Dorian LPG Ltd.

to Dorian LPG fourth quarter 2023 earnings. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. Additionally, a live audio webcast of today's conference call is available on Dorian LPG's website, which is www.dorianlpg.com. I would now like to turn the conference over to Ted Young, Chief Financial Officer. Thank you, Mr. Young. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Sherry. Good morning, everyone, and thank you all for joining us for our fourth quarter 2023 results conference call. With me today are John Hajibateris, Chairman, President, and CEO of Dorian LPG Limited, John LaCouris, Chief Executive Officer of Dorian LPG USA, and Tim Hanson, Chief Commercial Officer. As a reminder, this conference call webcast and replay of this call will be available through May 31st, 2023. Many of our remarks today contain forward-looking statements based on current expectations. These statements may often be identified with words such as expect, anticipate, believe, or similar indications of future expectations. Although we believe that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, as well as general economic conditions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those we expressed today. Additionally, let me refer you to our unaudited results for the period ended March 31, 2023 that were filed this morning on 8-K. In addition, please refer to our previous filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, where you'll find risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Please note that we expect to file our full 10-K in the first week of June. Finally, you may wish to refer to the investor highlight slides posted this morning on our website for additional information that accompanies the speaker's comments today. With that, I'll turn over the call to John Hajdubateris.

Thanks, Ted. Thank you all for joining John L. in Athens, Tim in Copenhagen, Ted and myself from Stanford. The fourth quarter marked the culmination of the best financial year in the company's history. Strong chartering results and a solid balance sheet enabled us to return nearly $225 million to our shareholders during fiscal 2023. and we remain conservatively capitalized with net debt to net total cap of 33%. The VLGC freight market experienced significant volatility in the quarter, but has continued strengthening throughout 2023. Our financial results reflect the better rates and our diligent chartering management of the volatility. North America's export volumes have been supported by ample production and inventory, currently surpassing the five-year average by 30% and exceeding last year's levels by 43%. Estimates for U.S. exports point to further growth in 2023 and 2024. In its May short-term energy outlook, the EIA said it now estimates that U.S. LPG exports will grow 12.2% in 2023. The order book seems so far to be absorbed by increasing ton-mile demand. On the HR side, for our Ukrainian and Russian seafarers affected by the crisis, we introduced flexible arrangements for joining and repatriation. We added free accessible data communication services on board, supplemented medical insurance, and are providing a monthly allowance for displaced families. On the social front, we tasked two key executives to spearhead our diversion, equity, and inclusion efforts on board and onshore in cooperation with the All Aboard Alliance, an initiative which we helped develop with the Global Maritime Forum. And on the environmental front, we joined the Merck-McKinney-Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping as mission ambassadors, and plan to lend our expertise to the center to collaborate on various decarbonization initiatives. The IMO's new EXI and CII regulations resulted in an increasing focus by customers on quantifying voyage emissions, something we have been preparing for and are ready for. We are retrofitting our ships with energy-saving devices and premium paints, and progressively reducing emissions and fuel costs through voyage optimization and close collaboration with our crews. As an example, we applied the first silicone paint on one of our ships with a target of about 5% in fuel savings. Our commitment to sensible and environmentally sustainable investment is evidenced by the addition of three dual-fuel VLGCs so far this year, with a forthcoming later in the summer. These will trade in our LPG, Helios LPG pool. Three of them are capable of transiting the old and new Panama canals, a strategic advantage we will leverage by trading around the congestion when it occurs in the new canal. John LaCourse will give you some more information and then followed by Tim and Ted.