structure transactions with risk management professionals. We also obtained robust insurance coverage, and we have implemented many tools to manage operational risks.

Please turn to Slide 6. At the end of 2025, our fleet gross LTV was 37.3% and net LTV was 30.9%. Our contracted revenue continues to grow and is now at $3.75 billion. Overall, we have sufficient features for the year to exceed our cash breakeven.

Please turn to Slide 7. Revenue visibility for 2026 demonstrates our strong execution. We secured coverage for 71% of our available days with contracted revenue exceeding cash operating cost by $172.7 million. This provides significant earnings visibility while preserving meaningful market exposure to the remaining 29% of our available days, representing 15,565 days that are either open or indexed to spot market.

Our portfolio positioning reflects a thoughtful approach across segments, as shown in the bottom right of the slide. Containers, 99% fixed coverage. We secured healthy rates. Tankers, 84% coverage, high visibility with selective spot exposure. Dry bulk, strategic market exposure through available days positioned to capture upside.

Importantly, we continue to actively pursue long-term charter opportunities that enhance our earnings stability. In the fourth quarter of 2025 and year-to-date, we secured $261 million in new charter commitments.

Please turn to Slide 8, where we outline our return of capital program. As I mentioned earlier, we increased our annual distribution by 20% to $0.24 per unit annually. This increase was funded primarily through savings generated from our unit repurchase program.

As you can see on the right side of the slide, we reduced units outstanding by 5.3%, employing approximately $73 million to repurchase 1.6 million units. This provided value accretion of approximately $5.20 per unit based on analyst estimates of NAV. Also, we currently have approximately $27 million of capacity under our original authorization.

Please turn to Slide 9. Navios is a proven platform and has executed its strategy through an exceptionally challenging environment. When I opened this discussion, I highlighted the unprecedented uncertainties facing our industry: geopolitical risks; regional conflicts; a shifting global tariff regime; and evolving trade patterns. Despite this complexity, we remain disciplined and focused.

Over the past 4 years, we built a platform of excellency, growing contracted revenue by 11% to $3.8 billion, achieving an EBITDA run rate of around $750 million and expanding our fleet value, including our newbuilding program to $8.8 billion. Importantly, we have not sacrificed financial discipline in achieving these goals.

We reduced our net loan-to-value by 31%, to 30.9%. We recognize that there is more work ahead. But in an uncertain world, we believe our proven platform combining a diversified fleet with a disciplined risk management culture position us to continue delivering value through any market condition.

I now turn this presentation over to Mr. Efstratios Desypris, Navios Partners' Chief Operating Officer. Efstratios?

Thank you, Angeliki, and good morning, all. Please turn to Slide 10, which details our operating free cash flow potential for 2026. We fixed 71% of available days at a net average rate of $26,865 per day.

Contracted revenue exceeds estimated total cash operating costs by about $173 million, and we have $15,565 remaining open or index-linked days that should provide significant additional cash flow.

Moving to Slide 11. We continue to maintain a strong backlog of contracted revenue that creates visibility. During the quarter and year-to-date, we added $261 million of contracted revenue, $97 million from 5 containerships chartered-out for a net average daily rate of $29,572 for an average duration of about 2 years.

We also contracted 3 dry bulk vessels, providing a minimum revenue of $93 million. These vessels were chartered-out at an average net daily rate of $23,974 for an average duration of 3.6 years. Two of these vessels has also profit sharing above their base rate.

Lastly, we chartered-out 3 tanker vessels for 2 years at an average net daily rate of $31,944, generating $71 million in contracted revenue. Total contracted revenue amounts to $3.8 billion, $1.3 billion relates to our tanker fleet, $0.3 billion relates to our dry bulk fleet, and $2.2 billion relates to our containerships. Charters are extended through 2037 with a diverse group of quality counterparties.

Slide 12 summarizes the fleet developments for Q4 and year-to-date 2026. We acquired 2 newbuildings, scrubber-fitted Japanese Capesize vessels for $134.3 million. These vessels have been chartered-out for about 5 years. The charters are based on the new BCI index with an average floor rate of about $25,000 per day, an average fixed premium over the index of about $3,000 per day, and a 50-50 profit sharing if the adjusted index and premium exceeds the floor. This traction with floor and profit sharing mechanism provides protection and stable return and participation on the upside. The vessels are expected to be delivered in the second half of 2028 and first quarter of 2029.

We also sold 2 VLCCs with an average age of 16 years for a price of $136.5 million. The vessels are expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2026. Finally, we took delivery of the newbuilding aframax/LR2 vessel, which has been chartered-out for 5 years at a net daily rate of $27,431.

Please turn to Slide 13. We are constantly renewing our fleet in order to maintain a young profile. We reduced our carbon footprint by modernizing our fleet, benefiting from new technologies and advanced environmental friendly features.

We have 26 newbuilding vessels delivering to our fleet through 2029, representing $1.9 billion of investment. Based on our financing, both agreed and in process, we have about $197 million equity remaining to be paid.

In containerships, we have 8 vessels to be delivered with a total acquisition price of about $0.9 billion. We have mitigated the residual value risk with long-term charters with creditworthy counterparties expected to generate about $0.6 billion in aggregate revenue over a 5-year average charter duration.

In tankers, we have 16 vessels to be delivered for a total price of approximately $0.9 billion. We chartered-out 10 of these vessels for an average period of 5 years, which are expected to generate aggregate contracted revenue of about $0.5 billion.

In dry bulk, we have 2 vessels to be delivered with a total purchase price of about $0.1 billion with a minimum contracted revenue of about $0.1 billion.

We also continue to opportunistically sell older vessels. In 2025 and 2026 year-to-date, we sold 14 vessels with an average age of 18 years for about $372 million, 6 were dry bulk vessels, 5 were tankers, and 3 were containerships.

I now pass the call to Erifili Tsironi, our CFO, who will take you through the financial highlights. Eri?

Thank you, Efstratios, and good morning, all. I will briefly review our unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended 31st December, 2025. The financial information is included in the press release and is summarized in the slide presentation available on the company's website.

Slide 14. Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025 increased by 10% to $366 million compared to $333 million for the same period in 2024 due to higher fleet combined time charter equivalent rate despite lower available days.

Our fleet TCE rate for the fourth quarter of 2025 increased by 10% to $25,567 per day, while our available days decreased by 2% to 13,390 days, compared to Q4 2024.

In terms of sector performance, our TCE rate per day was high in all 3 sectors as follows: 15% increase to $19,588 for our bulkers; 9% increase to $29,158 for our tankers, and 2% increase to $31,315 for our containers.

EBITDA, net income and earnings per common unit for the fourth quarter and full year 2025 were adjusted as explained in the slide footnote. Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 '25 increased by $25 million to $207 million compared to Q4 2024. The increase was driven primarily by a $33 million increase in revenue, partially mitigated by $4 million increase in time charter and voyage expenses, and a $3 million increase in [indiscernible] mainly due to a 3% increase in the daily OpEx rate to $7,153 per day and a $1 million increase in general and administrative expenses.

Adjusted net income for Q4 '25 increased by $21 million to $100 million. Adjusted earnings and earnings per common unit for the fourth quarter of '25 were $3.4 and $3.99, respectively. Revenue for the full year '25 increased by $10 million to $1.3 billion. Our combined TCE rate for 2025 was $23,509 per day, 3% higher compared to 2024.

In terms of sector performance, the average TCE rate for our containers increased by 3% to $31,239 per day compared to 2024. In contrast, our dry bulk average TCE rate was approximately 3% lower to $16,408 per day. The TCE rate for our tanker fleet was marginally below 2024 levels at $27,011 per day.

Adjusted EBITDA for the full year '25 decreased by $4 million to $728 million compared to last year. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA despite higher revenue and lower time charter and voyage expenses was mainly driven by a $22 million increase in vessel operating expenses as a result of a 3% increase in both OpEx days and OpEx daily rate to $7,009 per day, a $7 million increase in general and administrative expenses mainly due to higher euro-dollar exchange rate prevailing during the year as well as the expansion of our fleet and a $4 million increase in other expenses net.

Adjusted net income for 2025 decreased by $46 million to $296 million compared to 2024. The decrease was mainly driven by a $30 million increase in depreciation and amortization and a $10 million increase in interest expense and finance cost net. Adjusted earnings and earnings per common unit for the full year '25 were $9.94 and $9.59, respectively.

Turning to Slide 15. I will briefly discuss some key balance sheet data. As of December 31, 2025, cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash and time deposits in excess of 3 months were $413 million. In addition, we have another $167 million available under 2 reducing revolver facilities.

During the year, we paid $250 million under our newbuilding program, net of debt. We concluded the sale of 11 vessels for $190 million, adding about $145 million of cash after debt repayment. Long-term borrowings, including the current portion and the senior unsecured bond net of deferred fees increased to $2.2 billion following the delivery of 6 newbuildings during the year. Net debt-to-book capitalization improved to [Audio Gap]

Slide 16 highlights our debt profile. With our recent $300 million senior unsecured bond, we further diversified our funding resources in addition to bank debt and leasing structures. The bond has a fixed interest rate of 7.75% and following the completion of the bond, 43% of our debt is fixed at an average interest rate of 6.2%.

We have also mitigated part of the increased interest rate cost by reducing the average margin for our floating rate debt and bareboat liabilities for in the water fleet to 1.8%. I would like to note that the average margin for the committed floating rate debt for our newbuilding program is 1.6%.

In December '25 and January '26, Navios Partners completed 4 financings for a total amount of $325 million. The $90 million sale and leaseback facility at 2% margin relates to an asset swap under an existing facility with no penalty in order to assist our charters with the trading of the vessels in the U.S. and China. Our maturity profile is target with no significant balloons due in any single year until 2030 when the bond matures.

I now pass the call to Vincent Vandewalle, Navios Partners' Chief Trading Officer, to take you through the industry section. Vincent?

Thank you, Eri. Please turn to Slide 18. Geopolitical developments continue to shift worldwide trading routes, whether due to tariffs, trade agreements, the Red Sea or conflicts.

The extradition of Maduro to the U.S. is reshaping trading patterns for Venezuelan oil with more imports to the U.S. and the elimination of sanctioned vessels.

Civil unrest in Iran has led to a volatile regional situation. U.S. is building a significant maritime force in the region. In return, Iran attempted to board the U.S. tanker and closed parts of the Strait of Hormuz. Any sustained closure of the Strait of Hormuz would have a severe impact on the oil and tanker markets.

In the meantime, nuclear and other talks are ongoing between the U.S. and Iran.

Sanctions decreased export from Russia. Prohibitions on importing Russian crude and related products are just starting to affect trades as continuous seizures of sanctioned vessels.

Despite the truce in Gaza, transit through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal continues to be limited, increasing tonne miles for most vessel types. In addition, the Houthis announced that they would join any retaliations against U.S. and related targets should anyone attack Iran. With this uncertainty, Maersk is allowing one of its services to transit the Red Sea with naval escorts, while CMA CGM has ceased service there entirely.

The Ukraine war continues to impact trading patterns with limiting grain exports out of the Black Sea, while benefiting exports out of Brazil and the U.S.A. Russian crude and product exports continue to [indiscernible] Rosneft and Lukoil, elevating rates for non-sanctioned vessels.

Please turn to Slide 20 for the review of the dry bulk industry. Demand growth for dry bulk trade has been relatively stable over the last 25 years and at about 4% average annual tonne mile growth. The current order book stands at about 12% of the total fleet and will remain low due to high newbuilding prices, uncertainty about new fuel regulations, yard availability, and general market outlook. The fleet is aging quickly with 39% of the vessels 15 years old. With older vessels far exceeding those on order, supply should be constrained over the medium-term.

Please turn to Slide 21. The main driver of dry bulk demand will be strong Atlantic Basin iron ore growth over the next several years with new projects in Guinea, Brazil and Liberia. The largest new project is Simandou in Guinea, which started shipments at the end of last year and is expected to ramp up to 120 million by '27.

Vale in Brazil has 3 new projects totaling 50 million tonnes expected to start exporting by the end of '26. Liberia will add 10 million of exports in '26. In total, these 180 million tonnes are all long-haul tonne miles trading, creating demand for an additional 249 capes.

With the current order book at only 231 capes, a further tightening of supply and demand is expected over the next few years, benefiting rates. Overall, the dry bulk market looks positive based on steady long-term demand growth and constrained supply of vessels.

Please turn to Slide 23 to -- for the review of the tanker industry. As to supply, we see a relatively low tanker order book of 18%. About 50% of the fleet is already over 15 years old, rising quickly over the next few years. With older vessels exceeding the order book and yards offering first deliveries in late '28 or early '29, supply is set to be tight for several years.

Please turn to Slide 24. After the U.S. capture and removal of President Maduro in early January, the U.S. is helping Venezuela move from a sanctioned exporter of crude oil to an exporter of crude oil to non-sanctioned buyers. Improvements will take time, but even raising crude exports from near-term lows of 0.8 million barrels per day to 1.8 million barrels per day with increased demand for more crude tankers.

Please turn to Slide 25. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, the E.U. and the U.K. continue to sanction Russian, Venezuelan, and Iranian oil revenue and ships delivering their crudes and products. Most recently, countries started to see sanctioned tankers with U.S. seizing 9, France seizing 1, and India seizing 3 small tankers, further reducing the efficiency of the dark fleet.

These tight sanctions have 2 main effects. Sanctioned oil volumes from these 3 countries have more difficulty finding willing buyers, raising demand for compliant barrels and non-sanctioned vessels to carry that oil. Since the end of December, Russian crude export to China and India have reduced by 30% and 70%, respectively.

With 822 tankers now sanctioned, the fleet has already seen a significant reduction of about 15% of the total capacity. The tanker market also looks positive over the medium-term based on a lower order book, an aging fleet, and a reduced fleet due to sanctions.

Please turn to Slide 27 for a review of the container industry. After the COVID pandemic, the ordering of container ships was mainly for biggest units with fleet expansion in large ships set to continue at high level. Currently, 78% of the order book is for ships with 9,000 TEU capacity or greater and only 20% of the order book is for 2,000 to 9,000 TEU capacity where Navios is most active.

Smaller segments of the fleet are well positioned to take advantage of shifting trading patterns. As shown on the right-hand graph, growth in non-mainland trades far exceeds the traditional mainland trades to the U.S. and Europe due to tariffs and higher growth in developing countries.

Trading involves the Southern Hemisphere, mostly served by smaller-sized vessels, are expected to see continued healthy growth as this trade shift continues.

Overall, Navios fleet is well positioned within the container market and continues to benefit from long-term employment with our high-quality charters.

This concludes our presentation. I would now like to turn the call over to Angeliki Frangou for her final comments. Angeliki?

Thank you, Vincent, and we'll open the call to our -- to the questions.

[Operator Instructions] We'll take our first question from Kristoffer Skeie with Arctic Securities.

Just first on the quarter. Have you made any changes to your accounting of depreciation given the relatively large drop versus Q3?

No. Actually, in Q3, if you recall, we had a one-off -- write-off $27 million relating to the termination of certain bareboat charters. So this was a one-off just for Q3.

Actually, the economic rationale of those vessels is the ones that we got back, and we re-entered in a very healthy market. [indiscernible] and accounting adjustment.

And when it comes to the net LTV, it has dropped quite fast the recent quarters. Can you share some color on when do you expect the net LTV target to be reached? And when that happens, what can we expect in terms of buybacks and dividends?

It's a good question. We think we have the right balance to meet all the challenges and opportunities in this market. I mean, you have seen that we have covered our 2026 all our expenses, and we are about $170 million extra above our -- extra contracted revenue above our cash operating cost. And we still have 16,000 days open. So basically, this flexibility allow us to bring down our LTV, increase our liquidity and be opportunistic on the most profitable reinvestment opportunities. We continue on our buyback, and we continue -- and as you see, we increased our dividend, which is primarily driven by savings from repurchase units.

Sure. Great. And the last question for me. I mean, you have exposure towards dry bulk, tankers, and container now. Are you seeing any other interesting segments that you sort of wish to invest in? How do you see that?

We're always looking for opportunities, but I will say that today we are sitting in a good position on -- with all our container exposure fixed and having -- and we are having dry bulk and VLCC mainly days open, which is, I think in a good -- we are in a very good position.

Thank you. And this concludes our Q&A session. I will now turn the call back to Angeliki for closing remarks.

Thank you. This completes our quarterly results. Thank you.

Thank you. This brings us to the end of today's meeting. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect.

Thank you for joining us for Navios Maritime Partners' Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. With us today from the company are Chairman and CEO, Mr. Angeliki Frangou, Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Efstratios Desypris, Chief Financial Officer; Mrs. Erifili Tsironi and Chief Trading Officer, Mr. Vincent Vandewalle.

As a reminder, this conference call is being webcast. To access the webcast, please go to the Investors section of Navios Partners' website at www.navios-mlp.com. You'll see the webcasting link in the middle of the page and a copy of the presentation referenced in today's earnings conference call will also be found there.

Now I will review the safe harbor statement. This conference call could contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about Navios Partners. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Navios Partners' management and are subject to risks and uncertainties and which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such risks are not fully discussed in Navios Partners' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The information set forth herein should be understood in light of such risks.

Navios Partners does not assume any obligation to update the information contained in this conference call.

The agenda for today's call is as follows: First, Ms. Frangou will offer opening remarks. Next, Mr. Desypris will give an overview of Navios Partners' segment data. Next, Mr. Tsironi will give an overview of Navios Partners' financial results. Then Mr. Vandewalle, who will provide an industry overview. And lastly, we'll open the call to take questions.

Now I turn the call over to Navios Partners' Chairwoman and CEO; Ms. Angeliki Frangou. Angeliki?

Good morning, and thank you all for joining us on today's call. I am pleased with the results for the third quarter and first 9 months of 2025 and which reported revenue of $346.9 million and $978.6 million, respectively. We also reported EBITDA of $193.9 million and $519.8 million respectively, and net income of $56.3 million and $168 million, respectively. Earnings per common unit was $1.90 for the quarter and $5.52 for the 9-month period.

For the past 5 years, it seems as if we have been addressing constant change, not operating environment driven by geopolitical and other brands. Yet, we have remained laser-focused on our business, modernizing our fleet. As you can see on Slide 3, our fleet has an average age of 9.7 years compared to an industry average of 13.5 years for our 3 segments. Our reinvestment program puts us in a fortunate position of having a fleet that is almost 30% [indiscernible] than the have an almost half when you look at our tanker fleet.

Please turn to Slide 4. Navios is a leading maritime transportation company owning operating a charter and modern fleet of 171 vessels across 3 segments, and 15 asset classes. As it split about 1/3 in its category by vessel number and vessel values. Vessel values are $6.3 billion in gross value and $3.8 billion net equity. We also enjoy a low net LTV of 34.5% and have $412 million available liquidity and strong credit rating of Ba3 by Moody's and BB by S&P.

Please turn to Slide 5. We believe that diversification is strength when embedded in the culture of risk management, we have a business providing significant optionality in our decision-making process. For example, on charter-in, if we are able to secure long-term charters that provide a reasonable return on our investment will limit our exposure to short-term waiting for sector opportunity to return. We approached the allocation of capital similarly, patiently observing the market for either opportunistic purchases or acquisitions that can be held by long-term charters with the credit was counterparty. These activities are accompanied by deleverage cost we maintain strong balance sheet and a target net F&D of 20%, 25%.

I would offer that all this works because of our strong lease management case. We are continuously monitoring and assessing as we evaluate and structure our transactions with risk management professionals who are equal partners in all our activities. We also obtained robust insurance coverage for liability and losses. And we have implemented many tools to manage operational risk and crew training.

Please turn to Slide 6. Our gross LTV was 40.6% at the end of the third quarter. Net LTV was 34.5% in and we aim to continue to drive net LTV lows. We added $745 million of long-term contracted revenue during the quarter and net revenue backlog is $3.7 billion. Currently, virtually all of the fleet is covered for the fourth quarter of 2025.

Please turn to Slide 7. I would like to focus on prospects for 2026, which are shaping up nicely. We have covered 58% of our days induced a cash breakeven to $894 per day for the remaining remaining 23,387 open and index days. You can see the breakdown of each segment on the right part of the slide, 92% of our container base and 7 [indiscernible] of our tankers are fixed we drive bank base, representing most of our market exposure by a number of days.

Please turn to Slide 8. A few weeks ago, we took the opportunity to offer a $300 million senior secured bond in the Norwegian market. We drive one at par at a coupon of 7.75% with a -- the profit and usually paid $292.3 million of floating rate debt and the bias for issuance fees and for general corporate purposes. This transaction has no impact on our leverage rate because the profits are used to refinance existing debt, but we believe opportunistic financing reduces interest rate risk by replacing floating rate debt with a fixed interest rate. It also releases collateral, and we have around $1.2 billion of debt-free vessels.

Pro forma for this transaction, we have 41% of our debt fixed at an average interest rate of 6.2%. [indiscernible] won't also introduce us to the Norwegian market, providing a targeted source of financing. Please turn to Slide 9 where we outlined a term capital program. As you can see here to date, we have returned $42.2 million under the dividend and unit repurchase program. Today, we purchased almost 5% of the number of units outstanding determined as of the date we launched the program. We have $37.3 million purchase power enable. These purchases have resulted in $4.6 per unit value creation, assuming the annual estimate of NAV of around $138 per unit.

Please turn to Slide 10. Navios is a proven platform that has been executing its strategy in a challenging environment. I refer to the many uncertainties when we started this discussion, certainly the geopolitical risk, regional conflict change in global tariff regime and evolving trend patterns and unprecedented in recent history. We have remained focused on over the past 4 years. We have built [indiscernible] with an EBITDA run rate of about $750 million while increasing our book of contracted revenue to $3.7 billion and a vessel value to $6.3 billion. At the same time, we have decreased a net NPV by 33% to 34.5%. We have more to do, but we believe that this proven platform containing a divisive freight fleet with a risk management is the way to do it.

I now turn the presentation over to Mr. Efstratios Desypris, Navios Partners Chief Operating Officer. Despyris?

Thank you, Angeliki, and good morning all. Please turn to Slide 11, which details operating free cash flow potential for Q4 of 2025 and 2026. For Q4 2025, we fixed 88% of our available days at a net average rate of $24,871 per day. Contracted revenue exceeds estimated total cash operating costs by about $86 million, and we have 1,594 remaining open or index-linked base that should provide additional cash flow. For 2026, we have fixed about 58% of available days at a net average rate of $27,088 per day, generating about $860 million in revenue. This almost covers our ultimate cash operating cost for the year, resulting in a breakeven of $894 per day on our 23,387 open index dates. .

Please turn to Slide 12. We are constantly renewing our fleet in order to maintain a young profile. We reduced our carbon footprint by modernizing our fleet, benefiting from new technologies and advanced environmental trading features. During Q3, we acquired 4 new building, 8,800 TEU contracts for a total $460 million. These vessels have already been chartered out for a fair period of over 5 years at a net rate of $44,145 per day, generating revenues of $336 million. We have 25 new building vessels delivered into our fleet since 2028, representing $1.9 billion of investment. Based on our financing, both are billing process, we have about $250 million of equity remaining to be paid.

In container ships, we have 8 vessels to be delivered with a total acquisition price of about $0.9 billion. We have mitigated the residual value risk with long-term credit working charges expected to generate about $0.6 billion in revenue over a 5-year average stated duration. In tankers, we have 17 vessels to be delivered for a total price of $1 billion. We chartered out 11 of these vessels for an average period of 5 years, expected to generate aggregate contracted revenue of about $0.6 million. We also continue to opportunistically sell all the vessels. In 2025, we sold 12 rent vessels, 6 dry bulk, 3 targets and 3 containerships with average age of over 18 years for a total of about $275 million.

Moving to Slide 13. We continue to maintain a strong backlog of contracted revenue that creates visibility in an uncertain environment. During the quarter, we added $745 million of contracted revenue. $595 million from containerships, including the $336 million on the 4 new building vessels, $138 million on tankers and $12 million on dry bulk vessels. Total contracted revenue amounts to $3.7 billion, $1.3 billion relates to our tankers fleet, $0.2 billion relates to our dry bulk fleet, and $2.2 billion relates to our containerships. Charters are extending through 2037 with diverse group of quality counterparties.

I now pass the call to Erifili Tsironi, our CFO, who will take you through the financial highlights. Eri?.

Thank you, Stratos, and good morning all. I will briefly review our unaudited financial results for the third quarter and the 9 months ended September 30, 2025. The financial information is included in the press release and is summarized in the slide presentation available on the company's website. Moving to the earnings highlights on Slide 14. Total revenue for the third quarter of 2025 increased by 1.8% to $347 million compared to $341 million for the same period in 2024 due to higher fleet combined time charter equivalent rate despite lower available days.

Our combined TCE rate for the third quarter of 2025 increased by 2.4% to $24,167 per day, while our available days decreased by 0.8% to 13,443 days compared to Q3 '24. In terms of sector performance, a CCLA for our combined container and tanker fleet increased by 3.7% and 1.7% to 31,832 and 26,238 per day, respectively. In contrast, our TC rate for our dry bulk fleet was 3.5% lower at $17,976 per day. for the third quarter and first 9 months of '25 was adjusted as explained in the slide footnote. Adjusted EBITDA for Q3 25 decreased by $1.4 million to $194 million compared to Q3 20 million. The decrease was primarily driven by a $4.5 million decrease in other income net, mainly due to the decrease in foreign exchange gains and a $3.2 million increase in vessel operating expenses mainly due to a $3.4 million increase in OpEx pay and a $2 million increase in general and administrative expenses in accordance with our administrative services agreement.

The above decrease was partially mitigated by a $6.1 million increase in time charter and voyage revenues and a $2.2 million decrease in time charter and voyage expenses, mainly due to the decrease in banker expenses as a result of lower freight volume base in the third quarter of '25. Our average combined OpEx rate was 6,798 per day, only $10 more than Q3 '24. Adjusted net income for Q3 '25 was $84 million compared to $97 million in Q3 '24. The decrease is mainly due to a $9 million increase in depreciation and amortization and a $2 million increase in interest expense and finance cost net.

Adjusted earnings and earnings per common unit for the third quarter '25 were $2.8 and $1.9, respectively. For the first 9 months of '25, revenue decreased by $33 million to $979 million, adjusted EBITDA decreased by $29 million to $520 million and adjusted net income decreased by $67 million to $196 million compared to the same period in 2024. Our combined PCE rates the first 9 months of '25 was [indiscernible] per day.

In terms of performance, the TCE rate for our containers increased by 3.1% to $31,213 per day compared to the same period in '24. In contrast, our dry bulk and tanker TCE rates were approximately 9.2% and 3.5% lower, respectively. TCE rates for our dry bulk vessels stood at $15,369 per day and for our tankers $26,290 per day for the first 9 months of '25. Our average combined OpEx rate was 2.4% higher compared to the first 9 months of '24 at $6,161 per day, also as a result of the change in the composition of our fleet.

Adjusted earnings -- per common unit for the first 9 months of 25 was $6.6 and $5.60, respectively. Turning to Slide 15. I will briefly discus some key balance sheet data. As of September 30 '25, cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash and time deposits in excess of 3 months were $382 million. During the first 9 months of '25, we paid $178 million underwriting building program, net of debt. We concluded the sale of 6 vessels for $75 million, adding about $49 million cash after debt repayment. Long-term borrowings yielding the current portion, net of deferred fees, increased to $0.2 billion following the delivery of 6 vessels during the first 9 months of the year. Net debt to book capitalization improved to 33.8%.

We Slide 16 highlights our debt profile. With our recent $300 million senior unsecured bonds, we further diversified our funding new sources in addition to bank debt and leasing structures. The bond has a fixed interest rate of 7.75% and pro forma for the bond 41% of our debt is fixed at an average rate of 6.2%. We also have mitigated part of the increased interest rate cost by reducing the average margin for our floating debt and bareboat liabilities for -- in water fleet to 1.8%. I would like to note that the average margins for the completed undrawn floating rate debt of our new building program is 1.5%.

Our maturity profile is targeted with no significant volumes due in any single year until 2030 when the bond matures. In Q3 '25, Navios Partners' completed 3 facilities for a total amount of $246 million, 1 additional facility of $68 million was signed in October.

I now pass the call to Vincent Vandewalle, Navios Partners', Chief Trading Officer, to take you through the investor section. Vincent?

Thank you, Eri. Please turn to Slide 18. Geopolitical developments continue to shift worldwhile trading routes caused by the tariff war, restricted Suez Canal passages, Ukraine war and Port fee impositions by U.S. and China. Announced tariffs and the implementation pauses in effect, are not expected to have a significant effect on tankers and dry bulk trade apart from steel. Tariff impacts on grain and container ships are expected to reduce following the recent trade deal between U.S. and China.

The Red Sea entrance leading to the Suez Canal continues to operate at restricted transit levels increasing -- for most vessel types. Since the Gaza ceasefire, Houthis announced that they have ceased the tax on shipping, but there were several piracy incidents of Somalia at the beginning of November. Ukraine war is shift in trading patterns, limiting grain exports out of the Black Sea and benefiting exports out of Brazil and U.S.A. Russian crude and product exports are adjusting to tie to sanctions on Russian oil producers, Rosneft and LUKOIL, elevating rates for non-sanctioned vessels.

USTR port fees on Chinese vessels and similar Chinese port fee on U.S. vessels have been put on hold for the year, while the 2 countries negotiate a more permanent solution.

Please turn to Slide 20 for the review of the dry bulk industry. Demand growth for dry bulk has been relatively stable over the last 25 years at about 4% average annual ton mile growth. The current order book stands at about 11% of the total fee and will remain low due to high newbuilding prices, uncertainty about new fuel regulations and availability and general market outlook. The fleet is aging quickly with 39% of the vessels 15 years old, and with the older vessels for [indiscernible] on order, supply should be constrained over the medium term.

Please turn to Slide 21. The main driver of dry bulk demand will be strong Atlantic basin item growth over the next several years with new projects in Guinea and Brazil. The biggest new project is Simadou in Guinea starting now, which will ramp up to 120 million by '27. Also, Vale in Brazil has 3 new projects totaling 50 million tons expected to start exporting by the end of '26. The total of 170 million tonnes are all long-haul ton mile trades, creating demand for an additional 234 capes -- with the current order book of only 173 capes, the further tightening of supply and demand is expected over the next few years, benefiting rates.

Overall, the dry bulk market looks positive based on steady long-term demand growth and a constrained supply of vessels. Please turn to Slide 23 for the review of the tank industry. Reviewing the supply side as in dry, we see a relatively low tanker order book of 6% with 51% of the fleet already over 15 years old, rising quickly in the next few years. With all vessels exceeding the order book and the [indiscernible] offering first deliveries in late '28, supply is set to be tight for several years.

Please turn to Slide 24. The U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control, OFAC, the EU and the U.K. continue to sanction Russian, Venezuelan and Iranian oil revenue and the ship is delivering their crude and products. These tighter sanctions have 2 main effects. Sanctioned oil volumes from these 3 countries have more difficulty finding willing buyers, raising demand for compliant barrels and nonsanctioned vessels to carry that all. Secondly, with 785 tankers now sanctioned, the fleet has already seen a significant reduction of about 14% of total capacity. The tanker market also looks positive over the medium term based on a low order book and aging fleet and a reduced fleet due to sanctions.

Please turn now to Slide 26 for a review of the container industry. After the COVID pandemics, containership ordering focusing mainly on the biggest units with fleet expansion in large vessels set to continue from high levels this year into next. Currently, 80% of the order book is for bigger ships with 9,000 TEU capacity or greater, and only 70% of the order book is for 2,000 to 9,000 TEU capacity where Navios is most active. Smaller segments of the fleets are well positioned to take advantage of shifting trading patterns. As shown on the right hand graph, growth non-Mainland trades, far exceeds the traditional mainly trades to the U.S. and Europe due to tariffs and higher growth in developing economies. It involving the Southern Hemisphere, mostly served by smaller-sized vessels are expected to see continued help growth as this trade shift continues.

Overall, Navios Fleet is well positioned within the container market and continues to benefit from long-term employment with our high-quality charters.

This concludes our presentation. I would now like to turn the call over to Angeliki Frangou for her final comments. Angeliki?

Thank you, Vincent. And this concludes our formal presentation, and we'll open the questions.

[Operator Instructions] We'll take our first question from Omar Nokta with Jefferies.

Slide 11 has a really nice summary that shows and by '26, how you have 42% of your available days open to say the spot market or index rates yet given how much target could you have, you only need $894 to breakeven on those ships. Clearly, a great place to be, gives you plenty of flexibility. With that, how does that shape your interest in fixing your vessel kind of going forward from here, at least into '26. Do you keep what's available now to the spot market to keep those free and open given you've got that, say, flexibility? Or do you want to continue to put these ships on contract and fix the coverage out. .

Let me take you through, and I think throughout the -- like to add a couple of things. One of the things we are doing is we use maximum flexibility. So you will see that the [indiscernible] the vessels that are open for 2026 is the majority is dry bulk. And basically, those vessels are on -- a lot of them are index-based with the premiums. So those we are actually very comfortable on how we are reaching that quarter forward, depending on what we have shown on the market. This is a very nice position wherein majority of our container vessels have been fixed. And basically, that is the area where we see a lot of upside. We also are seeing for the first time after quite some period that we see a fixed period for dry bulk that we haven't seen for some time.

And with that, I'd like Efstratios to give you a little bit of feedback.

Just asking to what [indiscernible] in 2026, we said [indiscernible] the container ship is covered. So there is an exposure in that sector, which is a sector that has -- people are discussing a lot of uncertainty. The majority, I would say, more than 50% of the tankers of CapEx. So the majority of the exposures in detail. You see that with the contracted revenue, we only have $20 million to cover for the next year, and we have 23,400 days approximately with basically [indiscernible]. We have seen a very big strength of the dry bulk sector recently, with rates across all the sectors of dry bulk being very healthy. And we have seen also the forward [indiscernible] being very healthy. So the exposure that we have today provides a very good opportunity for us, and it shows how much of the upside you can have on this portfolio.

And just a follow-up. Clearly, we're seeing a pretty healthy containership chartering market and you've been able to take advantage of really good, strong, I would say, liner interest to build ships against contracts. And you've been fairly active in recent years in that 5,000 to maybe, say, 9,000 TEU range. There's been some focus recently or at least it feels like there's been a shift where liners are starting to look more at the feeder size kind of the net sub 2000 TEU size range. You don't have a big focus on that in today's -- with your fleet today. But is that something you see an opportunity in? Are there opportunities to build these smaller ships against contracts? Or is that more just talk at this point?

There is always projects, and I will tell you that we see a lot of activity in every side. What you have to be very good is counterparty and duration because newbuilding prices remain at the levels we have seen. So it's very important, the [indiscernible], you mentioned into a value of the risk factor. But we see an increased activity. I mean it is quite interesting that there is a focus. We see a lot of inefficiency in the market, the trading patterns and it seems that the smaller vessels give more flexibility to the lines in order to achieve their this may -- this ever changing trading patterns. It's almost on a yearly basis, you will have new -- I mean, we saw China and United States having a 1-year agreement. So -- and basically, we see that it will happen in a lot of other areas. So you need to be alert and smaller vessels gives us flexibility.

That makes sense. Okay. And maybe just finally, you had the successful $300 million bond issue last month, unsecured good rate. How are you thinking about those proceeds in terms of how you plan to employ them?

As you said, I mean, addressing the market, [indiscernible] market is quite important. It hasn't been open for quite a time, I think, almost 10 years for the Maritime section. So what we achieved with that is we fixed our interest rate at 41% at 6.2%. We got a diversification in sources but also very importantly, we've got $1.2 billion of debt reverses. Basically, our net debt is the same before and after. And that gives us about $1 billion of debt-free vessels that gives us the most important thing that we get optionality. And this is a nice -- but we will see how to -- you have 1.2% of your vessels of 6.6%, basically that are...

Very good. I'll turn it over. .

And now I will turn the call back to Angeliki for final comments.

Thank you, this concludes Q3 results. .

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation, and you may disconnect at any time.