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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

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

OR

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

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

OR

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

For the transition period                      from                      to

OR

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

Date of event requiring this shell company report                     

Commission file number 001-35866

KNOT OFFSHORE PARTNERS LP

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Republic of the Marshall Islands

(Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)

2 Queens Cross

Aberdeen

AB15 4YB, United Kingdom

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Derek Lowe

2 Queens Cross

Aberdeen

AB15 4YB, United Kingdom

E-mail: dlo@knotoffshorepartners.com

Telephone: 44 (0) 1224 618420

Facsimile: 44 (0) 1224 624891

(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

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

Title of Each Class

    

Trading Symbol(s)

    

Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

Common units representing limited partner interests

KNOP

 

New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None

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

34,045,081 common units representing limited partner interests

3,541,666 Series A Convertible Preferred Units

252,405 Class B Units

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.     Yes      No

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).     Yes      No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer                   Accelerated filer                        Non-accelerated filer                        Emerging growth company    

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards* provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

*

The term “new or revised financial accounting standards” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b).

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

U.S. GAAP  

    

International Financial Reporting Standards as issued
by the International Accounting Standards Board  

  

Other  

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.     Item 17      Item 18

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).     Yes      No

KNOT Offshore Partners LP

INDEX TO REPORT ON FORM 20-F

Forward-Looking Statements

3

Part I

6

Item 1.

Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers

6

Item 2.

Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

6

Item 3.

Key Information

6

A.

Reserved

6

B.

Capitalization and Indebtedness

6

C.

Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

6

D.

Risk Factors

7

Item 4.

Information on the Partnership

41

A.

History and Development of the Partnership

41

B.

Business Overview

43

C.

Organizational Structure

64

D.

Property, Plants and Equipment

65

Item 4A.

Unresolved Staff Comments

65

Item 5.

Operating and Financial Review and Prospects

65

A.

Operating Results

75

B.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

78

C.

Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, Etc.

86

D.

Trend Information

86

E.

Critical Accounting Estimates

86

Item 6.

Directors, Senior Management and Employees

89

A.

Directors and Senior Management

89

B.

Compensation

91

C.

Board Practices

92

D.

Employees

93

E.

Unit Ownership

94

F.

Disclosure of a Registrant’s Action to Recover Erroneously Awarded Compensation

94

Item 7.

Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions

94

A.

Major Unitholders

94

B.

Related Party Transactions

96

C.

Interests of Experts and Counsel

104

Item 8.

Financial Information

104

A.

Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information

104

B.

Significant Changes

106

Item 9.

The Offer and Listing

106

A.

Offer and Listing Details

106

B.

Plan of Distribution

106

C.

Markets

106

D.

Selling Shareholders

106

E.

Dilution

107

F.

Expenses of the Issue

107

Item 10.

Additional Information

107

A.

Share Capital

107

B.

Memorandum and Articles of Association

107

C.

Material Contracts

107

D.

Exchange Controls

109

E.

Taxation

109

F.

Dividends and Paying Agents

116

G.

Statement by Experts

116

1

H.

Documents on Display

117

I.

Subsidiary Information

117

J.

Annual Report to Security Holders

117

Item 11.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

117

Item 12.

Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities

118

Part II

118

Item 13.

Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies

118

Item 14.

Material Modifications to the Rights of Securities Holders and Use of Proceeds

118

Item 15.

Controls and Procedures

119

Item 16A.

Audit Committee Financial Expert

120

Item 16B.

Code of Ethics

120

Item 16C.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

120

Item 16D.

Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees

121

Item 16E.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

121

Item 16F.

Change in Registrants’ Certifying Accountant

121

Item 16G.

Corporate Governance

121

Item 16H.

Mine Safety Disclosure

122

Item 16I.

Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

122

Item 16J.

Insider trading policies

122

Item 16K.

Cybersecurity

122

Part III

125

Item 17.

Financial Statements

125

Item 18.

Financial Statements

125

Item 19.

Exhibits

126

Signature

129

Index to Financial Statements of KNOT Offshore Partners LP

F-1

2

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023 (this “Annual Report”) contains certain forward-looking statements concerning plans and objectives of management for future operations or economic performance, or assumptions related thereto, including our financial forecast. In addition, we and our representatives may from time to time make other oral or written statements that are also forward-looking statements. Such statements include, in particular, statements about our plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in our business, and the markets in which we operate as described in this Annual Report. In some cases, you can identify the forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “forecast,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “propose,” “potential,” “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements reflect management’s current views only as of the date of this Annual Report and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results. As a result, unitholders are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this Annual Report and include statements with respect to, among other things:

market trends in the shuttle tanker or general tanker industries, including hire rates, factors affecting supply and demand, and opportunities for the profitable operations of shuttle tankers and conventional tankers;
market trends in the production of oil in the North Sea, Brazil and elsewhere;
the ability of Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers AS (“KNOT”) and KNOT Offshore Partners LP (“KNOT Offshore Partners”) to build shuttle tankers and the timing of the delivery and acceptance of any such vessels by their respective charterers;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to purchase vessels from KNOT in the future;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to enter into long-term charters, which KNOT Offshore Partners defines as charters of five years or more, or shorter term charters or voyage contracts;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to refinance its indebtedness on acceptable terms and on a timely basis and to make additional borrowings and to access debt and equity markets;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ distribution policy, forecasts of KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to make distributions on its common units, Class B Units representing limited partner interests (“Class B Units”) and Series A Convertible Preferred Units (“Series A Preferred Units”), the amount of any such distributions and any changes in such distributions;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to integrate and realize the expected benefits from acquisitions;
impacts of supply chain disruptions and the resulting inflationary environment;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ anticipated growth strategies;
the effects of a worldwide or regional economic slowdown;
turmoil in the global financial markets;
fluctuations in currencies, inflation and interest rates;
fluctuations in the price of oil;
general market conditions, including fluctuations in hire rates and vessel values;

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changes in KNOT Offshore Partners’ operating expenses, including drydocking and insurance costs and bunker prices;
recoveries under KNOT Offshore Partners’ insurance policies;
the length and cost of drydocking;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ future financial condition or results of operations and future revenues and expenses;
the repayment of debt and settling of any interest rate swaps;
planned capital expenditures and availability of capital resources to fund capital expenditures;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to maintain long-term relationships with major users of shuttle tonnage;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to leverage KNOT’s relationships and reputation in the shipping industry;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to maximize the use of its vessels, including the re-deployment or disposition of vessels no longer under charter;
the financial condition of KNOT Offshore Partners’ existing or future customers and their ability to fulfill their charter obligations;
timely purchases and deliveries of newbuilds;
future purchase prices of newbuilds and secondhand vessels;
any impairment of the value of KNOT Offshore Partners’ vessels;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to compete successfully for future chartering and newbuild opportunities;
acceptance of a vessel by its charterer;
termination dates and extensions of charters;
the impacts of the Russian war with Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the other conflicts in the Middle East;
the expected cost of, and KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to, comply with governmental regulations (including climate change regulations) and maritime self-regulatory organization standards, as well as standard regulations imposed by its charterers applicable to KNOT Offshore Partners’ business;
availability of skilled labor, vessel crews and management;
the effects of outbreaks of pandemics or contagious diseases, including the impact on KNOT Offshore Partners’ business, cash flows and operations as well as the business and operations of its customers, suppliers and lenders;
the impact of cybercrime;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ general and administrative expenses and its fees and expenses payable under the technical management agreements, the management and administration agreements and the administrative services agreement;
the anticipated taxation of KNOT Offshore Partners and distributions to its unitholders;

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estimated future capital expenditures;
Marshall Islands economic substance requirements;
KNOT Offshore Partners’ ability to retain key employees;
customers’ increasing emphasis on climate, environmental and safety concerns;
potential liability from any pending or future litigation;
potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, political events, piracy or acts by terrorists;
future sales of KNOT Offshore Partners’ securities in the public market; and
KNOT Offshore Partners’ business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations.

Forward-looking statements in this Annual Report are made based upon management’s current plans, expectations, estimates, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting us and therefore involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including those risks discussed in “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors.” The risks, uncertainties and assumptions involve known and unknown risks and are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond KNOT Offshore Partners’ control. KNOT Offshore Partners cautions that forward-looking statements are not guarantees and that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.

KNOT Offshore Partners undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all of these factors. Further, KNOT Offshore Partners cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward-looking statement. KNOT Offshore Partners makes no prediction or statement about the performance of its common units. The various disclosures included in this Annual Report and in KNOT Offshore Partners’ other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) that attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect KNOT Offshore Partners’ business, prospects and results of operations should be carefully reviewed and considered.

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PART I

Unless the context otherwise requires, references herein to “KNOT Offshore Partners,” “we,” “our,” “us” and “the Partnership” or similar terms refer to KNOT Offshore Partners LP, a Marshall Islands limited partnership, or any one or more of its subsidiaries, or to all such entities. References to “KNOT” refer, depending on the context, to Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers AS and to any one or more of its direct and indirect subsidiaries. References to “KNOT Management” refer to KNOT Management AS, the entity that provides us with crew, technical and commercial management services. References to “KNOT Management Denmark” refer to KNOT Management Denmark AS, a 100% owned subsidiary of KNOT which also provides us with management services. References to “our general partner” refer to KNOT Offshore Partners GP LLC, the general partner of the Partnership. References to “KNOT UK” refer to KNOT Offshore Partners UK LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Partnership. References to “TSSI” refer to TS Shipping Invest AS, and references to “NYK Europe” refer to NYK Holding (Europe) B.V, each of which holds a 50% interest in KNOT. References to “NYK” are to Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha. References to “KOAS UK” refer to Knutsen OAS (UK) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of TSSI. References to “KOAS” refer to Knutsen OAS Shipping AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of TSSI.

Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers

Not applicable.

Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Not applicable.

Item 3. Key Information

A.Reserved

B. Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

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D. Risk Factors

The risk factors summarized and detailed below could materially and adversely affect our business, our financial condition, our operating results and the trading price of our common units. These material risks include, but are not limited to, those relating to:

We may not have sufficient cash from operations following the establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses to enable us to continue to pay distributions on our common units.
The reduction in our quarterly cash distribution to $0.026 per common unit may impact our ability to raise capital.
Our cash distribution policy may adversely affect our ability to grow and to meet our financial needs.
We must make substantial capital expenditures to maintain the operating capacity of our fleet, which may result in less cash available to unitholders.
The required drydocking of our vessels could be more expensive and time consuming than we anticipate.
We may be unable to re-charter our vessels upon termination or expiration of their existing charters.
If capital expenditures are financed through cash from operations, our ability to make cash distributions may be diminished, or our financial leverage could increase.
If capital expenditures or debt repayments are financed by issuing securities, our unitholders may be diluted.
Our debt levels may limit our flexibility in obtaining additional financing, refinancing our credit facilities upon maturity, pursuing other business opportunities or paying distributions.
Our financing agreements contain operating and financial restrictions.
Restrictions in our debt agreements may prevent us or our subsidiaries from paying distributions.
We may fail to consummate or integrate acquisitions in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Our charters are subject to early termination under certain circumstances.
We may experience operational problems with vessels that reduce revenue and increase costs.
We currently derive all of our time charter and bareboat revenues from eleven customers.
We depend on subsidiaries of KNOT to assist us in operating our businesses and chartering certain of our vessels.
Our growth depends on continued growth in demand for shuttle tanker transportation services.
Persistent low oil prices may adversely affect our growth prospects and results of operations.
Our business is affected by macroeconomic conditions, including rising inflation, interest rates, market volatility, economic uncertainty and supply chain constraints.
Adverse conditions in the global economy or financial markets may impair our customers’ and suppliers’ ability to pay for our services.
Our growth depends on our ability to expand relationships with existing customers and obtain new customers, for which we face substantial competition.
An increase in the global supply of shuttle tanker capacity without a commensurate increase in demand may have an adverse effect on hire rates and the values of our vessels.
Compliance with safety and other vessel requirements imposed by classification societies may be very costly and may adversely affect our business.
The value of our vessels may decline, which could adversely affect our operating results.
Climate change concerns and greenhouse gas restrictions may adversely impact our operations and markets.
Increased scrutiny from stakeholders and others regarding climate change, as well as our ESG practices and reporting responsibilities, could result in additional costs or risks and adversely impact our business and reputation.
Our international operations expose us to political, governmental and economic instability.
Marine transportation is inherently risky, particularly in the extreme conditions in which our vessels operate. We could experience an incident involving loss of product or environmental contamination.
Our insurance may not be sufficient to cover losses.
Acts of piracy on ocean-going vessels may affect us.
Vessels transporting oil are subject to substantial environmental and other regulations.
We are exposed to currency exchange rate fluctuations.
Many seafaring employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements.
KNOT may on our behalf be unable to attract and retain qualified, skilled employees or crew necessary to operate our business or may have to pay substantially increased costs for its employees and crew.
Outbreaks of epidemics and pandemics may adversely affect our business.

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Maritime claimants could arrest our vessels, which could interrupt our cash flow.
Lack of diversification and adverse developments in the shuttle tanker market or the conventional oil tanker market would negatively impact our results.
If in the future our business activities involve countries, entities and individuals that are subject to restrictions imposed by the U.S. or other governments, we could be subject to enforcement action.
We could fail to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, the anti-corruption provisions in the Norwegian Criminal Code and other anti-bribery legislation.
A cyber-attack could materially disrupt our business.
Our business is subject to complex and evolving laws, directives and regulations regarding privacy and data protection.
KNOT and its affiliates may compete with us.
Unitholders have limited voting rights, and our partnership agreement restricts the voting rights of Norwegian Resident Holders and unitholders owning more than 4.9% of our common units or Class B Units.
KNOT and its affiliates own a substantial interest in us and have conflicts of interest and limited fiduciary and contractual duties to us and our common unitholders.
Our partnership agreement limits our general partner’s and our directors’ fiduciary duties to our unitholders and restricts the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by them.
Fees and cost reimbursements, which affiliates of KNOT determine for services provided to us and our subsidiaries, are substantial and payable regardless of our profitability.
Our partnership agreement contains provisions that may have the effect of discouraging a person or group from attempting to remove our management or our general partner without KNOT’s consent.
The control of our general partner may be transferred to a third party without unitholder consent.
Substantial future sales of our common units or the issuance of additional preferred units could cause the price of our common units to fall.
Our common units are subordinated to our existing and future indebtedness and Series A Preferred Units.
We may issue additional equity securities without the approval of our unitholders.
A substantial number of our common units may be issued upon conversion of our Series A Preferred Units or Class B Units or as redemption payments in respect of our Series A Preferred Units.
Our Series A Preferred Units have rights, preferences and privileges not held by common unitholders.
Our general partner’s limited call right may require our unitholders to sell their common units.
Our unitholders may not have limited liability if a court finds that unitholder action constitutes control of our business.
We can borrow money to pay distributions.
Increases in interest rates may cause the market price of our common units to decline.
We rely on the master limited partnership (“MLP”) structure and its appeal to investors for accessing debt and equity markets to finance our growth and repay or refinance our debt.
Unitholders may have liability to repay distributions.
The Marshall Islands does not have a well-developed body of partnership law.
Our operations are subject to economic substance requirements.
It may be difficult to serve us with legal process or enforce judgments against us.
Our partnership agreement designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings unless otherwise provided for under the laws of the Marshall Islands.
We are subject to taxes, which reduces our cash available for distribution to our unitholders.
A change in tax laws in any country in which we operate could adversely affect us.
U.S. tax authorities could treat us as a “passive foreign investment company.”
We may have to pay tax on U.S. source income, which would reduce our cash flow.
Our unitholders may be subject to income tax in one or more non-U.S. jurisdictions if, under the laws of any such jurisdiction, we are considered to be carrying on business there.

In addition, risks not presently known to us or risks that we currently deem immaterial could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and the trading price of our common units.

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Risks Inherent in Our Business

We may not have sufficient cash from operations following the establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses to enable us to continue to pay distributions on our common units or Series A Preferred Units.

We may not have sufficient cash from operations to continue to pay distributions on our common units. Furthermore, distributions to the holders of our common units are subject to the prior distribution rights of any holders of our preferred units outstanding. As of April 11, 2024, there were 3,541,666 Series A Preferred Units issued and outstanding. Under the terms of our partnership agreement, we are prohibited from declaring and paying distributions on our common units until we declare and pay (or set aside for payment) full distributions on the Series A Preferred Units. The amount of cash we can distribute on our units principally depends upon the amount of cash we generate from our operations. On January 11, 2023, we reduced our quarterly common unit distribution to $0.026 per unit for the fourth quarter of 2022. Cash flows from operations may fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on the risks described in this section, including, among other things:

the charter rates we obtain from our customers and the utilization of our fleet;
the number of off-hire days for our fleet and the timing of, and number of days required for, drydocking of vessels;
the level of our operating costs, such as the cost of crews and insurance;
currency exchange rate fluctuations and inflationary pressure;
the supply of shuttle tankers;
the demand for shuttle tankers;
the price and level of production of, and demand for, crude oil;
prevailing global and regional economic and political conditions;
changes in local income tax rates; and
the effect of governmental regulations and maritime self-regulatory organization standards on the conduct of our business.

In addition, the actual amount of cash we have available for distribution depends on other factors, including:

the level of capital expenditures we make, including for maintaining vessels, building new vessels, acquiring existing vessels and complying with regulations;
the level of debt we will incur to maintain existing vessels or fund future acquisitions and the interest rate we will pay on that debt;
fluctuations in our working capital needs;
our ability to make, and the level of, working capital borrowings; and
the amount of any cash reserves, including reserves for future capital expenditures, working capital and other matters, established by our board of directors.

The amount of cash we generate from our operations may differ materially from our profit or loss for the period, which is affected by non-cash items. As a result of this and the other factors mentioned above, we may make cash distributions during periods when we record losses and may not make cash distributions during periods when we record net income.

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On January 11, 2023, we reduced our quarterly common unit distribution rate to $0.026 per unit. Future distributions may remain at this level for an indefinite period or be eliminated entirely, which could impact our ability to raise capital.

Starting with the fourth quarter of 2022, we reduced our quarterly cash distribution to our common units to $0.026 per unit. We expect to continue to use our internally generated cash flow to provide for working capital, reduce our debt levels and strengthen our balance sheet. This reduction had, and could continue to have, a negative impact on our unit price. Any negative impact on our unit price could ultimately impact our ability to raise capital.

Our ability to grow and to meet our financial needs may be adversely affected by our cash distribution policy.

Our cash distribution policy, which is consistent with our partnership agreement, requires us to pay the distribution on our Series A Preferred Units, which rank senior to our common units, and then to distribute all of our available cash (as defined in our partnership agreement) each quarter. Accordingly, our growth may not be as fast as businesses that reinvest their available cash to expand ongoing operations.

In determining the amount of cash available for distribution, our board of directors approves the amount of cash reserves to set aside, including reserves for future capital expenditures, working capital and other matters. We also rely upon external financing sources, including commercial borrowings, to fund our capital expenditures. Accordingly, to the extent we do not have sufficient cash reserves or are unable to obtain financing, our cash distribution policy may significantly impair our ability to meet our financial needs or to grow.

We must make substantial capital expenditures to maintain the operating capacity of our fleet, which reduces cash available for distribution.

We must make substantial capital expenditures to maintain, over the long-term, the operating capacity of our fleet. Capital expenditures include expenditures associated with the removal of a vessel from the water for inspection, maintenance and/or repair of submerged parts (or drydocking) and modifying an existing vessel or acquiring a new comparable vessel to the extent these expenditures are incurred to maintain or replace the operating capacity of our fleet. These expenditures could vary significantly from quarter to quarter and could increase as a result of changes in:

the cost of labor and materials;
customer requirements;
the size of our fleet;
the cost of replacement vessels;
length of charters;
governmental regulations and maritime self-regulatory organization standards relating to safety, security or the environment; and
competitive standards.

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The required drydocking of our vessels could be more expensive and time consuming than we anticipate, which could adversely affect our cash available for distribution to unitholders.

We must periodically drydock each of our vessels for inspection, repairs and maintenance and any modifications required to comply with industry certification or governmental requirements. Generally, we drydock each vessel every 60 months until the vessel is 15 years old and every 30 months thereafter. The required drydocking of our vessels could be more expensive and time consuming than we anticipate, which could adversely affect our cash available for distribution. The drydocking of our vessels requires significant capital expenditures and results in loss of revenue while our vessels are off-hire. Any significant increase in the number of days of off-hire due to such drydocking or in the costs of any repairs could have a material adverse effect on our ability to pay distributions to our unitholders. If more than one of our vessels is required to be out of service at the same time, if a vessel is drydocked longer than expected or if the cost of repairs during drydocking is greater than budgeted, our cash available for distribution to unitholders could be adversely affected. In 2023, we experienced a total of approximately 192 offhire days due to the scheduled drydocking of five of our vessels. Although no drydockings in relation to industry certification or governmental requirements have been scheduled in 2024, no assurance can be given that our vessels will not experience unscheduled drydockings.

We may be unable to charter our vessels or re-charter our vessels upon termination or expiration of their existing charters.

We are dependent upon charters for our vessels to generate revenues and we may be adversely affected if we fail to charter our vessels, fail to renew or are unsuccessful in winning new charters, or if our existing charters are terminated. Our ability to charter our vessels and the rates payable under our charters depends upon, among other things, the state of the shuttle tanker market. For example, an oversupply of shuttle tankers can reduce the charter rates that we can receive. On January 11, 2023, we reduced our quarterly common unit distribution to $0.026 per unit due in part to our inability to secure additional charter coverage for certain of our vessels at an acceptable rate. As of April 11, 2024, our vessels Hilda Knutsen and Torill Knutsen are currently on hire to an affiliate of KNOT and three vessels (including Hilda Knutsen, Torill Knutsen and the Dan Sabia) have charters that expire in or at the end of 2024 and currently have no firm charters beyond that time. A failure to charter our vessels, a termination or renegotiation of our existing charters or a failure to secure new employment at the expiration of our current charters may have a negative effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. As of April 11, 2024, Dan Cisne is being deployed on conventional tanker work following expiration in December 2023 of its most recent shuttle tanker charter. Similarly, Dan Sabia is due to conclude its current shuttle tanker charter in June 2024. As of April 11, 2024, neither Dan Cisne nor Dan Sabia has future contracted shuttle tanker work, and both vessels are being marketed for both shuttle and conventional tanker charters.

If capital expenditures are financed through cash from operations or by issuing securities, our ability to make cash distributions may be diminished, our financial leverage could increase, or our unitholders may be diluted.

Use of cash from operations to expand or maintain our fleet reduces cash available for distribution to unitholders. Our ability to obtain bank financing or to access the capital markets for future offerings may be limited by our financial condition at the time of any such financing or offering as well as by adverse market conditions resulting from, among other things, general economic conditions and contingencies and uncertainties that are beyond our control. Our failure to obtain the funds for future capital expenditures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. Even if we are successful in obtaining necessary funds, the terms of such financings could limit our ability to pay cash distributions to unitholders. In addition, incurring additional debt may significantly increase our interest expense and financial leverage, and issuing additional equity securities may result in significant unitholder dilution and would increase the aggregate amount of cash required to maintain our current per-unit level of quarterly distributions to unitholders, both of which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to make cash distributions.

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Our debt levels may limit our flexibility in obtaining additional financing, refinancing credit facilities upon maturity, pursuing other business opportunities or paying distributions.

As of December 31, 2023, we had consolidated debt of approximately $963.0 million, all of our revolving credit facilities had been fully drawn and on that date we had no ability to incur additional debt under our credit facilities. If we acquire additional vessels or businesses, our consolidated debt may significantly increase. We may incur additional debt under future credit facilities. On April 5, 2024 Partnership’s subsidiary, Knutsen Shuttle Tankers 14 AS, which owns the vessel Hilda Knutsen, entered into a new $60 million senior secured term loan with DNB, which is due to replace the $100 Million Hilda Facility with Mitsubushi UFJ Lease & Finance (Hong Kong) Limited. However, the new facility is subject to the execution of definitive documentation and other closing conditions. Please read “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Liquidity and Capital Resources.” Our level of debt could have important consequences to us, including the following:

our ability to obtain additional financing, if necessary, for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other purposes may be impaired, or such financing may not be available on favorable terms;
we will need a substantial portion of our cash flows to make principal and interest payments on our debt, reducing the funds that would otherwise be available for operations, future business opportunities and distributions to unitholders;
our debt level may make us more vulnerable than competitors with less debt to competitive pressures or a downturn in our industry or the economy generally;
our debt level may limit our flexibility in responding to changing business and economic conditions; and
if we are unable to satisfy the restrictions included in any of our financing agreements or are otherwise in default under any of those agreements, as a result of our debt levels or otherwise, we will not be able to make cash distributions to our unitholders, notwithstanding our stated cash distribution policy.

Our ability to service or refinance our debt depends upon, among other things, our current and future financial and operating performance, which is affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. If our operating results are not sufficient to service or refinance our current or future indebtedness, we will be forced to take actions such as reducing distributions, reducing or delaying our business activities, acquisitions, investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, restructuring or refinancing our debt, or seeking additional equity capital or bankruptcy protection. We may not be able to effect any of these remedies on satisfactory terms, or at all.

Financing agreements containing operating and financial restrictions may restrict our business and financing activities.

The operating and financial restrictions and covenants in our financing agreements and any future financing agreements could adversely affect our ability to finance future operations or capital needs or to engage, expand or pursue our business activities. For example, the financing agreements may restrict the ability of us and our subsidiaries to:

incur or guarantee indebtedness;
change ownership or structure, including mergers, consolidations, liquidations and dissolutions;
make dividends or distributions;
make certain negative pledges and grant certain liens;
sell, transfer, assign or convey assets;
make certain investments; and
enter into a new line of business.

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In addition, our financing agreements require us to comply with certain financial ratios and tests, including, among others, maintaining a minimum liquidity, maintaining positive working capital, ensuring that our earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) exceeds interest payable, maintaining a minimum collateral value, and maintaining a minimum book equity ratio. Our ability to comply with the restrictions and covenants, including financial ratios and tests, contained in our financing agreements is dependent on future performance and may be affected by events beyond our control, including prevailing economic, financial and industry conditions. If market or other economic conditions deteriorate, our ability to comply with these covenants may be impaired.

If we are unable to comply with the restrictions and covenants in the agreements governing our indebtedness or in current or future debt financing agreements, there could be a default under the terms of those agreements. If a default occurs under these agreements, lenders could terminate their commitments to lend and/or accelerate the outstanding loans and declare all amounts borrowed due and payable. This could lead to cross-defaults under other financing agreements and result in obligations becoming due and commitments being terminated under such agreements. We have pledged our vessels as security for our outstanding indebtedness. If our lenders were to foreclose on our vessels in the event of a default, this may adversely affect our ability to finance future operations or capital needs or to engage in, expand or pursue our business activities. If any of these events occur, we cannot guarantee that our assets will be sufficient to repay in full all of our outstanding indebtedness, and we may be unable to find alternative financing. Even if we could obtain alternative financing, that financing might not be on terms that are favorable or acceptable. Any of these events would adversely affect our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders and cause a decline in the market price of our common units. Please read “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Restrictions in our debt agreements may prevent us or our subsidiaries from paying distributions.

The payment of principal and interest on our debt reduces cash available for distribution to us and on our units. In addition, our and our subsidiaries’ financing agreements prohibit the payment of distributions upon the occurrence of the following events, among others:

failure to pay any principal, interest, fees, expenses or other amounts when due;
failure to notify the lenders of any material oil spill or discharge of hazardous material, or of any action or claim related thereto;
breach or lapse of any insurance with respect to vessels securing the facilities;
breach of certain financial covenants;
failure to observe any other agreement, security instrument, obligation or covenant beyond specified cure periods in certain cases;
default under other indebtedness;
bankruptcy or insolvency events;
failure of any representation or warranty to be correct;
a change of ownership, as defined in the applicable agreement; and
a material adverse change, as defined in the applicable agreement.

For more information regarding our financing agreements, please read “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

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The failure to consummate or integrate acquisitions in a timely and cost-effective manner could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Acquisitions that expand our fleet are an important component of our strategy. We believe that acquisition opportunities may arise from time to time, and any such acquisition could be significant. Any acquisition of a vessel or business may not be profitable after the time of acquisition and may not generate cash flows sufficient to justify the investment. In addition, our acquisition growth strategy exposes us to risks that may harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders, including risks that we may:

fail to realize anticipated benefits, such as new customer relationships, cost-savings or cash flow enhancements;
be unable to attract, hire, train or retain qualified shore and seafaring personnel to manage and operate our growing business and fleet;
decrease our liquidity by using a significant portion of available cash or borrowing capacity to finance acquisitions;
significantly increase our interest expense or financial leverage if we incur additional debt to finance acquisitions;
incur or assume unanticipated liabilities, losses or costs associated with the business or vessels acquired; or
incur other significant charges, such as impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets, asset devaluation or restructuring charges.

In addition, unlike newbuilds, existing vessels typically do not carry warranties as to their condition. While we generally inspect existing vessels prior to purchase, such an inspection would normally not provide us with as much knowledge of a vessel’s condition as we would possess if it had been built for us and operated by us during its life. Repairs and maintenance costs for existing vessels are difficult to predict and may be substantially higher than for vessels we have operated since they were built. These costs could decrease our cash flows and reduce our liquidity.

Certain acquisition and investment opportunities may not result in the consummation of a transaction. In addition, we may not be able to obtain acceptable terms for the required financing for any such acquisition or investment that arises. We cannot predict the effect, if any, that any announcement or consummation of an acquisition would have on the trading price of our common units. Our future acquisitions could present a number of risks, including the risk of incorrect assumptions regarding the future results of acquired vessels or businesses or expected cost reductions or other synergies expected to be realized as a result of acquiring vessels or businesses, the risk of failing to successfully and timely integrate the operations or management of any acquired vessels or businesses and the risk of diverting management’s attention from existing operations or other priorities. We may also be subject to additional costs related to compliance with various international laws in connection with such acquisition. If we fail to consummate and integrate our acquisitions in a timely and cost-effective manner, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution could be adversely affected.

Our charters are subject to early termination under certain circumstances and any such termination could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash available for distribution to unitholders.

As of April 11, 2024, our fleet consists of eighteen shuttle tankers. If our vessels are unable to generate revenues as a result of the expiration or termination of their charters or sustained periods of off-hire time, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. Each of our charters terminates automatically if the applicable vessel is lost or missing or damage to the vessel results in a constructive total loss. The customer, under certain circumstances, may also have an option to terminate a time charter if the vessel is requisitioned by any government for a period of time in excess of the time period specified in the time charter or if at any time we are in default under the time charter. In addition, either party may usually terminate a charter in the event of the outbreak of war between specified countries. Under our bareboat charters, the charter is deemed terminated as of the date of any compulsory acquisition of the vessel or requisition for title by any governmental or other competent authority. For more information regarding the termination of our charters, please read “Item 4. Information on the Partnership—Business Overview—Charters—Termination.”

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We may experience operational problems with vessels that reduce revenue and increase costs.

Shuttle tankers are complex and their operation is technically challenging. Marine transportation operations are subject to mechanical risks and problems. Operational problems may lead to loss of revenue or higher than anticipated operating expenses or require additional capital expenditures. Any of these results could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

We currently derive all of our time charter and bareboat revenues from eleven customers, and the loss of any such customers could result in a significant loss of revenues and cash flow.

We currently derive all of our time charter and bareboat revenues from eleven customers. For the year ended December 31, 2023, Knutsen Shuttle Tankers Pool AS, a subsidiary of KNOT, Brazil Shipping I Limited, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell (“Shell”), Equinor ASA (“Equinor”), Repsol Sinopec Brasil B.V. (“Repsol”), Chartering and Shipping Service S.A., a subsidiary of Total Energies (“Total Energies”), and Fronape International Company, a subsidiary of Petrobras Transporte S.A. (“Transpetro”), accounted for approximately 10%, 12%, 13%, 13%, 14% and 18%, respectively, of our revenues.

If we lose a key customer, we may be unable to obtain replacement long-term charters and may become subject to the volatile spot market, which is highly competitive and subject to significant price fluctuations. In addition, if a customer exercises its right to terminate a charter, we may be unable to re-charter such vessel on terms as favorable to us as those of the terminated charter. The loss of any of our key customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Oil prices can be volatile, and this could affect the equity value of many of our customers. The combination of a reduction of cash flow resulting from lower prices, a reduction in borrowing under related credit facilities and the limited or lack of availability of debt or equity financing could potentially reduce the ability of our customers to make charter payments, which in turn could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, at the end of a contractual term we could lose one or more of our customers due to a variety of causes unrelated to our performance, including changes in customers’ management or strategic exits from the offshore oil space or from regions in which we operate.

We depend on subsidiaries of KNOT and its affiliates to assist us in operating our businesses and competing in our markets and chartering certain of our vessels.

We and our operating subsidiaries have entered into various services agreements with certain subsidiaries and affiliates of KNOT, including KNOT Management, KNOT Management Denmark, KOAS and KOAS UK. Under these agreements these entities provide us with certain administrative, financial and other services. Our operating subsidiaries are provided with substantially all of their crew, technical and commercial management services (including vessel maintenance, periodic drydocking, cleaning and painting, performing work required by regulations and human resources and financial services) and other advisory and technical services, including the sourcing of new contracts and renewals of existing contracts. Our operational success and ability to execute our growth strategy depends significantly upon the satisfactory performance of these services by affiliates of KNOT. Our business will be harmed if such entities fail to perform these services satisfactorily or if they stop providing these services to us or our operating subsidiaries.

Our ability to compete to enter into new charters and expand our customer relationships depends largely on our ability to leverage our relationship with KNOT and its reputation and relationships in the shipping industry. If KNOT suffers material damage to its reputation or relationships, it may harm the ability of us or our subsidiaries to:

renew existing charters upon their expiration;
obtain new charters;
successfully contract with shipyards;
obtain financing on commercially acceptable terms; or

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maintain satisfactory relationships with suppliers and other third parties.

If our ability to do any of the things described above is impaired, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Furthermore, subsidiaries of KNOT currently charter two of our vessels. In 2023, subsidiaries of KNOT accounted for $28.7 million of our time charter revenues. If KNOT is unable to satisfy its obligations to us under such charters, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Our growth will primarily depend on continued growth in demand for shuttle tanker transportation services.

Our growth will primarily depend on continued growth in the demand for shuttle tanker transportation services. Factors beyond our control that affect the offshore oil transportation industry may have a significant impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. Fluctuations in the hire rate we can charge our customers result from changes in the supply of carrying capacity, production volumes of oil in the areas in which we operate and demand for the crude oil carried. If a sustained period of reduced demand for oil transportation services were to occur it would have a material adverse effect on our future growth and could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. The factors affecting supply and demand for shuttle tankers and supply and demand for crude oil transported by shuttle tankers are largely outside of our control, and the nature, timing and degree of changes in industry conditions are unpredictable.

The factors that influence the demand for shuttle tanker capacity include, but are not limited to:

changes in the actual or projected price of oil, which could impact the exploration for or development of new offshore oil fields or the production of oil at certain fields we service;
delayed production start on offshore fields under development or unscheduled maintenance of existing fields;
levels of demand for and production of oil, which, among other things, is affected by competition from alternative sources of energy, climate change regulations and policies, other factors making consumption of oil more or less attractive or energy conservation measures;
changes in the production of oil in areas linked by pipelines to consuming areas, the extension of existing, or the development of new pipeline or other transfer systems in markets we may serve, or the conversion of existing non-oil pipelines to oil pipelines in those markets;
changes in laws and regulations affecting the shuttle tanker industry;
global and regional economic and political conditions, particularly in oil-consuming regions, as well as environmental concerns and regulations, which could impact the supply of oil and gas as well as the demand for various types of vessels; and
changes in trading patterns, including changes in the distances that cargoes are transported and charter rates in the general tanker market.

The factors that influence the supply of shuttle tanker capacity include, but are not limited to:

the number of deliveries of new vessels under construction or on order and the price of those new vessels;
the scrapping rate of older vessels;
the availability of qualified and suitably experienced crew to operate vessels;
oil and gas company policy with respect to technical vessel requirements; and

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the number of vessels that are off-hire.

Persistent low oil prices may adversely affect our growth prospects and results of operations.

If there is a significant decline in oil prices that persists for a long period it may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition and our ability to make cash distributions, as a result of, among other things:

a reduction in exploration for or development of new offshore oil fields, or the delay or cancelation of existing offshore projects as energy companies lower their capital expenditures budgets, which may reduce our growth opportunities;
lower demand for shuttle tankers, which may reduce available charter rates and revenue to us upon redeployment of our vessels following expiration or termination of existing contracts or upon the initial chartering of vessels;
customers potentially seeking to renegotiate or terminate existing vessel contracts, or failing to extend or renew contracts upon expiration;
the inability or refusal of customers to make charter payments to us due to financial constraints or otherwise; or
declines in vessel values, which may result in losses to us upon vessel sales or impairment charges against our earnings.

Our business is affected by macroeconomic conditions, including rising inflation, interest rates, market volatility, economic uncertainty and supply chain constraints.

Various macroeconomic factors could adversely affect our business and the results of our operations and financial condition, including changes in inflation, interest rates and overall economic conditions and uncertainties such as those resulting from the current and future conditions in the global financial markets. For instance, inflation has negatively impacted us by increasing crew and crew-related costs and through higher interest rates. Supply chain constraints have led to higher inflation, which if sustained could have a negative impact on our operations. If inflation or other factors were to significantly increase, our operations may be negatively affected. Interest rates, the liquidity of the credit markets and the volatility of the capital markets could also affect the operation of our business and our ability to raise capital on favorable terms, or at all, in order to fund our operations.

Increased inflation, including rising prices for items, such as raw materials, fuel, parts and components, freight, packaging, supplies, labor and energy increases the Partnership’s costs to provide services. The Partnership does not currently use financial derivatives to hedge against volatility in commodity prices. The Partnership uses market prices for materials, fuel, parts and components. Results of operations have been and, in the future, may be negatively affected if the Partnership is unable to mitigate the impact of these cost increases through contractual means and is unable to increase prices to sufficiently offset the effect of these cost increases.

Materials, components, and equipment essential to the Partnership’s operations are normally readily available, and shortages as a result of supply chain disruptions can adversely impact the Partnership’s operations, particularly where the Partnership has a limited number of suppliers. Many of the items essential to the Partnership’s business require the use of shipping services to transport them to the Partnership’s vessels or the applicable drydocking locations. Shipping delays or disruptions may result in operational slowdowns. These constraints could have a material adverse effect on the Partnership. In addition, price increases imposed by the Partnership’s vendors for materials and shipping services used in its business, and the inability to pass these increases through to its customers, could have a material adverse effect on the Partnership.

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Throughout 2023, we experienced significant increases in the costs of fuel, logistics and crewing as a result of availability constraints, supply chain disruption, increased demand, labor shortages, inflation and other factors. Though we incorporated inflationary factors into our 2023 business plan, inflation outpaced those original assumptions and, while we have incorporated inflationary factors into our 2024 business plan, inflation may outpace those assumptions. These challenges are due in part to increased demand for oil and gas production driven by the continued economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and more broadly, systemic underinvestment in global oil and gas development, together with general labor shortages. These supply and demand fundamentals have been further aggravated by disruptions in global energy supply caused by multiple geopolitical events, including the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine. We continue to undertake actions and implement plans to strengthen our supply chain to address these pressures and protect the requisite access to commodities and services. Nevertheless, we expect for the foreseeable future to experience supply chain pressures and inflationary pressure on our cost structure. If we are unable to manage our global supply chain, it may impact our ability to hire and retain crew and procure materials and equipment in a timely and cost-effective manner, if at all, and, as a result, have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and ability to pay distributions to our unitholders.

Adverse conditions in the global economy or financial markets may impair our customers’ ability to pay for our services and/or our suppliers’ ability to fulfil their obligations to us and could have a material adverse effect on our revenue, profitability and financial position.

We depend on our customers’ willingness and ability to fund operating and capital expenditures to provide crude oil shuttle tankers for new or expanding offshore projects. Existing and future adverse economic conditions, including low oil prices, may lead to a decline in our customers’ operations or ability to pay for our services, which could result in decreased demand for our vessels. There has historically been a strong link between the development of the world economy and demand for energy, including oil and natural gas. Particularly, an extended period of adverse development in the outlook for the North Sea or Brazil could reduce the overall demand for our vessels and have a negative impact on our customers. Potential developments, or market perceptions concerning these and related issues, could affect our business, financial position, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Any regional or global financial or credit crisis or disruption may reduce the availability of liquidity and credit to fund the continuation and expansion of industrial business operations worldwide. Such deterioration could result in reduced demand for oil and natural gas, exploration and production activity and transportation of oil and natural gas that could lead to a decrease in the hire rate earned by our vessels and a decrease in new charter activity. In addition, any adverse development in the global financial markets or deterioration in economic conditions might adversely impact our ability to issue additional equity at prices that will not be dilutive to our existing unitholders or preclude us from issuing equity at all.

We also cannot be certain that additional financing will be available if needed and to the extent required, on acceptable terms or at all. Furthermore, certain banks that have historically been significant lenders to the shipping industry have reduced or ceased lending activities in the shipping industry. If additional financing is not available when needed, or is available only on unfavorable terms, we may be unable to meet our obligations as they come due or we may be unable to expand our existing business, complete shuttle tanker acquisitions or otherwise take advantage of business opportunities as they arise.

Furthermore, any uncertainty in the financial markets could have an impact on our customers and/or suppliers including, among other things, causing them to fail to meet their obligations to us. Similarly, any shortage of credit could affect lenders participating in our financing agreements, making them unable to fulfill their commitments and obligations to us. Any reductions in activity owing to such conditions or failure by our customers, suppliers or lenders to meet their contractual obligations to us could adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operation and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Our growth depends on our ability to expand relationships with existing customers and obtain new customers, for which we face substantial competition.

One of our principal objectives is to enter into additional long-term, fixed-rate charters. The process of obtaining new long-term charters is highly competitive, usually involving an intensive screening process and competitive bids. Shuttle tanker charters are awarded based upon a variety of factors relating to the vessel operator, including:

industry relationships and reputation for customer service and safety;

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experience and quality of ship operations;
quality, experience and technical capability of the crew;
relationships with shipyards and the ability to get suitable berths;
construction management experience, including the ability to obtain on-time delivery of new vessels according to customer specifications;
willingness to accept operational risks pursuant to the charter, among other things such as allowing termination of the charter for force majeure events; and
competitiveness of the bid in terms of overall price.

Our ability to win new charters depends upon a number of factors, including our ability to:

leverage our relationship with KNOT and its reputation and relationships in the shipping industry;
successfully manage our liquidity and obtain the necessary financing to fund our growth;
attract, hire, train and retain qualified personnel and ship management companies to manage and operate our fleet;
identify and consummate desirable acquisitions, joint ventures or strategic alliances; and
identify and capitalize on opportunities in new markets.

We expect substantial competition for providing services for potential shuttle tanker projects from a number of experienced companies. This increased competition may cause greater price competition for charters. As a result of these factors, we may be unable to expand our relationships with existing customers or to obtain new customers on a profitable basis, if at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

An increase in the global supply of shuttle tanker capacity without a commensurate increase in demand may have an adverse effect on hire rates and the values of our vessels, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

The supply of shuttle tankers in the industry is affected by, among other things, assessments of the demand for these vessels. Any over-estimation of demand for vessels may result in an excess supply of shuttle tankers. Pandemic and other related delays to the start-up of offshore oil production, particularly in the North Sea and in the Norwegian sector, created an oversupply of shuttle tanker capacity at a time when we have multiple vessels coming back into the market, and which situation has also restricted the rates that are achievable for charter opportunities. This situation may also, in the long term, result in lower hire rates and depress the values of our vessels. Under such circumstances, our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders may be adversely affected.

During periods of high utilization and high hire rates, industry participants may increase the supply of shuttle tankers by ordering the construction of new vessels. This may result in an over-supply of shuttle tankers and may cause a subsequent decline in utilization and hire rates when the vessels enter the market. Lower utilization and hire rates could adversely affect revenues and profitability. Prolonged periods of low utilization and hire rates could also result in the recognition of impairment charges on shuttle tankers if future cash flow estimates, based upon information available at the time, indicate that the carrying value of these shuttle tankers may not be recoverable. Such impairment charges may cause lenders to accelerate loan payments under our financing agreements, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

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Compliance with safety and other vessel requirements imposed by classification societies may be very costly and may adversely affect our business.

The hull and machinery of every large, oceangoing commercial vessel must be classed by a classification society authorized by its country of registry. The classification society certifies that a vessel is safe and seaworthy in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the country of registry of the vessel and the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (“SOLAS”). All our vessels are certified either by DNV GL Group AS (“DNV GL”) or by the American Bureau of Shipping (“ABS”).

As part of the certification process, a vessel must undergo annual surveys, intermediate surveys and special surveys. In lieu of a special survey, a vessel’s machinery may be on a continuous survey cycle, under which the machinery would be surveyed periodically over a five-year period. Each of the vessels in our existing fleet is on a planned maintenance system approval, and as such the classification society attends onboard once every year to verify that the maintenance of the equipment onboard is done correctly. Each of the vessels in our existing fleet is required to be qualified within its respective classification society for drydocking once every five years subject to an intermediate underwater survey done using an approved diving company in the presence of a surveyor from the classification society.

If any vessel does not maintain its class or fails any annual survey, intermediate survey or special survey, the vessel will be unable to trade between certain ports and will be unemployable. We would lose revenue while the vessel was off-hire and incur costs of compliance. This would negatively impact our revenues and reduce our cash available for distribution to unitholders.

The value of our vessels may decline, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Vessel values for shuttle tankers can fluctuate substantially over time due to a number of different factors, including:

the cost of newbuildings;
prevailing economic conditions in oil, energy and conventional tanker shipping markets;
a substantial or extended decline in demand for oil;
increases in the supply of vessel capacity;
the cost of retrofitting or modifying existing vessels, as a result of technological advances in vessel design or equipment, changes in applicable environmental or other regulations or standards, or otherwise; and
a decrease in oil reserves in the fields and other fields in which our shuttle tankers might otherwise be deployed.

If operation of a vessel is not profitable, or if we cannot redeploy a vessel at attractive rates upon termination of its charter, rather than continue to incur costs to maintain and finance the vessel, we may seek to dispose of it. Our inability to dispose of the vessel at a reasonable value could result in a loss on its sale and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. Additionally, lenders may accelerate loan repayments should there be a loss in the market value of our vessels. Such repayment could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Further, if we determine at any time that a vessel’s future useful life and earnings require us to impair its value in our financial statements, we may need to recognize a significant charge against our earnings. We review vessels and equipment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable, which occurs when the asset’s carrying value is greater than the future undiscounted cash flows the asset is expected to generate over its remaining useful life.

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Climate change concerns and greenhouse gas restrictions may adversely impact our operations and markets.

Due to concern over the risk of climate change, a number of countries and the International Maritime Organization (the “IMO”), the United Nations agency that regulates international shipping, have adopted, or are considering the adoption of, regulatory frameworks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vessels. These regulatory measures include, among others, adoption of cap and trade regimes, carbon taxes, increased efficiency standards and incentives or mandates for renewable energy. The Paris Agreement, which was announced by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2015, does not cover international shipping. However, in 2018, the IMO adopted an initial strategy designed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from vessels, including short-term, mid-term and long-term candidate measures with a vision of reducing and phasing out greenhouse gas emissions from vessels as soon as possible in the 21st century (“Initial IMO GHG Strategy”). Consistent with the Initial IMO GHG Strategy target of a 40% carbon intensity reduction for international shipping by 2030, as compared to 2008, at its June 2021 MEPC session, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (“MEPC”) of the IMO adopted amendments to Annex VI of the 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (“MARPOL”) that establish as short-term GHG reduction measures an enforceable regulatory framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, consisting of technical and operational carbon reduction measures. These measures include use of an Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index, an operational Carbon Intensity Indicator and an enhanced Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan to drive reductions in the carbon intensity. The Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index and Carbon Intensity Indicator measures entered into force on January 1, 2023 and are referred to as IMO 2023. The Initial IMO GHG Strategy contemplated the adoption of a revised strategy in 2023. This revised strategy, the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (“2023 IMO GHG Strategy”), was adopted by the MEPC on July 7, 2023. The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy includes as a goal attaining net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping by or around 2050, promotes the uptake of alternative zero and near-zero GHG emissions technologies, fuels and/or energy sources by 2030, and identifies as indicative checkpoints a level of ambition at least a 20% reduction, compared to 2008, in total annual GHG emissions from international shipping by 2030 and at least a 70% reduction by 2040, striving for reductions of 30% by 2030 and 80% by 2040. The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy contemplates adoption of an updated strategy in 2028 and calls for the adoption of mid-term GHG reduction measures by 2025 and the development, finalization and agreement on possible long-term GHG reduction measures as part of the 2028 strategy review. Further, effective January 1, 2024, the EU extended the EU-Emissions Trading System (“EU-ETS”) to the shipping sector and includes carbon dioxide emissions from vessels of 5,000 gross tonnage and above that depart from, arrive at or pass through EU ports or EEA ports in Iceland and Norway. Beginning in 2026, in addition to carbon dioxide emissions, the EU-ETS for shipping will cover methane and nitrous oxide emissions. The EU-ETS sets a limit on the carbon dioxide emissions shipping companies are permitted to emit on the covered routes, which is expressed in terms of emission allowances. One allowance gives the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent. Each year commencing in 2025 for emissions reported in 2024, allowances will be required to be purchased and surrendered, with the share of emissions required to be covered by allowances increasing from 40% of 2024 reported emissions, to 70% of 2025 reported emissions and thereafter to 100% of reported emissions. If we do not purchase and surrender the required allowances, we will be subject to fines.

Compliance with these and other changes in laws, regulations and obligations relating to climate change could increase our costs related to operating and maintaining our vessels and require us to install new emission controls, acquire allowances or pay taxes related to our greenhouse gas emissions or administer and manage a greenhouse gas emissions program. Revenue generation and strategic growth opportunities may also be adversely affected.We cannot predict whether or to what extent damage that may be caused by natural events, such as hurricanes, monsoons and other severe or catastrophic storms, will cause damage to our vessels and disruption to our operations and cause other adverse financial and operational impacts, including impacts on our customers. In particular, if one of the regions in which our vessels are operating is impacted by such a natural catastrophe in the future, it could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Adverse effects upon the oil industry relating to climate change, including growing public concern about the environmental and other impacts of climate change, may also adversely affect demand for our shuttle tanker services. Although we do not expect that demand for oil will lessen dramatically over the short or mid-term, in the long-term climate change mitigation considerations may reduce the demand for oil and increased regulation of greenhouse gases may create greater incentives for use of alternative energy sources. Any long-term material adverse effect on the oil industry could have a significant financial and operational adverse impact on our business that we cannot predict with certainty at this time.

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Increased scrutiny from stakeholders and others regarding climate change, as well as our ESG practices and reporting responsibilities, could result in additional costs or risks and adversely impact our business and reputation

Companies across all industries have been subject to increasing scrutiny relating to their Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) policies. The investment community, including investment advisors and certain sovereign wealth, pension and endowment funds are increasingly focused on ESG practices and in recent years have placed growing importance on the implications and social cost of their investments. The increased focus and activism related to ESG and similar matters may hinder access to capital, as investors and lenders may decide to reallocate capital or not to commit capital as a result of their assessment of a company’s ESG practices. Companies that do not adapt to or comply with investor, lender or other industry shareholder expectations and standards, which are evolving, or which are perceived to have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for ESG issues, regardless of whether there is a legal requirement to do so, may suffer from reputational damage and the business, financial condition or share price of such a company could be materially and adversely affected. Further, in recent years some in the investment community have promoted the divestment of fossil fuel equities and pressured lenders to cease or limit funding to companies engaged in the fossil fuel industry. Such initiatives aimed at limiting climate change and decarbonization could ultimately interfere with our business activities and operations and our access to capital. In addition to such initiatives, ESG matters more generally have been the subject of increased focus by investors, investment funds and other market and industry participants, as well as certain regulators, including in the U.S. and the EU.

In February 2021, the Acting Chair of the SEC issued a statement directing the Division of Corporation Finance to enhance its focus on climate-related disclosure in public company filings and in March 2021 the SEC announced the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement (the “Task Force”). The Task Force’s goal is to develop initiatives to proactively identify ESG-related misconduct consistent with increased investor reliance on climate and ESG-related disclosure and investment. To implement the Task Force’s purpose, the SEC has taken several enforcement actions, with the first enforcement action taking place in May 2022, and has proposed new rules. On March 21, 2022, the SEC proposed rules that will require all public companies to include extensive climate-related information in their SEC filings. On May 25, 2022, the SEC proposed a second set of rules aiming to curb the practice of “greenwashing” (i.e., making false or misleading claims about one’s ESG efforts) and other deceptive or misleading marketing practices by U.S. investment funds, which was subsequently adopted in September 2023. On March 6, 2024, the SEC adopted final rules to require registrants to disclose certain climate-related information in SEC filings of all public companies. The final rules require companies to disclose, among other things: material climate-related risks; activities to mitigate or adapt to such risks; information about the registrant’s board of directors’ oversight of climate-related risks and management’s role in managing material climate-related risks; and information on any climate-related targets or goals that are material to the registrant’s business, results of operations, or financial condition. Further, to facilitate investors’ assessment of certain climate-related risks, the final rules require disclosure of certain greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on a phased-in basis when those emissions are material; the filing of an attestation report covering the required disclosure of such emissions, also on a phased-in basis; and disclosure of the financial statement effects of severe weather events and other natural conditions including, for example, costs and losses. The final rules require accelerated filers such as us to incorporate the applicable disclosures into their filings beginning in fiscal year 2026, with additional requirements relating to the disclosure of certain GHG emissions, if material, and attestation reports for certain accelerated filers subsequently phasing in. While we are still assessing our obligations under the rules, complying with such obligations may result in increased costs. The SEC rules are being challenged in federal court by several U.S. states, industry groups and environmental non-governmental organizations. On April 4, 2024, the SEC voluntarily stayed its final rules pending completion of judicial review of the challenges.

Regulatory initiatives to impose climate and ESG-reporting requirements are also occurring at the state and international levels.

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We publish an annual Environment, Social and Governance Report (“ESG Report”) compiled in accordance with the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association’s ESG reporting guidelines. Our disclosures on ESG matters, a failure to meet the goals we establish or evolving stakeholder expectations for ESG practices and reporting may potentially harm our reputation and impact access to capital, customer or investor relationships, and employee retention. For example, some investors may use third-party benchmarks or scores to measure our ESG practices in making investment decisions and customers and suppliers may evaluate our ESG practices or require that we adopt certain ESG policies as a condition of awarding contracts. By electing to set and share publicly our corporate ESG standards, our business may also face increased scrutiny related to ESG activities. As ESG best-practices and reporting standards continue to develop, our costs related to ESG monitoring and reporting and complying with ESG initiatives may increase. In addition, it may be difficult or expensive for us to comply with any ESG-linked contracting policies adopted by customers and suppliers. Increased scrutiny from stakeholders and others regarding our ESG practices and reporting responsibilities (including our ESG Report) could result in additional costs or risks and adversely impact our business and reputation.

In addition, commitments made by us, or our customers, to reduce emissions, or decarbonize, may require us to upgrade or retrofit our vessels or operate them in a certain way. As a result, we may be required to take our vessels out of service for extended periods of time, with corresponding losses of revenues. Market conditions may not justify these expenditures or enable us to operate our vessels profitably.

Our international operations expose us to political, governmental and economic instability, which could harm our operations.

Our operations are conducted in various countries, and they may be affected by economic, political and governmental conditions in the countries where we engage in business or where our vessels are registered. Any disruption caused by these factors could harm our business, including by reducing the levels of oil exploration, development and production activities in these areas. We may derive some of our revenues from shipping oil from politically unstable regions. Conflicts in these regions have included attacks on ships and other efforts to disrupt shipping. Hostilities or other political instability in regions where we operate or where we may operate could have a material adverse effect on the growth of our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. In addition, tariffs, trade embargoes and other economic sanctions by the United States or other countries as a result of terrorist attacks, hostilities or otherwise may limit trading activities with those countries, which could also harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. The Russian war with Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East, in addition to sanctions announced by President Biden and several European leaders against Russia and any forthcoming sanctions, may adversely impact our business. Finally, a government could requisition one or more of our vessels, which is more likely during war or national emergency. Any such requisition would cause a loss of the vessel and/or a termination of the charter and could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Marine transportation is inherently risky, particularly in the extreme conditions in which our vessels operate. An incident involving significant loss of product or environmental contamination by any of our vessels could harm our reputation and business.

Vessels and their cargoes and the oil production facilities we service are at risk of being damaged or lost because of events such as:

marine disasters;
bad weather;
mechanical failures;
grounding, capsizing, fire, explosions and collisions;
piracy;
human error; and

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war and terrorism.

Harsh weather conditions in the North Sea and other regions in which our vessels operate may increase the risk of collisions, oil spills or mechanical failures.

An accident involving any of our vessels could result in any of the following:

death or injury to persons, loss of property or damage to the environment and natural resources;
delays in the delivery of cargo;
loss of revenues from charters;
liabilities or costs to recover any spilled oil or other petroleum products and to restore the ecosystem affected by the spill;
governmental fines, penalties or restrictions on conducting business;
higher insurance rates; and
damage to our reputation and customer relationships generally.

Any of these results could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. In addition, any damage to, or environmental contamination involving, oil production facilities serviced could suspend that service and result in loss of revenues.

Our insurance may not be sufficient to cover losses that may occur to our property or as a result of our operations.

The operation of shuttle tankers is inherently risky. All risks may not be adequately insured against, and any particular claim may not be paid by insurance. Any claims relating to our operations covered by insurance would be subject to deductibles, and since it is possible that a large number of claims may be brought, the aggregate amount of these deductibles could be material. Certain insurance is maintained through mutual protection and indemnity associations (“P&I clubs”), and as a member of such associations we may be required to make additional payments over and above budgeted premiums if member claims exceed association reserves.

We may be unable to procure adequate insurance at commercially reasonable rates in the future. For example, more stringent environmental regulations have led in the past to increased costs for, and in the future may result in the lack of availability of, insurance against risks of environmental damage or pollution. In addition, we cannot predict the impact that the recent maritime incident involving the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore will have on our insurance. A catastrophic oil spill or marine disaster could exceed the insurance, and any uninsured or underinsured loss could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. In addition, the insurance may be voidable by the insurers as a result of certain actions, such as vessels failing to maintain certification with applicable maritime self-regulatory organizations.

Changes in the insurance markets attributable to terrorist attacks may also make certain types of insurance more difficult to obtain. In addition, the insurance that may be available may be significantly more expensive than existing coverage.

Terrorist attacks, piracy, increased hostilities or war could lead to further economic instability, increased costs and disruption of business.

Terrorist attacks, piracy and the current conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and other current and future conflicts, may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to raise capital and future growth.

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The Russian war with Ukraine and the current conflicts in the Middle East may lead to further regional and international conflicts or armed action. It is possible that such conflict could further disrupt supply chains and cause instability in the global economy. Additionally, the Russian war could result in the imposition of further economic sanctions by the United States, the European Union and other nations against Russia. While much uncertainty remains regarding the global impact of these conflicts, it is possible that an expansion of the conflicts to other areas could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. Furthermore, it is possible that third parties with whom we contract may be impacted by any such expansion of events, which could then adversely affect our operations.

Continuing hostilities in the Middle East may lead to additional armed conflicts or to further acts of terrorism and civil disturbance in the United States or elsewhere, which may contribute further to economic instability and disruption of oil production and distribution, which could result in reduced demand for our services.

In addition, oil production facilities, shipyards, vessels, pipelines, oil fields or other infrastructure could be targets of future terrorist attacks and our vessels could be targets of pirates or hijackers. Any such attacks could lead to, among other things, bodily injury or loss of life, vessel or other property damage, increased vessel operational costs, including insurance costs, and the inability to transport oil to or from certain locations. Terrorist attacks, war, piracy, hijacking or other events beyond our control that adversely affect the distribution, production or transportation of oil to be shipped by us could entitle customers to terminate their charters, which would harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Acts of piracy on ocean-going vessels could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Acts of piracy have historically affected ocean-going vessels trading in regions of the world such as the South China Sea and the Gulf of Aden and, more recently, the Red Sea. If such piracy attacks result in regions in which our vessels are deployed being named on the Joint War Committee Listed Areas, war-risk insurance premiums payable for such coverage could increase significantly and such insurance coverage might become more difficult to obtain. In addition, crew costs, including costs that may be incurred to the extent we employ onboard security guards, could increase in such circumstances. We may not be adequately insured to cover losses from these incidents, which could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, hijacking as a result of an act of piracy against our vessels, or an increase in cost or unavailability of insurance for our vessels, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Vessels transporting oil are subject to substantial environmental and other regulations, which may significantly limit operations or increase expenses.

Our operations are affected by extensive and changing international, national and local environmental protection laws, regulations, treaties and conventions in force in international waters and the jurisdictional waters of the countries in which our vessels operate, as well as the countries of our vessels’ registration, including those governing oil spills, air emissions, discharges to water and the handling and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. Many of these requirements are designed to reduce the risk of oil spills and other pollution. Additional requirements may take effect or be adopted in the future that could limit operations or further increase expenses. For example, under IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI, effective January 1, 2020, absent the installation of expensive sulfur scrubbers to meet reduced emission requirements for sulfur, the maximum sulfur content in fuels used by the marine sector in all seas, including our vessels, was lowered from 3.5% to 0.5% sulfur. These low sulfur fuel requirements are generally referred to as IMO 2020.

In addition, we believe that the heightened environmental, safety and security concerns of insurance underwriters, regulators and charterers will generally lead to additional regulatory requirements, including enhanced risk assessment and security requirements and greater inspection and safety requirements on vessels. These requirements are likely to add incremental costs to our operations and the failure to comply with these requirements may affect the ability of our vessels to obtain the required certificates for entry into the different ports where we operate and could also impact our ability to obtain insurance. We may incur substantial expenses in complying with these laws and regulations, including expenses for vessel modifications and changes in operating procedures.

These requirements can affect the resale value or useful lives of our vessels, require a reduction in cargo capacity, ship modifications or operational changes or restrictions, lead to decreased availability of insurance coverage for environmental matters or result in the denial of access to certain jurisdictional waters or ports or detention in certain ports.

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Under local, national and foreign laws, as well as international treaties and conventions, we could incur material liabilities, including cleanup obligations, natural resource damage claims and fines and penalties in the event that there is a release of petroleum or hazardous substances from our vessels or otherwise in connection with our operations. We could also become subject to personal injury or property damage claims relating to the release of petroleum or hazardous substances associated with our operations. In addition, oil spills and failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations may result in administrative and civil penalties, criminal sanctions or the suspension or termination of our operations, including, in certain instances, seizure or detention of our vessels. Please read “Item 4. Information on the Partnership—Business Overview—Environmental and Other Regulation.”

Exposure to currency exchange rate fluctuations results in fluctuations in cash flows and operating results.

Our reporting currency and the functional currency of our operating subsidiaries is the U.S. Dollar. Certain of our operating subsidiaries are party to technical management agreements with KNOT Management, which govern the crew, technical and commercial management of the vessels in our fleet. Under the technical management agreements, KNOT Management is paid for reasonable direct and indirect expenses incurred in providing the services, including operating expenses relating to our fleet. A majority of the operating expenses are in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. Fluctuating exchange rates may result in increased payments by us under the services agreements if the strength of the U.S. Dollar declines relative to such other currencies.

Many seafaring employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements and the failure to renew those agreements or any future labor agreements may disrupt operations and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

A significant portion of seafarers that crew certain of our vessels are employed under collective bargaining agreements. We and our operating subsidiaries may become subject to additional labor agreements in the future. We and our operating subsidiaries may suffer labor disruptions if relationships deteriorate with the seafarers or the unions that represent them. The collective bargaining agreements may not prevent labor disruptions, particularly when the agreements are being renegotiated. Salaries for seafarers are typically renegotiated annually or bi-annually, and higher compensation levels will increase our costs of operations. Although these negotiations have not caused labor disruptions in the past, any future labor disruptions could harm our operations and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

KNOT may on our behalf be unable to attract and retain qualified, skilled employees or crew necessary to operate our business or may have to pay substantially increased costs for its employees and crew, including due to disruptions caused by a pandemic or other transmissible disease.

Our success depends in large part on KNOT’s ability to attract, hire, train and retain highly skilled and qualified personnel. In crewing our vessels, we require technically skilled employees with specialized training who can perform physically demanding work. Competition to attract, hire, train and retain qualified crew members is intense, and crew manning costs continue to increase. If we are not able to increase our hire rates to compensate for any crew cost increases, our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders may be adversely affected. Furthermore, should there be a pandemic or an outbreak of a transmissible disease on board, adequate crewing my not be available to fulfill the obligations under our contracts. In such a situation we could face (i) difficulty in finding healthy qualified replacement officers and crew; (ii) local or international transport or quarantine restrictions limiting the ability to transfer infected crew members off the vessel or bring new crew on board; or (iii) restrictions in availability of supplies needed on board due to disruptions to third-party suppliers or transportation alternatives. Any inability we experience in the future to attract, hire, train and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees could impair our ability to manage, maintain and grow our business.

Outbreaks of epidemics and pandemics may adversely affect our business.

Our operations are subject to risks related to outbreaks of infectious diseases. Epidemics, pandemics or other health crises may, similar to the prior outbreak of COVID-19, materially impact the Partnership’s operations and the operations of its customers and suppliers.

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The closure of, or restricted access to, ports and terminals and passenger air travel in regions affected by any outbreak of any infectious disease could lead to operational impacts that could result in higher costs. It is possible that an outbreak onboard a time-chartered vessel could prevent the Partnership from meeting its obligations under a charter, resulting in an off-hire claim and loss of revenue.  Any outbreak on board one of the Partnership’s time-chartered vessels or that affects any of the Partnership’s main suppliers could cause an inability to replace critical supplies or parts, maintain adequate crewing or fulfill the Partnership’s obligations under its time charter contracts, which in turn could result in off-hire or claims for the impacted period.

Announced delays in new capital expenditure by many oil majors in 2020 and 2021 had a negative impact on the demand for shuttle tankers. This affected the timing and number of new, offshore projects and overall oil production profiles in the short-term, which impacted the demand and pricing for shuttle tankers. If this situation persists, the Partnership may be unable to re-charter its vessels at attractive rates in the future, particularly for vessels that are coming off charter in the next one to two years.

The Partnership is exposed to the credit risk associated with individual charterers. Any extended period of idle time between charters or non-payment caused by issues related to any outbreak of an infectious disease or otherwise could adversely affect the Partnership’s future liquidity, results of operations and cash flows. No assurance can be given that customers will meet their obligations and will not request concessions or changes to payment terms in the event of any outbreak.

COVID-19 has also had a sustained impact on global capital markets. In these current market conditions, issuing new common equity remains a less viable and more expensive option for accessing liquidity. Approximately $63.4 million of the Partnership’s debt is due to be repaid or refinanced during 2024 Although the Partnership expects to refinance its debt as it matures, it may be unable to do so on satisfactory terms or on a timely basis. In such event, the Partnership may not have sufficient funds or other assets to satisfy all of its obligations, which would have a material adverse effect on its business, results of operations and financial condition.

Maritime claimants could arrest our vessels, which could interrupt our cash flow.

If we are in default on some kinds of obligations, such as those to our lenders, crew members, suppliers of goods and services to our vessels or shippers of cargo, these parties may be entitled to a maritime lien against one or more of our vessels. In many jurisdictions, a maritime lien holder may enforce its lien by arresting a vessel through foreclosure proceedings. In a few jurisdictions, claimants could try to assert “sister ship” liability against one vessel in our fleet for claims relating to another of our vessels. The arrest or attachment of one or more of our vessels could interrupt our cash flows and require us to pay to have the arrest lifted. Under some of our present charters, if the vessel is arrested or detained as a result of a claim against us, we may be in default of our charter and the charterer may terminate the charter. This would negatively impact our revenues and reduce our cash available for distribution to unitholders.

Lack of diversification and adverse developments in the shuttle tanker market or the conventional oil tanker market would negatively impact our results.

Although our vessels are also able to operate as conventional oil tankers, we are focused on using them as dynamic positioning shuttle tankers. Due to challenges in the North Sea shuttle tanker market, we have recently considered opportunities for our North Sea-based vessels in the conventional tanker market as a potential alternate source of income and employment. However, in practice, the all-in returns from conventional tanker employment may be insufficient once utilization and fuel costs are considered. Due to our lack of diversification, adverse developments in the shuttle tanker market and/or the conventional oil tanker market would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

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If in the future our business activities involve countries, entities and individuals that are subject to restrictions imposed by the U.S. or other governments, we could be subject to enforcement action and our reputation and the market for our common units could be adversely affected.

The tightening of U.S. sanctions in recent years has affected non-U.S. companies. In particular, sanctions against Iran have been significantly expanded. In 2012, for example, the U.S. signed into law the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (“TRA”), which placed further restrictions on the ability of non-U.S. companies to do business or trade with Iran and Syria. A major provision in the TRA is that issuers of securities must disclose to the SEC in their annual and quarterly reports filed after February 6, 2013 if the issuer or “any affiliate” has “knowingly” engaged in certain activities involving Iran during the timeframe covered by the report. This disclosure obligation is broad in scope in that it requires the reporting of activity that would not be considered a violation of U.S. sanctions as well as violative conduct and is not subject to a materiality threshold. The SEC publishes these disclosures on its website and the President of the United States must initiate an investigation in response to all disclosures.

In addition to the sanctions against Iran, the U.S. also has sanctions that target other countries, entities and individuals. For example, sanctions announced by President Biden and several European nations against Russia and any forthcoming sanctions may adversely impact our business. Many of these sanctions have certain extraterritorial effects that need to be considered by non-U.S. companies. It should also be noted that other governments have implemented similar sanctions. For example, Norway, the EU and the United Kingdom have expanded restrictive measures against Russia and certain Russian businesses and individuals. We believe that we are in compliance with all applicable sanctions and embargo laws and regulations imposed by the U.S., Norway, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and EU countries and intend to maintain such compliance. However, there can be no assurance that we will be in compliance in the future, particularly as the scope of certain laws may be unclear and may be subject to changing interpretations. Any such violation could result in fines or other penalties and could result in some investors deciding, or being required, to divest their interest, or not to invest, in our common units. Additionally, some investors may decide to divest their interest, or not to invest, in our common units simply because we may do business with companies that do business in sanctioned countries. Investor perception of the value of our common units may also be adversely affected by the consequences of war, the effects of terrorism, civil unrest and governmental actions in these and surrounding countries.

Failure to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, the anti-corruption provisions in the Norwegian Criminal Code and other anti-bribery legislation in other jurisdictions could result in fines, criminal penalties, contract termination and an adverse effect on our business.

We may operate in a number of countries throughout the world, including countries known to have a high risk of corruption. We are committed to doing business in accordance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics. We are subject, however, to the risk that we, our affiliated entities or our or their respective officers, directors, employees and agents may take actions determined to be in violation of anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, the Bribery Act 2010 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the anti-corruption provisions of the Norwegian Criminal Code of 1902. Any such violation could result in substantial fines, sanctions, civil and/or criminal penalties, curtailment of operations in certain jurisdictions, and might adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. In addition, actual or alleged violations could damage our reputation and ability to do business. Furthermore, detecting, investigating, and resolving actual or alleged violations is expensive and could consume significant time and attention of our senior management.

A cyber-attack could materially disrupt our business.

We rely on information technology systems and networks in our operations, the majority of which are provided by KNOT Management, as well as those of our third party vendors, suppliers and other business partners in the administration of our business. Our operations could be targeted by individuals or groups seeking to sabotage or disrupt our information technology systems and networks, or to steal data. A successful cyber-attack could materially disrupt our operations, including the safety of our operations, or lead to unauthorized release of information or alteration of information on our systems or the systems of our service providers, vendors or customers. Any such attack or other breach of our information technology systems or those of our third party service providers, vendors, suppliers or customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, our reputation, or cash flows. We may be required to incur additional costs to modify or enhance our information technology systems or to prevent or remediate any such attacks.

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The Russian war with Ukraine has been accompanied by cyber-attacks against the Ukrainian government and other countries in the region. It is possible that these attacks could have collateral effects on additional critical infrastructure and financial institutions globally, which could adversely affect the Partnership’s operations. It is difficult to assess the likelihood of such threat and any potential impact at this time.

Finally, certain cyber incidents, such as surveillance or reconnaissance, may remain undetected for an extended period. Our systems for protecting against cybersecurity risks may not be sufficient. As cyberattacks continue to evolve, including those leveraging artificial intelligence, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any vulnerabilities to cyberattacks. In addition, new laws and regulations governing data privacy, cybersecurity, and the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information pose increasingly complex compliance challenges and potentially elevate costs, and any failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in significant penalties and legal liability.

Our business is subject to complex and evolving laws, directives and regulations regarding privacy and data protection.

We are subject to laws, directives, and regulations relating to the collection, use, retention, disclosure, security and transfer of personal data (“data protection laws”). These data protection laws, and their interpretation and enforcement, continue to evolve and may be inconsistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which regulates the use of personally identifiable information, went into effect in the EU (“EU”) on May 25, 2018, applies globally to all of our activities conducted from an establishment in the EU, to related products and services that we offer to EU customers and to non-EU customers which offer services in the EU. Complying with the GDPR and similar emerging and changing data protection laws may cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices. Noncompliance, or perceived noncompliance, with our legal obligations relating to data protection laws could result in penalties, fines, legal proceedings by governmental entities or others, loss of reputation, legal claims by individuals and customers and significant legal and financial exposure and could affect our ability to retain and attract customers. As noted above, we are also subject to the possibility of cyber-attacks, which themselves may result in obligations under these laws. . In addition, laws and regulations governing cybersecurity, data privacy, and the unauthorized disclosure of confidential or protected information pose increasingly complex compliance challenges, and failure to comply with these laws could result in penalties and legal liability.

Risks Inherent in an Investment in Us

KNOT and its affiliates may compete with us.

Pursuant to the omnibus agreement we entered into with KNOT at the time of our IPO (the “Omnibus Agreement”), KNOT and its controlled affiliates (other than us, our general partner and our subsidiaries) generally have agreed not to acquire, own, operate or charter certain shuttle tankers operating under charters of five years or more. The Omnibus Agreement, however, contains significant exceptions that may allow KNOT or any of its controlled affiliates to compete with us, which could harm our business. Please read “Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—Related Party Transactions—Omnibus Agreement—Noncompetition.”

Unitholders have limited voting rights, and our partnership agreement restricts the voting rights of Norwegian Resident Holders and unitholders owning more than 4.9% of our common units or Class B Units.

Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, holders of common units have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business. The Class B Units generally vote together with the common units as a single class. We hold a meeting of the limited partners every year to elect one or more members of our board of directors and to vote on any other matters that are properly brought before the meeting. Common unitholders and holders of Class B Units (“Class B Unitholders”) are entitled to elect only four of the seven members of our board of directors. The elected directors are elected on a staggered basis and serve for four-year terms. Our general partner in its sole discretion appoints the remaining three directors and sets the terms for which those directors serve. Our partnership agreement also contains provisions limiting the ability of unitholders to call meetings or to acquire information about our operations, as well as other provisions limiting our unitholders’ ability to influence the manner or direction of management. Unitholders have no right to elect our general partner, and our general partner may not be removed except by a vote of the holders of at least 66⅔% of the outstanding common units and Class B Units, including any common units and Class B Units owned by our general partner and its affiliates, voting together as a single class.

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Our partnership agreement further restricts unitholders’ voting rights by providing that Norwegian Resident Holders are not eligible to vote in the election of elected directors. Further, if any person or group owns beneficially more than 4.9% of any class of units then outstanding (excluding Norwegian Resident Holders in the election of elected directors), any such units owned by that person or group in excess of 4.9% may not be voted on any matter and are not considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes (except for purposes of nominating a person for election to our board of directors), determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes, unless required by law. The voting rights of any unitholders not entitled to vote on a specific matter are effectively redistributed pro rata among the other unitholders. Our general partner, its affiliates and persons who acquire common units or Class B Units with the prior approval of our board of directors are not subject to the 4.9% limitation except with respect to voting their common units or Class B Units in the election of the elected directors. The common units and the Class B Units will be treated as two separate classes of partnership interests for purposes of the 4.9% limitation, which will apply separately to the holders of common units and to the holders of Class B Units.

KNOT and its affiliates own a substantial interest in us and have conflicts of interest and limited fiduciary and contractual duties to us and our common unitholders, which may permit them to favor their own interests to the detriment of our unitholders.

As of April 11, 2024, KNOT owned 28.4% of our common units and all of our Class B Units, and owned and controlled our general partner, which owns a 1.83% general partner interest in us and 0.3% of our common units. Certain of our directors are directors of KNOT or its affiliates, and, as such, they have fiduciary duties to KNOT or its affiliates that may cause them to pursue business strategies that disproportionately benefit KNOT or its affiliates or which otherwise are not in the best interests of us or our unitholders. Conflicts of interest may arise between KNOT and its affiliates (including our general partner), on the one hand, and us and our unitholders, on the other hand. As a result of these conflicts, our general partner and its affiliates may favor their own interests over the interests of our unitholders. Please read “—Our partnership agreement limits our general partner’s and our directors’ fiduciary duties to our unitholders and restricts the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by our general partner or our directors.” These conflicts include, among others, the following situations:

neither our partnership agreement nor any other agreement requires our general partner or KNOT or its affiliates to pursue a business strategy that favors us or utilizes our assets, and KNOT’s officers and directors have a fiduciary duty to make decisions in the best interests of the shareholders of KNOT, which may be contrary to our interests;
our partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner. Specifically, our general partner is considered to be acting in its individual capacity if it exercises its call right, pre-emptive rights or registration rights, consents or withholds consent to any merger or consolidation of the Partnership, appoints any directors or votes for the election of any director, votes or refrains from voting on amendments to our partnership agreement that require a vote of the outstanding units, voluntarily withdraws from the Partnership, transfers (to the extent permitted under our partnership agreement) or refrains from transferring its units or general partner interest or votes upon the dissolution of the Partnership;
our general partner and our directors have limited their liabilities and reduced their fiduciary duties under the laws of the Marshall Islands, while also restricting the remedies available to our unitholders, and, as a result of purchasing common units, unitholders are treated as having agreed to the modified standard of fiduciary duties and to certain actions that may be taken by our general partner and our directors, all as set forth in our partnership agreement;
our general partner is entitled to reimbursement of all reasonable costs incurred by it and its affiliates for our benefit;
our partnership agreement does not restrict us from paying our general partner or its affiliates for any services rendered to us on terms that are fair and reasonable or entering into additional contractual arrangements with any of these entities on our behalf;
our general partner may exercise its right to call and purchase our common units if it and its affiliates own more than 80.0% of our common units and Class B Units; and
our general partner is not obligated to obtain a fairness opinion regarding the value of the common units to be repurchased by it upon the exercise of its limited call right.

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Although a majority of our directors have been elected by common unitholders, our general partner has substantial influence on decisions made by our board of directors. Please read “Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions.”

Our partnership agreement limits our general partner’s and our directors’ fiduciary duties to our unitholders and restricts the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by our general partner or our directors.

Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner irrevocably delegates to our board of directors the authority to oversee and direct our operations, management and policies on an exclusive basis, and such delegation is binding on any successor general partner of the Partnership. Our partnership agreement also contains provisions that reduce the standards to which our general partner and directors would otherwise be held by Marshall Islands law. For example, our partnership agreement:

permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner. Where our partnership agreement permits, our general partner may consider only the interests and factors that it desires, and in such cases it has no fiduciary duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting us, our affiliates or our unitholders. Decisions made by our general partner in its individual capacity are made by its board of directors, which is appointed by KNOT. Specifically, pursuant to our partnership agreement, our general partner is considered to be acting in its individual capacity if it exercises its call right, pre-emptive rights or registration rights, consents or withholds consent to any merger or consolidation of the Partnership, appoints any directors or votes for the election of any director, votes or refrains from voting on amendments to our partnership agreement that require a vote of the outstanding units, voluntarily withdraws from the Partnership, transfers (to the extent permitted under our partnership agreement) or refrains from transferring its units or general partner interest or votes upon the dissolution of the Partnership;
provides that our general partner and our directors are entitled to make other decisions in “good faith” if they reasonably believe that the decision is in our best interests;
generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not approved by the conflicts committee of our board of directors and not involving a vote of unitholders must be on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties or be “fair and reasonable” to us and that, in determining whether a transaction or resolution is “fair and reasonable,” our board of directors may consider the totality of the relationships between the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly advantageous or beneficial to us; and
provides that neither our general partner nor our officers or our directors is liable for monetary damages to us, our limited partners or assignees for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our general partner or our officers or directors or those other persons engaged in actual fraud or willful misconduct.

In order to become a limited partner of our partnership, a common unitholder is required to agree to be bound by the provisions in our partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed above.

Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner delegates all its management activities in relation to us to our board of directors, and arrangements are in place such that any activities that would otherwise constitute regulated activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities Order) 2001 were they to be performed in the United Kingdom (and that would not fall within a suitable exemption) are performed outside of the United Kingdom.

However, there can be no assurance that this will not change (deliberately or otherwise) over time, and there is no current intention for our general partner, us or any of our subsidiaries to seek authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, which would be required for any person to lawfully carry out such regulated activities in the United Kingdom.

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Fees and cost reimbursements, which affiliates of KNOT determine for services provided to us and our subsidiaries, are substantial, payable regardless of our profitability and reduce our cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

Pursuant to technical management agreements, our subsidiaries that own vessels operating under time charters pay fees for services provided to them by KNOT Management and reimburse KNOT Management for all expenses incurred on their behalf. These fees and expenses include all costs and expenses incurred in providing the crew, technical and commercial management of the vessels in our fleet to our subsidiaries. Additionally, our subsidiaries that own vessels operating under bareboat charters have entered into management and administration agreements with either KNOT Management or KNOT Management Denmark pursuant to which these companies provide general monitoring services for the vessels in exchange for an annual fee.

In addition, pursuant to an administrative services agreement, KNOT UK provides us with certain administrative services. KNOT UK is permitted to subcontract certain of the administrative services provided to us under this agreement to KOAS UK, KOAS and KNOT Management. We reimburse KNOT UK, and KNOT UK reimburses KOAS UK, KOAS and KNOT Management, as applicable, for their reasonable costs and expenses incurred in connection with the provision of the services subcontracted to KOAS UK, KOAS and KNOT Management under the administrative services agreement. In addition, KNOT UK pays to KOAS UK, KOAS and KNOT Management, as applicable, a service fee in U.S. Dollars equal to 5% of the costs and expenses incurred in connection with providing services.

For a description of the technical management agreements, management and administration agreements and the administrative services agreement, please read “Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions.” The fees and expenses payable pursuant to the technical management agreements, management and administration agreements and the administrative services agreement are payable without regard to our business, results of operation and financial condition. The payment of fees to and the reimbursement of expenses of affiliates of KNOT could adversely affect our ability to pay cash distributions to our unitholders.

Our partnership agreement contains provisions that may have the effect of discouraging a person or group from attempting to remove our current management or our general partner, and even if public unitholders are dissatisfied, they are unable to remove our general partner without KNOT’s consent, unless KNOT’s ownership interest in us is decreased, all of which could diminish the trading price of our common units.

Our partnership agreement contains provisions that may have the effect of discouraging a person or group from attempting to remove our current management or our general partner.

If our general partner is removed without “cause” and units held by our general partner and KNOT are not voted in favor of that removal, our general partner has the right to convert its general partner interest into common units or to receive cash in exchange for such interest based on the fair market value of such interest at the time. Any conversion of the general partner interest would be dilutive to existing unitholders. Furthermore, any cash payment in lieu of such conversion could be prohibitively expensive. “Cause” is narrowly defined to mean that a court of competent jurisdiction has entered a final, non-appealable judgment finding our general partner liable for actual fraud or willful or wanton misconduct in its capacity as our general partner. Cause does not include most cases of charges of poor business decisions, such as charges of poor management of our business by the directors appointed by our general partner.
Common unitholders are entitled to elect only four of the seven members of our board of directors. Our general partner in its sole discretion appoints the remaining three directors.
Election of the four directors elected by common unitholders is staggered, meaning that the members of only one of four classes of our elected directors are selected each year. In addition, the directors appointed by our general partner serve for terms determined by our general partner.
Our partnership agreement contains provisions limiting the ability of unitholders to call meetings of unitholders, to nominate directors and to acquire information about our operations as well as other provisions limiting our unitholders’ ability to influence the manner or direction of management.

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Unitholders’ voting rights are further restricted by our partnership agreement provision providing that if any person or group owns beneficially more than 4.9% of any class of units then outstanding, any such units owned by that person or group in excess of 4.9% may not be voted on any matter and are not considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes (except for purposes of nominating a person for election to our board of directors), determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes, unless required by law. The voting rights of any such unitholders in excess of 4.9% effectively are redistributed pro rata among the other unitholders holding less than 4.9% of the voting power of all classes of units entitled to vote. Our general partner, its affiliates and persons who acquire common units or Class B Units with the prior approval of our board of directors are not subject to this 4.9% limitation except with respect to voting their common units or Class B Units in the election of the elected directors.

There are no restrictions in our partnership agreement on our ability to issue equity securities.

The effect of these provisions may be to diminish the price at which the common units trade.

The control of our general partner may be transferred to a third party without unitholder consent.

Our general partner may transfer its general partner interest to a third party in a merger or in a sale of all or substantially all of its assets without the consent of our unitholders. In addition, our partnership agreement does not restrict the ability of the members of our general partner from transferring their respective membership interests in our general partner to a third party.

Substantial future sales of our common units or the issuance of additional preferred units could cause the price of our common units to fall.

The market price of our common units could decline due to sales of a large number of units, or the issuance of debt securities or warrants, in the market, or the perception that these sales could occur. These sales could also make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate to raise funds through future offerings of common units.

We have granted registration rights to KNOT and certain of its affiliates. These unitholders have the right, subject to some conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering any of our common or other equity securities owned by them or to include those securities in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other unitholders. As of April 11, 2024, KNOT and our general partner owned 28.6% of the common units and all of the Class B Units. We have also entered into a registration rights agreement with the holders of the Series A Preferred Units, pursuant to which we filed a registration statement to register resales of the common units underlying the Series A Preferred Units. Following their sale, these securities will become freely tradable. By exercising their registration rights and selling a large number of common units or other securities, our securityholders with registration rights could cause the price of our common units to decline.

Our common units are subordinated to our existing and future indebtedness and our Series A Preferred Units.

Our common units are equity interests in us and do not constitute indebtedness. The common units rank junior to all indebtedness and other non-equity claims on us with respect to the assets available to satisfy claims, including a liquidation of the Partnership. Additionally, holders of the common units are subject to the prior distribution and liquidation rights of the holders of the Series A Preferred Units and any other preferred units we may issue in the future.

As long as our outstanding Series A Preferred Units remain outstanding, distribution payments relating to our common units are prohibited under our partnership agreement until all accrued and unpaid distributions are paid on the Series A Preferred Units.

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We may issue additional equity securities, including a limited amount of securities senior to the common units, without the approval of our unitholders, which would dilute their ownership interests.

We may, without the approval of our unitholders, issue an unlimited number of additional common units. In addition, we may issue units that are senior to the common units in right of distribution, liquidation and voting, provided that the aggregate amount of our Series A Preferred Units and any other securities on parity with the Series A Preferred Units, pro forma for such issuance, does not exceed 33.33% of the book value of the sum of our then outstanding aggregate amount of parity securities and junior securities (including the common units). The consent of the holders of the Series A Preferred Units will be necessary for us to issue any parity securities (or securities senior to our Series A Preferred Units) in excess of such pro forma book value.

The issuance by us of additional common units or other equity securities of equal or senior rank will have the following effects:

our unitholders’ proportionate ownership interest in us will decrease;
the amount of cash available for distribution on each unit may decrease;
the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding unit may be diminished; and
the market price of the common units may decline.

A substantial number of our common units may be issued upon conversion of our Series A Preferred Units or Class B Units or as redemption payments in respect of our Series A Preferred Units, which issuances could reduce the value of our common units.

Our Series A Preferred Units are convertible, under certain circumstances, at the applicable conversion rate, which is subject to adjustment under certain circumstances. The conversion rate will be redetermined on a quarterly basis, such that the conversion rate will be equal to $24.00 (the “Issue Price”) divided by the product of (x) the book value per common unit at the end of the immediately preceding quarter (pro-forma for per unit cash distributions payable with respect to such quarter) multiplied by (y) the quotient of (i) the Issue Price divided by (ii) the book value per common unit on the initial issuance date of the Series A Preferred Units.

The Series A Preferred Units are generally convertible, at the option of the holders of the Series A Preferred Units, into common units at the then applicable conversion rate. In addition, we may redeem the Series A Preferred Units at any time before February 2, 2027 at the redemption price applicable on any such redemption date, provided, however, that upon notice from us to the holders of Series A Preferred Units of our intention to redeem, such holders may elect, instead, to convert their Series A Preferred Units into common units at the then applicable conversion rate. In addition, subject to certain conditions, we may convert the Series A Preferred Units into common units at the then applicable conversion rate. Upon a change of control of the Partnership, the holders of Series A Preferred Units may require us to redeem the Series A Preferred Units, in cash, at 100% of the Issue Price. Further, the holders of Series A Preferred Units may cause us to redeem the Series A Preferred Units on February 2, 2027 in, at our option, (i) cash at a price equal to 70% of the Issue Price or (ii) common units such that each Series A Preferred Unit receives common units worth 80% of the Issue Price. The value (and, therefore, the number) of the common units to be delivered pursuant thereto will be determined based on the volume-weighted average trading price, as adjusted for splits, combinations and other similar transactions, of our common units as reported on the NYSE for the 30-trading day period ending on the fifth trading day immediately prior to the redemption date.

The Class B Units are a class of limited partner interests which are not entitled to receive cash distributions in any quarter unless common unitholders receive a distribution of at least $0.52 for such quarter (the “Distribution Threshold”). When common unitholders receive a quarterly distribution at least equal to the Distribution Threshold, then Class B unitholders will be entitled to receive the same distribution as common unitholders. For each quarter (starting with the quarter ended September 30, 2021) that the Partnership pays distributions on the common units that are at or above the Distribution Threshold, one-eighth of the Class B Units originally issued will be converted to common units on a one-for-one basis until such time as no further Class B Units exist. As of April 11, 2024 a total of 420,675 of the Class B Units had converted to common units on a one-to-one basis, and 252,405 Class B Units remain outstanding.

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If a substantial portion of the Series A Preferred Units or the Class B Units are converted into common units, or the Series A Preferred Units are redeemed under certain circumstances, common unitholders could experience significant dilution. Furthermore, if holders of such Series A Preferred Units or Class B Units were to dispose of a substantial portion of these common units in the public market following such a conversion, whether in a single transaction or series of transactions, it could adversely affect the market price for our common units. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, could make it more difficult for us to sell our common units in the future.

The number of our common units issuable upon conversion or redemption under certain circumstances of the Series A Preferred Units will be impacted by, among other things, the level of our quarterly cash distributions, as the conversion rate is redetermined each quarter, based on the pro forma per unit cash distributions we make on our common units (as described above) and the market price of our common units. Accordingly, the number of common units issuable upon conversion or redemption under certain circumstances could be substantial, especially during periods of significant declines in market prices of our common units or if we experience certain events, such as, among other things, a decline in the value of our vessels that results in an impairment or write-down of the value of our vessels or a write-off of any goodwill, decline in the fair value of our derivative instruments, change in accounting principle that results in a decline in our book value, or other event that results in a decline in our book value.

The issuance of common units upon conversion of our Series A Preferred Units or Class B Units or redemption under certain circumstances of our Series A Preferred Units may have the following effects:

an existing unitholder’s proportionate ownership interest in us will decrease;
the amount of cash available for distribution on each common unit may decrease;
the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding common unit may be diminished; and
the market price of our common units may decline.

The market price of our common units is likely to be influenced by the Series A Preferred Units and Class B Units. For example, the market price of our common units could become more volatile and could be depressed by:

investors’ anticipation of the potential resale in the market of a substantial number of additional common units received upon conversion of the Series A Preferred Units or Class B Units;
possible sales of our common units by investors who view the Series A Preferred Units as a more attractive means of equity participation in us than owning our common units; and
hedging or arbitrage trading activity that may develop involving the Series A Preferred Units and our common units.

Our Series A Preferred Units have rights, preferences and privileges that are not held by, and are preferential to the rights of, holders of our common units.

Our Series A Preferred Units rank senior to all our common units with respect to distribution rights and liquidation preference. These preferences could adversely affect the market price for our common units or could make it more difficult for us to sell our common units in the future.

In addition, distributions on the Series A Preferred Units accrue and are cumulative. Our obligation to pay distributions on our Series A Preferred Units, or on the common units issued following conversion of such Series A Preferred Units, could impact our liquidity and reduce the amount of cash flow available for working capital, capital expenditures, growth opportunities, acquisitions, and other general partnership purposes. Our obligations to the holders of Series A Preferred Units could also limit our ability to obtain additional financing or increase our borrowing costs, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition.

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Our general partner has a limited call right that may require our unitholders to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price.

If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80.0% of the common units and Class B Units, our general partner has the right, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, but not the obligation, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the common units held by unaffiliated persons at a price not less than the then-current market price of our common units. Our general partner is not obligated to obtain a fairness opinion regarding the value of the common units to be repurchased by it upon the exercise of this limited call right. As a result, our unitholders may be required to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return on their investment. Our unitholders may also incur a tax liability upon a sale of their units.

As of April 11, 2024, KNOT and our general partner owned 29.2% of the combined total of our common units and Class B Units.

Our unitholders may not have limited liability if a court finds that unitholder action constitutes control of our business.

As a limited partner in a partnership organized under the laws of the Marshall Islands, our unitholders could be held liable for our obligations to the same extent as a general partner if our unitholders participate in the “control” of our business. Our general partner generally has unlimited liability for the obligations of the Partnership, such as its debts and environmental liabilities. In addition, the limitations on the liability of holders of limited partner interests for the obligations of a limited partnership have not been clearly established in some jurisdictions in which we do business.

We can borrow money to pay distributions, which would reduce the amount of credit available to operate our business.

Our partnership agreement allows us to make working capital borrowings to pay distributions. Accordingly, if we have available borrowing capacity, we can make distributions on all our units even though cash generated by our operations may not be sufficient to pay such distributions. Any working capital borrowings by us to make distributions reduces the amount of working capital borrowings we can make for operating our business. For more information, please read “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Increases in interest rates may cause the market price of our common units to decline.

An increase in interest rates may cause a corresponding decline in demand for equity investments in general, and in particular for yield-based equity investments such as our common units. Any such increase in interest rates or reduction in demand for our common units resulting from other relatively more attractive investment opportunities may cause the trading price of our common units to decline.

We rely on the master limited partnership (“MLP”) structure and its appeal to investors for accessing debt and equity markets to finance our growth and repay or refinance our debt. The volatility in energy prices over the past few years has, among other factors, caused increased volatility and contributed to a dislocation in pricing for MLPs.

The volatility in energy prices and, in particular, the price of oil, among other factors, has contributed to increased volatility in the pricing of MLPs and the energy debt markets. A number of MLPs, including us and certain other maritime MLPs, have reduced or eliminated their distributions to unitholders.

We rely on our ability to obtain financing and to raise capital in the equity and debt markets to fund our capital replacement, growth and investment expenditures, and to refinance our debt. A protracted deterioration in the valuation of our common units would increase our cost of capital, make any equity issuance significantly dilutive and may affect our ability to access capital markets and, as a result, our capacity to pay distributions to our unitholders and service or refinance our debt.

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Unitholders may have liability to repay distributions.

Under some circumstances, unitholders may have to repay amounts wrongfully returned or distributed to them. Under the Marshall Islands Limited Partnership Act (the “Marshall Islands Act”), we may not make a distribution to our unitholders if the distribution would cause our liabilities, other than liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interest and liabilities for which the recourse of creditors is limited to specified property of ours, to exceed the fair value of our assets, except that the fair value of property that is subject to a liability for which the recourse of creditors is limited will be included in our assets only to the extent that the fair value of that property exceeds that liability. Marshall Islands law provides that for a period of three years from the date of the impermissible distribution, limited partners who received the distribution and who knew at the time of the distribution that it violated Marshall Islands law will be liable to the limited partnership for the distribution amount. Assignees who become substituted limited partners are liable for the obligations of the assignor to make contributions to the limited partnership that are known to the assignee at the time it became a limited partner and for unknown obligations if the liabilities could be determined from our partnership agreement.

We have been organized as a limited partnership under the laws of the Marshall Islands, which does not have a well-developed body of partnership law.

Our partnership affairs are governed by our partnership agreement and by the Marshall Islands Act. The provisions of the Marshall Islands Act resemble provisions of the limited partnership laws of a number of states in the United States, most notably Delaware. For non-resident limited partnerships such as ours, the Marshall Islands Act also provides that it is to be applied and construed to make it, with respect to the subject matter thereof, uniform with the laws of the State of Delaware and, so long as it does not conflict with the Marshall Islands Act or decisions of the High and Supreme Courts of the Marshall Islands, the non-statutory law (or case law) of the State of Delaware is adopted as the law of the Marshall Islands. There have been, however, few, if any, court cases in the Marshall Islands interpreting the Marshall Islands Act, in contrast to Delaware, which has a fairly well-developed body of case law interpreting its limited partnership statute. Accordingly, we cannot predict whether Marshall Islands courts would reach the same conclusions as the courts in Delaware. For example, the rights of our unitholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our general partner under Marshall Islands law are not as clearly established as under judicial precedent in existence in Delaware. As a result, unitholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions by our general partner and its officers and directors than would unitholders of a similarly organized limited partnership in the United States.

Because we and KNOT UK are Marshall Islands entities, our operations are subject to economic substance requirements, which could harm our business.

The Council of the European Union, or the Council, routinely publishes a list of “non-cooperative jurisdictions” for tax purposes, which includes countries that the Council believes need to improve their legal framework and to work towards compliance with international standards in taxation. On February 14, 2023, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, among others, was placed by the EU on the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for lacking in the enforcement of economic substance requirements and was removed from the list in October 2023. EU member states have agreed upon a set of measures, which they can choose to apply against the listed countries, including increased monitoring and audits, withholding taxes, and non-deductibility of costs, and although we are not currently aware of any such measures being adopted, they can be adopted by one or more EU members states in the future. The European Commission has stated it will continue to support member states’ efforts to develop a more coordinated approach to sanctions for the listed countries. EU legislation prohibits certain EU funds from being channeled or transited through entities in non-cooperative jurisdictions.

We are a Marshall Islands limited partnership and KNOT UK is a Marshall Islands limited liability company. The Marshall Islands has enacted economic substance regulations with which we are obligated to comply. The Marshall Islands economic substance regulations require certain entities that are not otherwise tax resident outside of the Marshall Islands that carry out particular activities to comply with an economic substance test whereby the entity must show that it (i) is directed and managed in the Marshall Islands in relation to that relevant activity, (ii) carries out core income-generating activity in relation to that relevant activity in the Marshall Islands (although it is being understood and acknowledged by the regulators that income-generated activities for shipping companies will generally occur in international waters) and (iii) having regard to the level of relevant activity carried out in the Marshall Islands has (a) an adequate amount of expenditures in the Marshall Islands, (b) adequate physical presence in the Marshall Islands and (c) an adequate number of qualified employees in the Marshall Islands. Based on our current business activities, we believe that we and KNOT UK are not required to comply with this economic substance test.

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In addition, certain jurisdictions have enacted or may enact economic substance laws and regulations with which we may be obligated to comply. If we fail to comply with our obligations under any such laws and regulations, including the Marshall Islands regulations, we could be subject to financial penalties and disclosure of information to foreign tax officials, or could be struck from the register of companies. Any of the foregoing could be disruptive to our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and operating results.

We do not know whether the Marshall Islands will be placed back on the non-cooperative list; what actions the Marshall Islands may take, if any, to remove itself from the list; how quickly the EU would react to any changes in legislation of the Marshall Islands; or how EU banks or other counterparties will react while we or KNOT UK remain as entities organized and existing under the laws of the Marshall Islands. The effect of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, and any noncompliance by us with legislation adopted by the Marshall Islands to achieve removal from the list, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and operating results.

Because we are organized under the laws of the Marshall Islands, it may be difficult to serve us with legal process or enforce judgments against us, our directors or our management.

We are organized under the laws of the Marshall Islands, and substantially all of our assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, our general partner is a Marshall Islands limited liability company, and the substantial majority of our directors and officers generally are or will be non-residents of the United States, and all or a substantial portion of the assets of these non-residents are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for our unitholders to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States if our unitholders believe that their rights have been infringed under securities laws or otherwise. Even if our unitholders are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Marshall Islands and of other jurisdictions may prevent or restrict our unitholders from enforcing a judgment against our assets or the assets of our general partner or our directors or officers.

Our partnership agreement designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our unitholders unless otherwise provided for under the laws of the Marshall Islands. This limits our unitholders’ ability to choose the judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees.

Our partnership agreement provides that, with certain limited exceptions, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for any claims, suits, actions or proceedings (1) arising out of or relating in any way to our partnership agreement (including any claims, suits or actions to interpret, apply or enforce the provisions of our partnership agreement or the duties, obligations or liabilities among limited partners or of limited partners to us, or the rights or powers of, or restrictions on, our limited partners or us); (2) brought in a derivative manner on our behalf; (3) asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of us or our general partner, or owed by our general partner, to us or our limited partners; (4) asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Marshall Islands Act; and (5) asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This exclusive forum provision does not apply to actions arising under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our units is deemed to have received notice of and consented to the foregoing provisions.

Although we believe these provisions will benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law for the specified types of actions and proceedings, the provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, employees and agents. The enforceability of similar forum selection provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation or similar governing documents have been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that, in connection with one or more actions or proceedings described above, a court could find that the forum selection provision contained in our partnership agreement is inapplicable or unenforceable in such action or actions. Limited partners will not be deemed, by operation of the forum selection provision alone, to have waived claims arising under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. If a court were to find this choice of forum provision inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

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Tax Risks

In addition to the following risk factors, you should read “Item 4. Information on the Partnership—Business Overview—Taxation of the Partnership” and “Item 10. Additional Information—Taxation” for a more complete discussion of the expected material U.S. federal and non-U.S. income tax considerations relating to us and the ownership and disposition of our common units.

We are subject to taxes, which reduces our cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

We and our subsidiaries may be subject to tax in the jurisdictions in which we are organized or operate, reducing the amount of cash available for distribution. In computing our tax obligations in these jurisdictions, we are required to take various tax accounting and reporting positions on matters that are not entirely free from doubt and for which we have not received rulings from the governing authorities. We cannot assure you that, upon review of these positions, the applicable authorities will agree with our positions. A successful challenge by a tax authority could result in additional tax imposed on us or our subsidiaries, as well as possibly interest and penalties, further reducing the cash available for distribution. In addition, changes in our operations or ownership could result in additional tax being imposed on us or our subsidiaries in jurisdictions in which operations are conducted.

A change in tax laws in any country in which we operate could adversely affect us.

Tax laws and regulations are highly complex and subject to interpretation. Consequently, we and our subsidiaries are subject to changing tax laws, treaties and regulations in and between countries in which we operate. Our income tax expense is based on our interpretation of the tax laws in effect at the time the expense was incurred. A change in tax laws, treaties or regulations, or in the interpretation thereof, could result in a materially higher tax expense or a higher effective tax rate on our earnings. Such changes may include measures enacted in response to the ongoing initiatives in relation to fiscal legislation at an international level, such as the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

U.S. tax authorities could treat us as a “passive foreign investment company,” which would have adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. unitholders.

A non-U.S. entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes will be treated as a “passive foreign investment company” (a “PFIC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes if at least 75% of its gross income for any taxable year consists of “passive income” or at least 50% of the average value of its assets produce, or are held for the production of, “passive income.” For purposes of these tests, “passive income” includes dividends, interest, gains from the sale or exchange of investment property, and rents and royalties other than rents and royalties that are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business. For purposes of these tests, income derived from the performance of services does not constitute “passive income.” U.S. unitholders of a PFIC are subject to a disadvantageous U.S. federal income tax regime with respect to the income derived by the PFIC, certain distributions they receive from the PFIC, and the gain, if any, they derive from the sale or other disposition of their interests in the PFIC, unless the U.S. unitholders make certain elections.

Based on our current and projected method of operation, we believe that we were not a PFIC for any prior taxable year, and we expect that we will not be treated as a PFIC for the current or any future taxable year. We believe that more than 25% of our gross income for each taxable year was or will be non-passive income, and more than 50% of the average value of our assets for each such year was or will be held for the production of non-passive income. This belief is based on certain valuations and projections regarding our income and assets, and its validity is based on the accuracy of such valuations and projections. While we believe these valuations and projections to be accurate, the shipping market is volatile, and no assurance can be given that they will continue to be accurate at any time in the future.

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Moreover, there are legal uncertainties involved in determining whether the income derived from time-chartering activities constitutes rental income or income derived from the performance of services. In Tidewater Inc. v. United States, 565 F.3d 299 (5th Cir. 2009), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) held that income derived from certain time-chartering activities should be treated as rental income rather than services income for purposes of a provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), relating to foreign sales corporations. In that case, the Fifth Circuit did not address the definition of passive income or the PFIC rules; however, the reasoning of the case could have implications as to how the income from a time charter would be classified under such rules. If the reasoning of this case were extended to the PFIC context, the gross income we derive or are deemed to derive from our time-chartering activities may be treated as rental income, and we would likely be treated as a PFIC. In published guidance, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) stated that it disagreed with the holding in Tidewater and specified that time charters similar to those at issue in the case should be treated as service contracts. We have not sought, and we do not expect to seek, an IRS ruling on the treatment of income generated from our time-chartering activities. As a result, the IRS or a court could disagree with our position. No assurance can be given that this result will not occur. In addition, although we intend to conduct our affairs in a manner to avoid, to the extent possible, being classified as a PFIC with respect to any taxable year, we cannot assure you that the nature of our operations will not change in the future, or that we will not be a PFIC in the future. If the IRS were to find that we are or have been a PFIC for any taxable year (and regardless of whether we remain a PFIC for any subsequent taxable year), our U.S. unitholders would face adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences. Please read “Item 10. Additional Information—Taxation—U.S. Federal Income Taxation of U.S. Holders—PFIC Status and Significant Tax Consequences” for a more detailed discussion of the U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. unitholders if we are treated as a PFIC.

We may have to pay tax on U.S. source income, which would reduce our cash flow.

Under the Code, U.S. source gross transportation income generally is subject to a 4% U.S. federal income tax without allowance for deduction of expenses, unless an exemption from tax applies under a tax treaty or Section 883 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder. U.S. source gross transportation income consists of 50% of the gross shipping income that is attributable to transportation that begins or ends, but that does not both begin and end, in the United States.

We expect that our vessel-owning subsidiaries will qualify for an exemption from U.S. tax on any U.S. source gross transportation income under the Convention Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Norway with Respect to Taxes on Income and Property (the “U.S.-Norway Tax Treaty”), and we intend to take this position for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, if we acquire interests in vessel-owning subsidiaries in the future that are not Norwegian residents for purposes of the U.S.-Norway Tax Treaty, U.S. source gross transportation income earned by those subsidiaries would generally be subject to a 4% U.S. federal income tax unless the exemption under Section 883 of the Code applied. In general, the Section 883 exemption provides that if a non-U.S. corporation satisfies the requirements of Section 883 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder, it will not be subject to the 4% U.S. federal income tax referenced above on its U.S. source gross transportation income. The Section 883 exemption does not apply to income attributable to transportation that begins and ends in the United States.

The vessels in our fleet do not currently engage in transportation that begins and ends in the United States, and we do not expect that our subsidiaries will in the future earn income from such transportation. If, notwithstanding this expectation, our subsidiaries earn income in the future from transportation that begins and ends in the United States, that income may not be exempt from U.S. federal income tax under Section 883 of the Code and may not be exempt from U.S. federal income tax under the U.S.-Norway Tax Treaty and therefore may be subject to net income tax in the United States (currently at a 21% rate, plus branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (unless reduced or eliminated under an income tax treaty)).

The imposition of U.S. federal income tax on our income could have a negative effect on our business and would result in decreased earnings available for distribution to our unitholders.

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Our unitholders may be subject to income tax in one or more non-U.S. jurisdictions as a result of owning our common units if, under the laws of any such jurisdiction, we are considered to be carrying on business there. Such laws may require our unitholders to file a tax return with, and pay taxes to, those jurisdictions.

We conduct our affairs and cause each of our subsidiaries to operate its business in a manner that minimizes income taxes imposed upon us and our subsidiaries. Furthermore, we conduct our affairs and cause each of our subsidiaries to operate its business in a manner that minimizes the risk that unitholders may be treated as having a permanent establishment or taxable presence in a jurisdiction where we or our subsidiaries conduct activities simply by virtue of their ownership of our common units. However, because we are organized as a partnership, there is a risk in some jurisdictions, including Norway and the United Kingdom, that our activities or the activities of our subsidiaries may rise to the level of a taxable presence that is attributed to our unitholders for tax purposes. We obtained confirmation from the United Kingdom HM Revenue & Customs that unitholders should not be treated as trading in the United Kingdom merely by virtue of their ownership of our common units. If our unitholders are attributed such a taxable presence in a jurisdiction, our unitholders may be required to file a tax return with, and to pay tax in, that jurisdiction based on our unitholders’ allocable share of any identifiable taxable income. In addition, we may be required to obtain information from our unitholders in the event a tax authority (including in the United Kingdom) requires such information to submit a tax return. We may be required to reduce distributions to our unitholders on account of any tax withholding obligations imposed upon us by that jurisdiction in respect of such allocation to our unitholders. The United States generally will not allow a tax credit for any foreign income taxes that our unitholders directly or indirectly incur by virtue of an investment in us.

Item 4. Information on the Partnership

A. History and Development of the Partnership

General

KNOT Offshore Partners LP is a publicly traded limited partnership formed on February 21, 2013 to own, operate and acquire shuttle tankers under long-term charters, which we define as charters of five years or more. On April 18, 2013, we completed our initial public offering (“IPO”) of 8,567,500 common units. In connection with our IPO, through KNOT UK, a 100% owned limited liability company formed under the laws of the Marshall Islands, the Partnership acquired a 100% ownership interest in KNOT Shuttle Tankers AS, which owned (1) 100% of Knutsen Shuttle Tankers XII KS, the then owner of the Recife Knutsen and the Fortaleza Knutsen, (2) 100% of Knutsen Shuttle Tankers XII AS, the general partner of Knutsen Shuttle Tankers XII KS, and (3) the Windsor Knutsen and the Bodil Knutsen and all of their related charters, inventory and long-term debt. In establishing the new KNOT Shuttle Tankers AS structure, KNOT formed three new Norwegian subsidiaries, which acquired 90% of Knutsen Shuttle Tankers XII KS, 100% of the Windsor Knutsen and 100% of the Bodil Knutsen, respectively.

On August 1, 2013, we acquired Knutsen Shuttle Tankers 13 AS, the company that owns and operates the shuttle tanker, the Carmen Knutsen, from KNOT.

In June and July 2014, we sold an aggregate of 5,240,000 common units in an underwritten public offering and used a portion of the proceeds to fund the acquisition from KNOT of Knutsen Shuttle Tankers 14 AS and Knutsen Shuttle Tankers 15 AS, the companies that own the Hilda Knutsen and the Torill Knutsen, respectively, which closed on June 30, 2014.

On December 15, 2014, we acquired KNOT Shuttle Tankers 20 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Dan Cisne, from KNOT.

On June 2, 2015, we sold 5,000,000 common units in an underwritten public offering and used a portion of the net proceeds to fund the acquisition from KNOT of KNOT Shuttle Tankers 21 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Dan Sabia, which closed on June 15, 2015.

On October 15, 2015, we acquired Knutsen NYK Shuttle Tankers 16 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Ingrid Knutsen, from KNOT.

On December 1, 2016, we acquired Knutsen Shuttle Tankers 19 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Raquel Knutsen, from KNOT.

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On January 10, 2017, we sold 2,500,000 common units in an underwritten public offering, raising approximately $54.9 million in net proceeds.

On February 2, 2017, we issued and sold in a private placement 2,083,333 Series A Preferred Units at a price of $24.00 per unit, raising approximately $48.6 million in net proceeds.

On March 1, 2017, we acquired KNOT Shuttle Tankers 24 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Tordis Knutsen, from KNOT.

On June 1, 2017, we acquired KNOT Shuttle Tankers 25 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Vigdis Knutsen, from KNOT.

On June 30, 2017, we issued and sold in a second private placement 1,666,667 additional Series A Preferred Units at a price of $24.00 per unit, raising approximately $38.9 million in net proceeds.

On September 30, 2017, we acquired KNOT Shuttle Tankers 26 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Lena Knutsen, from KNOT.

On November 9, 2017, we sold 3,000,000 common units in an underwritten public offering. In connection with the offering, our general partner contributed $1.2 million to us to maintain its 1.85% general partner interest. The total net proceeds from the offering and the general partner contribution were $66.0 million.

On December 15, 2017, we acquired KNOT Shuttle Tankers 32 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Brasil Knutsen, from KNOT.

On March 1, 2018, we acquired KNOT Shuttle Tankers 30 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Anna Knutsen, from KNOT.

On December 31, 2020, we acquired KNOT Shuttle Tankers 34 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Tove Knutsen, from KNOT.

On September 10, 2021, KNOT contributed to the Partnership all of KNOT’s incentive distribution rights in exchange for the issuance by the Partnership to KNOT of 673,080 common units and 673,080 Class B Units, whereupon the incentive distribution rights were cancelled.

On July 1, 2022, we acquired KNOT Shuttle Tankers 35 AS, the company that owns the shuttle tanker, the Synnøve Knutsen, from KNOT.

For more information regarding recent developments, please see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Significant Developments in 2023 and Early 2024.”

As of April 11, 2024, we had a fleet of eighteen shuttle tankers.

We were formed under the law of the Marshall Islands and maintain our principal place of business at 2 Queen’s Cross, Aberdeen, AB15 4YB, United Kingdom. Our telephone number at that address is +44 (0) 1224 618420. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Puglisi & Associates, and its address is 850 Library Avenue, Suite 204, Newark, Delaware 19711.

Capital Expenditures

We reserve cash from operations for future maintenance capital expenditures, working capital and other matters.

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We have incurred capital expenditures, primarily on drydocks for our vessels, in the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022 and 2023 of $4.2 million, $17.6 million and $19.4 million, respectively. As of April 11, 2024, there are no principal capital expenditures currently in progress, however there is the potential for the expenditure of approximately $1.2 million on upgrades to the Dan Cisne to fulfill requirements to operate as shuttle tanker in the North Sea.

Access to Information

The SEC maintains a website on the Internet that contains reports, proxy, information statements and other information electronically filed via the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, which may be accessed at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

We maintain a website at www.knotoffshorepartners.com. The information on our website is not part of this Annual Report.

B. Business Overview

General

We were formed to own and operate shuttle tankers, initially and wherever possible, under long-term charters. Our primary business objective is to generate stable cash flows and provide a sustainable quarterly distribution per unit to our unitholders. Where possible, our further objective is to grow our business through accretive acquisitions of shuttle tankers and by chartering those vessels pursuant to profitable charters with high quality customers. The vessels in our current fleet are chartered to Equinor, Transpetro, Repsol, Shell, TotalEnergies, Petrorio Luxembourg Holding S.A.R.L. (“Petrorio”), Eni Trading and Shipping S.p.A. (“Eni”) and KNOT, and our charters have an average remaining term excluding options of 2.0 years as of December 31, 2023, with the charterers of the Partnership’s vessels having options to extend their charters by an additional 2.1 years on average.

We intend to leverage the relationships, expertise and reputation of KNOT, a leading independent owner and operator of shuttle tankers, to pursue potential growth opportunities and to attract and retain high-quality, creditworthy customers. As of April 11, 2024, KNOT and our general partner owned our general partner interest, all our Class B Units and 28.6% of our common units. KNOT intends to utilize us as its primary growth vehicle to pursue the acquisition of long-term, stable cash-flow-generating shuttle tankers.

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Business Strategies

Our primary business objective is to generate stable cash flows and provide a sustainable quarterly distribution per unit to our unitholders by executing the following strategies:

Manage our fleet and deepen our customer relationships to continue to provide a stable base of cash flows. We target stable cash flows by focusing on strong customer relationships and actively seeking the extension and renewal of existing charters in addition to new opportunities to serve our customers. KNOT charters its current fleet to a number of the world’s leading energy companies. We believe the close relationships that KNOT has with these companies will provide attractive opportunities for us. We continue to incorporate safety, health, security and environmental stewardship into all aspects of vessel design and operation in order to satisfy our customers and comply with national and international rules and regulations.
Pursue strategic and accretive acquisitions of shuttle tankers on long-term, fixed-rate charters. We seek to leverage our relationship with KNOT to make strategic and accretive acquisitions. During the term of the Omnibus Agreement, we have the opportunity to purchase from KNOT any newbuild under a long-term charter or existing shuttle tanker in the KNOT fleet that enters into a long-term charter.
Expand global operations in high-growth regions. We seek to expand in proven areas of offshore production, such as the North Sea and Brazil, and in new production areas as they are developed. We believe that KNOT’s leading market position, operational expertise and strong customer relationships will enable us to have early access to new production projects worldwide.

We can provide no assurance, however, that we will be able to implement our business strategies described above. For further discussion of the risks that we face, please read “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors.”

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Shuttle Tanker Market

A shuttle tanker is a specialized vessel designed to transport crude oil and condensates from offshore oil field installations to onshore terminals and refineries. Shuttle tankers are equipped with sophisticated loading systems and dynamic positioning systems that allow the vessels to load cargo safely and reliably from oil field installations, even in harsh weather conditions.

Shuttle tankers are often described as “floating pipelines,” because these vessels typically shuttle oil from offshore installations to onshore facilities in much the same way a pipeline would transport oil along the ocean floor. Shuttle tankers are typically purpose-built but can be converted from existing conventional oil tankers after a substantial upgrade and investment in equipment.

The advantages of shuttle tankers as compared to pipelines include:

the use of shuttle tankers is a more flexible option than pipelines for the transportation of oil from the oil field to onshore terminals and provides destination flexibility for customers;
shuttle tankers provide a more flexible solution to changing production profiles and abandonment as a pipeline has a fixed capacity, whereas shuttle tanker capacity may be adjusted through frequency of calls or number of vessels serving a field;
shuttle tanker operators may provide back-up capacity during times when existing transportation infrastructure is closed for maintenance or otherwise unavailable, which would enable uninterrupted production;
shuttle tankers typically require less significant up-front investment than pipelines; and
shuttle tankers provide customers the benefit of purchasing unblended crude qualities, whereas pipelines usually provide a blend of different crude qualities as several oilfields may be connected to the same pipeline. A shuttle tanker may load at several fields during one single voyage, but oil from different fields may be kept separated in different compartments onboard.

Shuttle tankers primarily differ from conventional oil tankers based on two significant features. First, shuttle tankers are fitted with dynamic position-keeping equipment enabling them to remain in a position without the assistance of tugs or mooring to installations. Second, shuttle tankers are equipped with bow-loading equipment and, in some cases, also fitted with equipment for submerged turret loading. Conventional oil tankers load from an offshore field installation usually through a taut hawser (mooring line onboard the discharging unit) operation and/or with tug assistance. In certain cases, dedicated shuttle tanker newbuilds are required to service the specific requirements of oil fields and installations.

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Our Fleet

The following table provides information about the eighteen shuttle tankers in our fleet as of April 11, 2024:

Current

 

Capacity

Operating

Charter

 

Shuttle Tanker

    

(dwt)

    

Built

    

Region

    

Type

    

Charterer

    

Term

 

Fortaleza Knutsen

 

106,316

 

2011

 

Brazil

 

Time charter

 

Transpetro

 

2026

(1)

Recife Knutsen

 

105,928

 

2011

 

Brazil

 

Time charter

 

Transpetro

 

2026

(2)

Bodil Knutsen

 

157,644

 

2011

 

Brazil

 

Time Charter

 

Equinor

 

2026

(3)

Windsor Knutsen

 

162,362

 

2007

 

Brazil

 

Time Charter

 

Shell

 

2025

(4)

Carmen Knutsen

 

157,000

 

2013

 

Brazil

 

Time Charter

 

Repsol

 

2025

(5)

Hilda Knutsen

 

123,000

 

2013

 

North Sea

 

Time Charter

 

Knutsen Shuttle Tankers Pool AS

 

2025

(6)

Torill Knutsen

 

123,000

 

2013

 

North Sea

 

Time Charter

 

Knutsen Shuttle Tankers Pool AS

 

2025

(7)

Dan Cisne

 

59,000

 

2011

 

Brazil

 

 

Spot market

 

(8)

Dan Sabia

 

59,000

 

2012

 

Brazil

 

Bareboat charter

 

Transpetro

 

2024

(9)

Ingrid Knutsen

 

112,000

 

2013

 

North Sea

 

Time Charter

 

Eni

 

2027

(10)

Raquel Knutsen

 

152,000

 

2015

 

Brazil

 

Time Charter

 

Repsol

 

2025

(11)

Tordis Knutsen

 

156,000

 

2016

 

Brazil

 

Time Charter

 

Shell

 

2027

(12)

Vigdis Knutsen

 

156,000

 

2017

 

Brazil

 

Time Charter

 

Shell

 

2027

(12)

Lena Knutsen

 

156,000

 

2017

 

Brazil

 

Time Charter

 

Shell

 

2027

(12)

Brasil Knutsen

 

154,000

 

2013

 

Brazil

 

Time Charter

 

Petrorio

 

2025

(13)

Anna Knutsen

 

152,000

 

2017

 

Brazil

 

Time Charter

 

TotalEnergies

 

2026

(14)

Tove Knutsen

153,000

2020

Brazil

Time Charter

Equinor

2027

(15)

Synnøve Knutsen

153,000

2020

Brazil

Time Charter

Equinor

2027

(16)

(1)The Fortaleza Knutsen is operating under a time charter contract with Transpetro that expires in March 2026. There is no charterer’s option to extend this charter.
(2)The Recife Knutsen is operating under time charter contract with Transpetro that expires in August 2026. There is no charterer’s option to extend this charter.
(3)The Bodil Knutsen is currently operating under a time charter contract with Equinor that expires in March 2026, with options for the charterer to extend the charter by two further one-year periods.
(4)The Windsor Knutsen is currently operating under a time charter contract with Shell which expires in March 2025. The vessel will commence on a new time charter contract with an oil major in the first half of 2025 for a fixed period of two years.
(5)Customer has the option to extend the current charter of the Carmen Knutsen for up to one year.
(6)The Hilda Knutsen is currently operating under a 30-days rolling time charter contract with Knutsen Shuttle Tankers Pool AS, which expires in January 2025 unless terminated by either party on giving not less than 30 days’ notice.
(7)The Torill Knutsen is currently operating under a 30-days rolling time charter contract with Knutsen Shuttle Tankers Pool AS, which expires in January 2025 unless terminated by either party on giving not less than 30 days notice.
(8)The Dan Cisne is being assessed for shuttle tanker operation in the North Sea and has also been deployed on short-term conventional tanker contracts.
(9)The Dan Sabia is currently operating on a bareboat contract with a Transpetro, which expires in June 2024.
(10)On March 28, 2024 the Ingrid Knutsen was redelivered from Altera, following which she has worked in the conventional tanker market. While she is due for delivery to Eni during April 2024 on three-year time charter contract, it is possible that commercial terms no less favourable to the Partnership may be agreed for an alternative delivery later in 2024.

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(11)Customer has the option to extend the charter for the Raquel Knutsen for up to one three-year period and one two-year period.
(12)The Tordis Knutsen, Lena Knutsen and Vigdis Knutsen are currently operating under time charters with Shell that expire in July 2027, September 2027 and March 2027, respectively.
(13)The Brasil Knutsen is operating under a time charter contract with Petrorio that expires on or around May 2025, with two one-month options. The vessel will commence on a new time charter contract with Equinor in the third quarter of 2025 for a fixed period of two years, with options for the charterer to extend the charter by two further one-year periods.
(14)The Anna Knutsen is operating under a time charter contract with TotalEnergies that expires in April 2026, with TotalEnergies having an option to extend the charter for one one-year period.
(15)The Tove Knutsen is operating under a time charter contract with Equinor that expires in November 2027, with Equinor having options to extend the charter by up to thirteen further years.
(16)The Synnøve Knutsen is operating under a time charter contract with Equinor that expires in February 2027, with Equinor having options to extend the charter by up to fifteen further years.

Customers

For the year ended December 31, 2023, subsidiaries of KNOT, Shell, Equinor, Repsol, TotalEnergies and Transpetro accounted for approximately 10%, 12%, 13%, 13%, 14% and 18%, respectively, of our revenues. Altera, China Offshore Oil, Petrogal, Petrorio and Galp accounted for our remaining revenues.

Charters

We generate revenues by charging customers for the hire of our vessels and for services related to the loading, transportation and discharge of their crude oil using the vessels in our fleet. We mainly provide all of these services under time charters and bareboat charters, however, some of our vessels operated on spot voyages in 2023 and 2022.

As of April 11, 2024, sixteen of our shuttle tankers are chartered under time charters, one of our shuttle tankers is chartered under a bareboat charter and one is available to the spot market.

A time charter is a contract for the use of a specified vessel for a fixed period of time at a specified daily rate. Under time charters, the shipowner is responsible for providing crewing and other vessel operating services, the cost of which is included in the daily rate, while the customer is responsible for substantially all of the voyage expenses. A bareboat charter is a contract for the use of a specified vessel for a fixed period of time at a specified daily or annual rate. Under bareboat charters, the shipowner is not responsible for providing crewing or other operational services, while the customer is responsible for all vessel operating expenses and voyage expenses. In addition, bareboat charters also provide that the shipowner is responsible for repairs or renewals occasioned by latent defects in the vessel existing at the time of delivery, provided such defects have manifested themselves within 18 months after delivery. However, under bareboat charters, the customer is responsible for ordinary repair and maintenance, including drydocking. A spot charter or single voyage charter is a contract whereby the charterer is entitled to use the vessel to perform transportation services between specific geographical locations, typically at a pre-agreed freight rate.

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Initial Term; Extensions

The initial term for a time charter or bareboat charter commences upon the vessel’s delivery to the customer. Our time charters often include options, exercisable by the customer, to extend the charter’s initial term. Under the time charters, the customer may also extend the term for periods in which the vessel is off-hire, as described below. Customers under each of our time charters and bareboat charters have rights to terminate the charter prior to expiration of the original or any extended term in specified circumstances (see also “—Termination” below).

Hire Rate

Hire rate refers to the basic payment from the customer for the use of the vessel. Under our time charters, the majority of hire rate is payable monthly in advance, in U.S. Dollars. The hire rate payable under our time charters is either a fixed amount for the firm period of the time charter with escalations to be made in case of option periods or increases annually based on a fixed percentage increase or fixed schedule, in order to enable us to offset expected increases in operating costs. Under our time charters, hire rate payments may be reduced if the vessel does not perform to certain of its specifications, such as if the average vessel speed falls below a guaranteed speed or the amount of fuel consumed to power the vessel under normal circumstances exceeds a guaranteed amount.

The hire rate payable under our bareboat charters is fixed and payable monthly in advance, in U.S. Dollars. The customer is also required to maintain minimum levels of insurance to protect the interests of the customer, the shipowner and mortgagees, if any.

The hire rate payable under spot charters is fixed in advance at a specified freight rate per ton, in U.S. Dollars. Under a spot charter agreement, voyage expenses are paid by the Partnership as owner of the vessel.

Off-hire

Under our time charters, when the vessel is off-hire, or not available for service, the customer generally is not required to pay the hire rate, and the shipowner is responsible for all costs. Prolonged off-hire may lead to a termination of the time charter. A vessel generally will be deemed off-hire if there is a loss of time due to, among other things:

operational deficiencies; drydocking for repairs, maintenance or inspection; equipment breakdowns; or delays due to accidents, crewing strikes, certain vessel detentions or similar problems; or
the shipowner’s failure to maintain the vessel in compliance with its specifications and contractual standards or to provide the required crew.

Our bareboat charters do not contain provisions for off-hire.

Ship Management and Maintenance

Under our time charters, the shipowner is responsible for the technical management of the vessel and for maintaining the vessel, periodic drydocking, cleaning and painting and performing work required by regulations. KNOT Management and KNOT Management Denmark provide these services to our subsidiaries for all our vessels under time charters. Please read “Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—Related Party Transactions.” Under our bareboat charters, the shipowner is not responsible for providing crewing or other operational services and the customer is responsible for all vessel operating expenses and voyage expenses. However, as at December 31, 2023, Transpetro had elected to subcontract the technical operation and management of the Dan Sabia to an affiliate of KNOT.

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Termination

Each of our time charters and bareboat charters terminates automatically if the applicable vessel is lost or missing. In addition, under certain circumstances, the customer may have an option to terminate the time charter if the vessel is requisitioned by any government for a period of time in excess of the time period specified in the time charter or if at any time the shipowner is in default under the time charter. Under the bareboat charters, the charter is deemed terminated as of the date of any compulsory acquisition of the vessel or requisition for title by any governmental or other competent authority. In addition, the shipowner is generally entitled to suspend performance (but with the continuing accrual to its benefit of hire rate payments and default interest) and terminate the charter if the customer defaults in its payment obligations. Under the time charters and bareboat charters, either party may also terminate the charter in the event of war in specified countries.

However, under the bareboat charters, in the event of war, hire shall continue to be paid in accordance with the charter until redelivery. In addition, under the bareboat charters, the shipowner has the right to terminate the charter if the customer (1) does not take immediate steps to have the necessary repairs done within a reasonable time or (2) does not arrange and keep certain insurance.

Competition

The shuttle tanker industry is capital intensive and operational expertise is critical, which create high barriers to entry. The shuttle tanker industry is viewed as an integral part of offshore oil production creating a market with few alternative suppliers and therefore a low risk of substitution. A company with a solid track record, knowledge of the market and an experienced, well-trained crew is preferred to a new entrant since the cost and impact of vessel downtime is significant for the customer. Furthermore, the systems in place for operational procedures, such as offshore loading and vetting, have significant value when negotiating contracts with new and existing customers.

According to Fearnresearch, as of March 1, 2024, there were 74 vessels in the global shuttle tanker fleet plus 11 newbuilds on order. Together KNOT and KNOP are the largest owners of shuttle tankers with 27 shuttle tankers plus 2 newbuilds on order. Altera Shuttle Tankers L.L.C. (formerly Teekay Offshore Partners L.P.) is the second largest owner in the shuttle tanker market with 18 shuttle tankers and no new vessels on order. American Eagle Tankers (AET) is the third largest owner of shuttle tankers with 17 vessels and no new vessels on order. Petrobras, which does not own vessels, employs a total of 21 shuttle tankers through long-term bareboat and time charters (and has agreements to charter 5 newbuilds on order). There are other shuttle tanker owners in the industry, but such owners have a limited fleet size and their vessels do not participate or compete in our markets.

Classification, Inspection and Maintenance

Every large, commercial seagoing vessel must be “classed” by a classification society. The classification society certifies that the vessel is “in class,” signifying that the vessel has been built and maintained in accordance with the rules of the classification society. In most cases, the classification society is authorized by the flag state to certify that the vessels also comply with applicable rules and regulations of the vessel’s country of registry and the international conventions of which that country is a member. In addition, where surveys are required by international conventions and corresponding laws and ordinances of a flag state, the classification society may undertake them on application or by official order, acting on behalf of the authorities concerned. The classification society also undertakes on request other surveys and checks that are required by regulations and requirements of the flag state. These surveys are subject to agreements made in each individual case and/or to the regulations of the country concerned. For maintenance of the class, regular and extraordinary surveys of hull, machinery, including the electrical plant, and any special equipment classed are required to be performed by the classification society as follows:

Annual Surveys. For seagoing vessels, annual surveys are conducted for the hull and the machinery, including the electrical plant and where applicable for special equipment classed, at intervals of 12 months from the date of commencement of the class period indicated in the certificate.
Intermediate Surveys. Extended annual surveys are referred to as intermediate surveys and typically are conducted two and one-half years after commissioning and each class renewal. Intermediate surveys may be carried out on the occasion of the second or third annual survey.

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Class Renewal Surveys. Class renewal surveys, also known as special surveys, are carried out for the ship’s hull, machinery, including the electrical plant and for any special equipment classed, at the intervals indicated by the character of classification for the hull. At the special survey, the vessel is thoroughly examined, including ultrasonic gauging, in order to determine the thickness of the steel structures. Should the thickness be found to be less than class requirements, the classification society would require steel renewals. Substantial amounts of money may have to be spent for steel renewals to pass a special survey if the vessel experiences excessive wear and tear. In lieu of the special survey every five years, a shipowner has the option of arranging with the classification society for the vessel’s hull or machinery to be on a continuous survey cycle, in which every part of the vessel would be surveyed within a five-year cycle. At an owner’s application, the surveys required for class renewal may be split according to an agreed schedule to extend over the entire period of class. This process is referred to as continuous class renewal and, though we have not exercised this option for our existing vessels, we may do so in the future.

All of the vessel’s areas subject to survey as defined by the classification society are required to be surveyed at least once per class period, unless shorter intervals between surveys are prescribed elsewhere. The period between two subsequent surveys of each area must not exceed five years.

A vessel’s underwater parts are required to be inspected every 24 to 36 months by the classification society. Drydocking of vessels is done, at the minimum, every 60 months until the vessel is 15 years old and every 30 months thereafter. If any defects are found, the classification surveyor will issue a condition of class that must be rectified by the shipowner.

Most insurance underwriters make it a condition for insurance coverage that a vessel be certified as “in class” by a classification society that is a member of the International Association of Classification Societies. All of our vessels have been awarded International Safety Management certification and are certified as being “in class” by DNV GL or ABS, the Norwegian and American classification societies, respectively. All new and secondhand vessels that we purchase must be certified prior to their delivery under the standard purchase contracts and memoranda of agreement. If the vessel is not certified on the date of closing, we will have no obligation to take delivery of the vessel.

KNOT, through certain of its subsidiaries, operates as our ship manager, and carries out inspections of the ships on a regular basis, both at sea and while the vessels are in port, as well as carrying out inspections and ship audits to verify conformity with managers’ reports. The results of these inspections result in a report containing recommendations for improvements to the overall condition of the vessel, maintenance, safety and crew welfare. Based in part on these evaluations, we create and implement a program of continual maintenance and improvement for our vessels and their systems.

Safety, Management of Ship Operations and Administration

Safety and environmental compliance is our top operational priority. Our vessels are operated in a manner intended to protect the safety and health of our employees, the general public and the environment. We actively manage the risks inherent in our business and are committed to eliminating incidents that threaten the safety and integrity of our vessels, such as groundings, fires, collisions and petroleum spills. We are also committed to reducing emissions, carbon intensity and waste generation. We have established key performance indicators to facilitate regular monitoring of our operational performance. We set targets on an annual basis to drive continuous improvement, and we review performance indicators monthly to determine if remedial action is necessary to reach our targets. KNOT’s shore staff performs a full range of technical, commercial and business development services for us. This staff also provides administrative support to our operations in finance, accounting and human resources.

KNOT, through certain of its subsidiaries, assists us and our operating subsidiaries in managing our ship operations. DNV GL, a Norwegian classification society, has approved KNOT’s safety management system, which has been implemented on all our ships, as complying with the IMO’s International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and Pollution Prevention (the “ISM Code”), International Standards Organization (“ISO”) 9001 for Quality Assurance, ISO 14001 for Environment Management Systems and OHSAS 18001, for Occupational Health and Safety Management System. As part of KNOT’s ISM Code compliance, all the vessels’ safety management certificates are being maintained through ongoing internal audits performed by KNOT’s certified internal auditors and external audits performed by DNV GL or the respective flag state. Subject to satisfactory completion of these internal and external audits, certification is valid for five years.

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KNOT provides, through certain of its subsidiaries, expertise in various functions critical to the operations of our operating subsidiaries. We believe this arrangement affords a safe, efficient and cost-effective operation. KNOT’s subsidiaries also provide to us access to human resources, financial and other administrative functions pursuant to technical management agreements. Please read “Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—Related Party Transactions—Technical Management Agreements.”

Critical ship management functions that are provided by KNOT or its subsidiaries through various of its offices around the world include:

technical management, maintenance and dockings;
crew management;
procurement, purchasing and forwarding logistics;
marine operations;
vetting, oil major and terminal approvals;
shipyard supervision;
insurance; and
financial services.

These functions are supported by onboard and onshore systems for maintenance, inventory, purchasing and budget management. In addition, KNOT’s day-to-day focus on cost control is applied to our operations. We believe that the adoption of common standards results in operational efficiencies, including with respect to crew training and vessel management, equipment operation and repair, and spare parts ordering.

Risk of Loss, Insurance and Risk Management

The operation of any vessel, including shuttle tankers, has inherent risks. These risks include mechanical failure, personal injury, collision, property loss, vessel or cargo loss or damage and business interruption due to political circumstances in foreign countries or hostilities. In addition, there is always an inherent possibility of marine disaster, including explosion, spills and other environmental mishaps, and the liabilities arising from owning and operating vessels in international trade. We believe that our present insurance coverage is adequate to protect us against the accident-related risks involved in the conduct of our business and that we maintain appropriate levels of environmental damage and pollution insurance coverage consistent with standard industry practice. However, not all risks can be insured, and there can be no guarantee that any specific claim will be paid, or that we will always be able to obtain adequate insurance coverage at reasonable rates.

We have obtained hull and machinery insurance on all our vessels to insure against marine and war risks, which include the risks of damage to our vessels, salvage or towing costs, and also insure against actual or constructive total loss of any of our vessels. However, our insurance policies contain deductible amounts for which we are responsible. We have also arranged additional total loss coverage for each vessel. This coverage, which is called hull interest and freight interest coverage, provides us additional coverage in the event of the total loss or the constructive total loss of a vessel.

We have also obtained loss of hire insurance to protect us against loss of income in the event one of our vessels cannot be employed due to damage that is covered under the terms of our hull and machinery insurance. Under our loss of hire policies, our insurer will pay us the hire rate agreed in respect of each vessel for each day, in excess of a certain number of deductible days, for the time that the vessel is out of service as a result of damage, for a maximum of 180 days. The number of deductible days for the vessels in our fleet is 14 days per vessel.

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All of our hull and machinery, hull interest and freight interest and loss of hire insurance policies are written on the Norwegian Marine Insurance Plan (“NMIP”), which through the hull and maintenance coverage also offers comprehensive collision liability coverage of up to the insured hull and maintenance value of the vessel. NMIP is based on an “all risk principle” and offers what is considered to be the most comprehensive insurance obtainable in any of the world’s marine markets today. The agreed deductible on each vessel averages $150,000 for the shuttle tankers in our fleet.

Protection and indemnity insurance, which covers our third-party legal liabilities in connection with our shipping activities, is provided by a P&I club. This includes third-party liability and other expenses related to the injury or death of crew members, passengers and other third-party persons, loss or damage to cargo, claims arising from collisions with other vessels or from contact with jetties or wharves and other damage to other third-party property, including pollution arising from oil or other substances, and other related costs, including wreck removal. Subject to the capping discussed below, our coverage, except for pollution, is unlimited.

Our current protection and indemnity insurance coverage for pollution is $1 billion per vessel per incident. The 13 P&I clubs that comprise the International Group of Protection and Indemnity Clubs insure approximately 90% of the world’s commercial tonnage and have entered into a pooling agreement to reinsure each association’s liabilities. Each P&I club has capped its exposure in this pooling agreement so that the maximum claim covered by the pool and its reinsurance would be approximately $1 billion per accident or occurrence. We are a member of Norwegian P&I club Skuld.

As a member of these P&I clubs, we are subject to a call for additional premiums based on the clubs’ claims record, as well as the claims record of all other members of the P&I clubs comprising the International Group. However, our P&I clubs have reinsured the risk of additional premium calls to limit our additional exposure. This reinsurance is subject to a cap, and there is the risk that the full amount of the additional call would not be covered by this reinsurance.

The insurers providing the covers for hull and machinery, hull interest and freight interest, protection and indemnity and loss of hire insurances have confirmed that they will consider the shuttle tankers as vessels for the purpose of providing insurance.

We use in our operations KNOT’s risk management program that includes, among other things, risk analysis tools, maintenance and assessment programs, a seafarers competence training program, seafarers workshops and membership in emergency response organizations. We benefit from KNOT’s commitment to safety and environmental protection as certain of its subsidiaries assist us in managing our vessel operations.

KNOT has achieved certification under the standards reflected in ISO 9001 for quality assurance, ISO 14001 for environment management systems and the ISM Code on a fully integrated basis.

Environmental and Other Regulation

General

Our business and the operation of our vessels are significantly affected by international conventions and national, state and local laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which our vessels operate, as well as in the country or countries of their registration. Because these conventions, laws and regulations change frequently, we cannot predict the ultimate cost of compliance or their impact on the resale price or useful life of our vessels. While we believe that we are in substantial compliance with the current environmental laws and regulations that apply to our operations, there is no assurance that such compliance or compliance with amended or newly adopted laws and regulations can be maintained in the future. Additional conventions, laws, and regulations may be adopted that could limit our ability to do business or increase the cost of our doing business and that may materially adversely affect our operations. We are required by various governmental and quasi-governmental agencies to obtain permits, licenses and certificates with respect to our operations. Subject to the discussion below and to the fact that the kinds of permits, licenses and certificates required for the operations of the vessels we own depend on a number of factors, we believe that we will be able to continue to obtain all permits, licenses and certificates material to the conduct of our operations.

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International Maritime Organization

The IMO is the United Nations’ agency responsible for developing measures to improve the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent marine pollution from ships. IMO regulations relating to pollution prevention for oil tankers have been adopted by many of the jurisdictions in which our tanker fleet operates. Under IMO regulations and subject to limited exceptions, a tanker must be of double-hull construction, a mid-deck design with double-side construction or another approved design ensuring the same level of protection against oil pollution. All of our tankers are of double-hull construction.

Many countries, but not the United States, have ratified and follow the liability regime adopted by the IMO and set out in the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969, as updated by the 1992 Protocol (the “CLC”). Under this convention, a vessel’s registered owner is strictly liable for pollution damage caused in the territorial waters of a contracting state by discharge of persistent oil (e.g. crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil or lubricating oil), subject to certain defenses. The right to limit liability to specified amounts that are periodically revised is forfeited under the CLC when the spill is caused by the owner’s actual fault or when the spill is caused by the owner’s intentional or reckless conduct. Vessels trading to contracting states must provide evidence of insurance covering the limited liability of the owner. In jurisdictions where the CLC has not been adopted, various legislative regimes or common law govern, and liability is imposed either on the basis of fault or in a manner similar to the CLC. IMO regulations also include SOLAS, including amendments to SOLAS implementing the International Security Code for Ports and Ships (the “ISPS”), the ISM Code and the International Convention on Load Lines of 1966. The IMO Maritime Safety Committee (“MSC”) has also published guidelines for vessels with dynamic positioning systems, which apply to shuttle tankers. SOLAS provides rules for the construction of, and equipment required for, commercial vessels and includes regulations for safe operation. Flag states that have ratified the CLC generally utilize the classification societies, which have incorporated SOLAS requirements into their class rules, to undertake surveys to confirm compliance.

SOLAS and other IMO regulations concerning safety, including those relating to treaties on training of shipboard personnel, lifesaving appliances, radio equipment and the global maritime distress and safety system, are applicable to our operations. Non-compliance with IMO regulations, including SOLAS, the ISM Code, and the ISPS, or the requirements for shuttle tankers under their flag regulations, may subject us to increased liability or penalties, may lead to decreases in available insurance coverage for affected vessels and may result in the denial of access to or detention in some ports. For example, the U.S. Coast Guard, the United Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency and EU authorities have indicated that vessels not in compliance with the ISM Code will be prohibited from trading in U.S., the United Kingdom and EU ports.

The requirements contained in the ISM Code govern our operations. Among other requirements, the ISM Code requires vessel operators to obtain a safety management certification for each vessel they manage, evidencing the shipowner’s development and maintenance of an extensive safety management system. In 2017, the MSC adopted Resolution MSC.428(98), Maritime Cyber Risk Management in Safety Management Systems, embracing guidelines on maritime cyber risk management approved by the MSC in 2017, affirming its view that the ISM Code requires mitigation of cyber risk as part of the safety management system, and effectively providing that that a vessel’s safety management system must account for cyber risks in compliance with the ISM Code no later than the vessel’s first annual compliance verification after January 1, 2021. Each of the existing vessels in our fleet is currently ISM Code-certified, and we expect to obtain safety management certificates for each newbuild upon delivery.

The International Labour Organization (the “ILO”) is a specialized agency of the United Nations with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The ILO has adopted the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 (the “MLC 2006”) to improve safety onboard merchant vessels, which came into force of August 20, 2013. A Maritime Labor Certificate and a Declaration of Maritime Labor Compliance is required to ensure compliance with the MLC 2006 for all ships above 500 gross tons in international trade. Each of the existing vessels in our fleet is currently MLC 2006-certified, and we expect to obtain MLC 2006 certificates for each newbuild upon delivery.

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The IMO has adopted the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (“MARPOL”), including Annex VI to MARPOL that sets limits on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from ship exhausts and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances. Annex VI applies to all ships and, among other things, imposes a global cap on the sulfur content of fuel oil and allows for specialized areas to be established internationally with even more stringent controls on sulfur emissions. For vessels 400 gross tons and greater, platforms and drilling rigs, Annex VI imposes various survey and air pollution prevention certification requirements. Moreover, Annex VI regulations impose progressively stricter limitations on sulfur emissions from ships. As of January 2, 2015, these limitations required that fuels of vessels in covered Emission Control Areas (“ECAs”), including the North Sea ECA and the Baltic Sea ECA, contain no more than 0.1% sulfur. For non-ECA areas, the capped sulfur limitations decreased progressively until they reached the global limit of 0.5% applicable on and after January 1, 2020 (generally referred to as IMO 2020). In December 2022, the MEPC adopted amendments to MARPOL Annex VI establishing a Mediterranean ECA for sulfur that enters into force on May 1, 2024, with a 12-month grace period. As a result, effective May 1, 2025, fuels of vessels in the Mediterranean ECA will need to meet the more stringent 0.1% sulfur limit. MARPOL Annex VI also establishes three tiers of stringent nitrogen oxide emissions standards for new marine engines, depending on their date of installation. All of our vessels are in compliance with these requirements.

In addition, there are several other regulatory requirements to use low sulfur fuel or restrict or regulate emissions from vessels. The EU Directive 33/2005 requiring the use of low sulfur fuel came into force on January 1, 2010. Under this legislation, vessels are required to burn fuel with sulfur content below 0.1% while berthed or anchored in an EU port. As of January 1, 2014, the California Air Resources Board’s Ocean-Going Vessel Fuel (“OGV”) Regulation requires vessels to burn fuel with 0.1% sulfur content or less within 24 nautical miles of California. Currently, the only grade of fuel meeting 0.1% sulfur content requirement is low sulfur marine gas oil. All of our vessels are able to comply with applicable low sulfur fuel requirements.

The IMO has negotiated international conventions that impose liability for oil pollution and other environmental harms in international waters and the territorial waters of the signatory to such conventions such as the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (the “BWM Convention”). The BWM Convention’s implementing regulations call for a phased introduction of mandatory ballast water exchange requirements (which began in 2009), to be replaced in time with a requirement for mandatory ballast water treatment. The BWM Convention entered into force on September 8, 2017. Brazil and Norway ratified the BWM Convention prior to its entry into force. The United Kingdom ratified the BWM Convention on May 26, 2022 and it entered into force in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2022. Although United States has not ratified the BWM Convention, it is implementing ballast water management requirements. As referenced below, the U.S. Coast Guard issued ballast water management rules on March 23, 2012. Under the requirements of the BWM Convention for units with ballast water capacity more than 5,000 cubic meters that were constructed in 2011 or before, ballast water management exchange or treatment were accepted until 2016. From 2016 (or not later than the first intermediate or renewal survey after 2016), only ballast water treatment will be accepted by the BWM Convention. We have installed ballast water treatment systems on all our vessels to comply with the requirements of the BWM Convention.

The International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution 2001 (the “Bunker Convention”) provides a liability, compensation and compulsory insurance system to protect and reimburse the victims of oil pollution damage in jurisdictional waters of ratifying states caused by discharges of bunker fuel. The Bunker Convention became effective in 2008 and imposes strict liability on shipowners for certain pollution damage. Registered owners of any seagoing vessel and seaborne craft over 1,000 gross tonnage, of any type whatsoever, and registered in a signatory state (a “State Party”), or entering or leaving a port in the territory of a State Party, will be required to maintain insurance that meets the requirements of the Bunker Convention and to obtain a certificate issued by a State Party attesting that such insurance is in force. The state-issued certificate must be carried onboard at all times. P&I clubs in the International Group issue the required Bunkers Convention “Blue Cards” to enable signatory states to issue certificates. All of our vessels have received “Blue Cards” from their P&I club and are in possession of a CLC State-issued certificate attesting that the required insurance coverage is in force.

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

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European Union and United Kingdom Environmental Regulation of Vessels

In waters of the EU, our vessels are subject to EU-level directives implemented by the various nations through laws and regulations adopting these requirements. These laws and regulations prescribe measures to prevent pollution, protect the environment, support maritime safety and set out civil and criminal penalties that are being progressively incorporated into domestic legislation. For instance, the EU has adopted legislation (EU Directive 2009/16/EC) that: bans from EU waters manifestly sub-standard vessels (defined as vessels that have been detained twice by EU port authorities, in the preceding two years); creates obligations on the part of EU member port states to inspect at least 24% of vessels using these ports annually; provides for increased surveillance of vessels posing a high risk to maritime safety or the marine environment; and provides the EU with greater authority and control over classification societies, including the ability to seek to suspend or revoke the authority of negligent societies. If deficiencies are found that are clearly hazardous to safety, health or the environment, the state is required to detain the vessel until the deficiencies are addressed. Member states are also required to implement a system of penalties for breaches of these standards. EU Directive 2009/16/EC introduced a harmonized and coordinated regime for port state control inspections and an on-line register to make public both the poorly performing shipping companies (who will attract more intensive and coordinated inspections) and those with good records. Like the IMO, the EU adopted regulations that phased out single-hull tankers. All of our tankers are double-hulled.

Several regulatory requirements to use low sulfur fuel are in force. See discussion of “low sulfur fuel” regulations above.

The EU is currently considering other proposals to further regulate vessel operations. We cannot predict what additional legislation or regulations, if any, may be promulgated by the EU or any other country or authority. The trend, however, is towards increasing regulation and our expectation is that requirements will become more extensive and more stringent over time.

Although the EU regulations no longer directly apply in the United Kingdom as a consequence of Brexit, the “level playing field” provisions in the United Kingdom/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (“TCA”) cover require “non regression” in the level of environmental protection by the United Kingdom from the harmonized standards that were in effect in the EU on December 31, 2020. This means that the United Kingdom should not attempt to undo these standards, but under the TCA harmonization of standards is not required on a going forward basis. The TCA also includes a commitment for the EU and the United Kingdom to cooperate on trade-related aspects of climate change and to work with the IMO to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions and promote low carbon technologies and sustainable transport. The United Kingdom has taken measures to put environmental regulations in place that would affect the shipping industry. In July 2019, the Department of Transport and the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency published Maritime 2050, a plan for the transition to zero emissions from shipping by 2050. On September 30, 2021, the Department of Transport adopted regulations amending the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008 to implement air quality measures to control sulfur and nitrogen oxide (SOx and NOx) emissions from ships, including setting the maximum sulfur content of marine fuels used by ships at 0.5% and applying stricter NOx Tier III limit for new ships operating in the North Sea and English Channel. On February 7, 2022, the United Kingdom Department for Transport issued a call for feedback on the priorities to be addressed in its development of a long-term low carbon fuels strategy for the transport sector and is considering responses received in the drafting of a low carbon fuels strategy. Effective January 1, 2024, UK’s Merchant Shipping (Special Measures to Enhance Maritime Safety) Regulations 2024 took effect, consistent with obligations contained in SOLAS.

If more stringent requirements are put in effect in the future in the EU or the United Kingdom, they may require, individually or in the aggregate, significant expenditures and could increase our operating costs, potentially affecting financial performance.

North Sea Environmental Regulation of Vessels

Our shuttle tanker operations are currently located in the North Sea and Brazil.

In addition to the regulations imposed by the IMO those countries having jurisdiction over North Sea areas impose further regulatory requirements on operations in those areas, including Maritime and Coastguard Agency regulations in the United Kingdom and Norwegian Maritime Directorate regulations in Norway. These regulatory requirements, together with additional requirements imposed by operators in North Sea oil fields, require that we make further expenditures for sophisticated equipment, reporting and redundancy systems on the shuttle tankers and for the training of seagoing staff. Additional regulations and requirements may be adopted or imposed that could limit our ability to do business or further increase the cost of doing business in the North Sea.

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In Norway, the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority requires the installation of volatile organic compound emissions (“VOC”) control equipment, on most shuttle tankers serving the Norwegian continental shelf. The license holders of the oil field are responsible for the costs to ensure that shuttle tankers operating in the field are using appropriate VOC control equipment. In recent contracts, the charterers have requested owners to install such equipment against an increase in the hire rate. We have installed the VOC control equipment required to operate on the Norwegian continental shelf on each of the Fortaleza Knutsen, the Recife Knutsen, the Windsor Knutsen, the Hilda Knutsen, the Torill Knutsen and the Ingrid Knutsen. We have installed an advanced VOC recovery system on the Bodil Knutsen.

Brazilian Environmental Regulation of Vessels

In Brazil, the field operator and in most cases Petrobras where it is involved are required to establish internal procedures to manage pollution risks, which must be approved by the competent environmental authority. Brazilian environmental law includes international treaties and conventions to which Brazil is a party, including MARPOL and the CLC, as well as federal, state and local laws, regulations and permit requirements related to the protection of health and the environment. The petroleum industry in Brazil is subject to extensive regulations by several governmental agencies, including the National Agency of Petroleum, the Brazilian Navy and the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources. Legal obligations also include immediately notifying the competent authorities about any incident occurring in our vessels that may cause pollution in waters under the national jurisdiction of Brazil, in addition to the adoption of other required response actions. Failure to comply may subject us to administrative, criminal and civil liability, with strict and joint liability in civil cases. In Brazil, civil liability for environmental pollution aims for the complete recovery of the damage caused to the ecosystem and affected third parties, regardless of the cost involved.

United States Environmental Regulation of Vessels

In the United States, federal and state laws and regulations that require vessel owners and operators to obtain and maintain specified permits or governmental approvals; control the discharge of materials into the environment; remove and cleanup materials that may harm the environment; and otherwise comply with regulations intended to protect the environment. Vessel operations are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, as well as classification societies such as the American Bureau of Shipping. The United States has enacted an extensive regulatory and liability regime for the protection and cleanup of the environment from oil spills, including discharges of oil cargoes, bunker fuels or lubricants, primarily through the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (“OPA 90”) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”).

OPA 90 and CERCLA. CERCLA applies to the discharge of “hazardous substances” rather than “oil” and imposes strict joint and several liability upon the owners, operators or bareboat charterers of vessels for cleanup costs and damages arising from discharges of hazardous substances. We believe that petroleum products should not be considered hazardous substances under CERCLA, but additives to oil or lubricants used on vessels might fall within its scope.

OPA 90 affects all owners, bareboat charterers and operators whose vessels trade to the United States or its territories or possessions or whose vessels operate in U.S. waters, which include the U.S. territorial sea and 200-mile exclusive economic zone around the United States.

Under OPA 90, vessel owners, operators and bareboat charterers are “responsible parties” and are jointly, severally and strictly liable (unless the oil spill results solely from the act or omission of a third party, an act of God or an act of war and the responsible party reports the incident and reasonably cooperates with the appropriate authorities) for all containment and cleanup costs and other damages arising from discharges or threatened discharges of oil from their vessels. These other damages are defined broadly to include:

natural resources damages and the related assessment costs;
real and personal property damages;
net loss of taxes, royalties, rents, fees and other lost revenues;

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lost profits or impairment of earning capacity due to property or natural resources damage;
net cost of public services necessitated by a spill response, such as protection from fire, safety or health hazards; and
loss of subsistence use of natural resources.

OPA 90 limits the liability of responsible parties in an amount it periodically updates. The liability limits do not apply if the incident was proximately caused by violation of applicable U.S. federal safety, construction or operating regulations, including IMO conventions to which the United States is a signatory, or by the responsible party’s gross negligence or willful misconduct, or if the responsible party fails or refuses to report the incident or to cooperate and assist in connection with the oil removal activities. Liability under CERCLA is also subject to limits unless the incident is caused by gross negligence, willful misconduct or a violation of certain regulations. We currently maintain for each of our vessel’s pollution liability coverage in the maximum coverage amount of $1 billion per incident. A catastrophic spill could exceed the coverage available, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Under OPA 90, with limited exceptions, all newly built or converted tankers delivered after January 1, 1994 and operating in U.S. waters must be double-hulled. All of our tankers are double-hulled. OPA 90 also requires owners and operators of vessels to establish and maintain with the U.S. Coast Guard evidence of financial responsibility in an amount at least equal to the relevant limitation amount for such vessels under the statute. The U.S. Coast Guard has implemented regulations requiring that an owner or operator of a fleet of vessels must demonstrate evidence of financial responsibility in an amount sufficient to cover the vessel in the fleet having the greatest maximum limited liability under OPA 90 and CERCLA. Evidence of financial responsibility may be demonstrated by insurance, surety bond, self-insurance, guaranty or an alternate method subject to approval by the U.S. Coast Guard. Under the self-insurance provisions, the shipowner or operator must have a net worth and working capital, measured in assets located in the United States against liabilities located anywhere in the world, that exceeds the applicable amount of financial responsibility. We have complied with the U.S. Coast Guard regulations by using self-insurance for certain vessels and obtaining financial guaranties from a third party for the remaining vessels. If vessels in our fleet trade to the United States in the future, we expect to provide guaranties through self-insurance or obtain guaranties from third-party insurers.

OPA 90 and CERCLA permit individual U.S. states to impose their own liability regimes with regard to oil or hazardous substance pollution incidents occurring within their boundaries, and some states have enacted legislation providing for unlimited strict liability for spills. Several coastal states, such as California, Washington and Alaska require state-specific evidence of financial responsibility and vessel response plans. We intend to comply with all applicable regulations in the ports where our vessels call.

Owners or operators of vessels, including tankers operating in U.S. waters are required to file vessel response plans with the U.S. Coast Guard, and their tankers are required to operate in compliance with their U.S. Coast Guard approved plans. Such response plans must, among other things:

address a “worst case” scenario and identify and ensure, through contract or other approved means, the availability of necessary private response resources to respond to a “worst case discharge;”
describe crew training and drills; and
identify a qualified individual with full authority to implement removal actions.

In addition, we conduct regular oil spill response drills in accordance with the guidelines set out in OPA 90. The U.S. Coast Guard has announced it intends to propose similar regulations requiring certain vessels to prepare response plans for the release of hazardous substances. OPA 90 and CERCLA do not preclude claimants from seeking damages resulting from the discharge of oil and hazardous substances under other applicable law, including maritime tort law. The application of this doctrine varies by jurisdiction.

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Clean Water Act. The United States Clean Water Act (“CWA”) prohibits the discharge of oil or hazardous substances in United States navigable waters unless authorized by a permit or exemption, and imposes strict liability in the form of penalties for unauthorized discharges. The CWA also imposes substantial liability for the costs of removal, remediation and damages and complements the remedies available under OPA 90 and CERCLA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) has enacted rules governing the regulation of ballast water discharges and other discharges incidental to the normal operation of vessels within U.S. waters. The EPA authorized these incidental discharges pursuant to a permit the EPA designated as the Vessel General Permit for Discharges Incidental to the Normal Operation of Vessels (the “VGP”), which incorporated the current U.S. Coast Guard requirements for ballast water management as well as supplemental ballast water requirements, and includes limits applicable to 26 specific discharge streams, such as deck runoff, bilge water and gray water.

The EPA updated the VGP in 2013 to incorporate numeric effluent limits for ballast water expressed as the maximum concentration of living organisms in ballast water, as opposed to the prior non-numeric requirements. These requirements correspond with the IMO’s requirements under the BWM Convention, as discussed above. The permit also contains maximum discharge limitations for biocides and residuals. The numeric effluent limits took effect under a staggered implementation schedule and do not apply to all vessels. Vessels with deferred deadlines for meeting the numeric standards are required to meet Best Management Practices, which are substantially similar to the requirements under the previous VGP.

The VGP includes a tiered requirement for obtaining coverage based on the size of the vessel and the amount of ballast water carried. Vessels that are 300 gross tons or larger and have the capacity to carry more than eight cubic meters of ballast water must submit notices of intent (“NOIs”) to receive permit coverage between six and nine months after the permit’s issuance date. Vessels that do not need to submit NOIs are automatically authorized under the permit. In December 2018, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (“VIDA”) was signed into law and restructured the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard programs for regulating incidental discharges from vessels. Rather than requiring CWA permits, the discharges will be regulated under a new CWA Section 312(p) establishing Uniform National Standards for Discharges Incidental to Normal Operation of Vessels. Under VIDA, VGP provisions and existing U.S. Coast Guard regulations will be phased out over a period of approximately four years and replaced with National Standards of Performance (“NSPs”) to be developed by EPA and implemented and enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard. VIDA requires EPA to develop NSPs for approximately 30 discharges by December 2020. The discharges to be covered are similar to those in 2013 VGP and the NSPs are generally required to be at least as stringent as the requirements of the 2013 VGP. On October 26, 2020, EPA issued proposed regulations to establish NSPs, including general discharge standards of performance, covering general operation and maintenance, biofouling management, and oil management, and specific discharge standards applicable to specified pieces of equipment and systems. On October 18, 2023, EPA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking that shared ballast water information EPA received from the U.S. Coast Guard after the original rule proposal, supplemented the 2020 rule proposal with regulatory options being considered by EPA for discharges from ballast tanks, hulls and associated niche areas, and graywater systems, and solicited comments on the additional information presented in the notice for consideration during the rule development. Final regulations are expected in 2024. The scheduled expiration date of the 2013 VGP was December 18, 2018, but under VIDA the provisions of the VGP will remain in place until the new EPA NSPs and the corresponding U.S. Coast Guard implementation, compliance and enforcement regulations are in place. VIDA requires the corresponding U.S. Coast Guard regulations to be developed within two years following the adoption of the EPA NSPs.

In addition to the requirements in the VGP (to be replaced by the NSPs established under VIDA), vessel owners and operators must meet 25 sets of state-specific requirements under the CWA’s § 401 certification process. Because the CWA § 401 process allows tribes and states to impose their own requirements for vessels operating within their waters, vessels operating in multiple jurisdictions could face potentially conflicting conditions specific to each jurisdiction that they travel through.

While we do not believe that the costs associated with complying with the existing VGP permits and the NSPs that will be promulgated, including meeting related treatment requirements, will be material, it is difficult to predict the overall impact of CWA requirements on our business at this stage. In addition, state-specific requirements under the CWA’s § 401 and any similar restrictions enacted in the future could increase our costs of operating in the relevant waters.

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National Invasive Species Act (“NISA”). In March 2012, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a final rule establishing standards for the allowable concentration of living organisms in ballast water discharged in U.S. waters and requiring the phase-in of U.S. Coast Guard approved ballast water management systems. The rule went into effect in June 2012 and set ballast water discharge standards for vessels calling on U.S. ports and intending to discharge ballast water equivalent to those set in IMO’s BWM Convention. The final rule requires that ballast water discharge have no more than ten living organisms per milliliter for organisms between ten and 50 micrometers in size. For organisms larger than 50 micrometers, the discharge can have no more than ten living organisms per cubic meter of discharge. New ships constructed on or after December 1, 2013 were required to comply with these ballast water treatment standards, with existing ships required to comply by their first drydock after January 1, 2014 or January 1, 2016, depending on size.

Clean Air Act. The United States Clean Air Act requires the EPA to promulgate standards applicable to emissions of volatile organic compounds and other air contaminants. Our vessels are subject to vapor control and recovery requirements for certain cargoes in regulated port areas and emission standards for so-called “Category 3” marine diesel engines operating in U.S. waters. The marine diesel engine emission standards are equivalent to those adopted set forth in Annex VI to MARPOL. Compliance with these standards may cause us to incur costs to install control equipment on our vessels in the future.

Trends in Environmental Regulation in the United States. Numerous governmental agencies issue regulations to implement and enforce the laws of the applicable jurisdiction, which often involve lengthy permitting procedures, impose difficult and costly compliance measures, particularly in ecologically sensitive areas, and subject operators to substantial administrative, civil and criminal penalties or may result in injunctive relief for failure to comply. Some of these laws contain criminal sanctions in addition to civil penalties. Changes in environmental laws and regulations occur frequently, and any changes that result in more stringent and costly compliance or limit contract drilling opportunities, including changes in response to a serious marine incident that results in significant oil pollution or otherwise causes significant adverse environmental impact, such as the April 2010 Macondo well blowout incident, could adversely affect our financial results. Although significant capital expenditures may be required to comply with these governmental laws and regulations, such compliance has not materially adversely affected our earnings or competitive position. We believe that we are currently in compliance in all material respects with the environmental regulations to which we are subject.

We may also be affected by or subject to permitting and other requirements under a variety of other environmental laws not discussed above, such as the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and National Environmental Policy Act.

Greenhouse Gas Regulation

In February 2005, the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the “Kyoto Protocol”) entered into force. Pursuant to the Kyoto Protocol, adopting countries were required to implement national programs to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (“GHGs”). The Kyoto Protocol was effectively replaced by the Paris Agreement. Emissions of greenhouse gases from international shipping were not subject to the Kyoto Protocol and currently are not subject to the Paris Agreement.

On July 15, 2011, the IMO approved mandatory measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from international shipping. The amendments to Annex VI to MARPOL for the prevention of air pollution from ships add a new Chapter 4 to Annex VI on energy efficiency requiring the Energy Efficiency Design Index (“EEDI”) for new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (“SEEMP”) for all ships. The regulations apply to all ships of 400 gross tonnage and above and entered into force on January 1, 2013. These rules will likely affect the operations of vessels that are registered in countries that are signatories to Annex VI to MARPOL or vessels that call upon ports located within such countries. The IMO also adopted a mandatory data collection system requirement in October 2016 (“IMO DCS”) that requires ships of 5000 gross tonnage and above to record and report their fuel oil consumption, indirectly addressing carbon dioxide emissions data. The requirement was entered into force on March 1, 2018.

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The IMO is also taking steps toward the development of a market-based mechanism for greenhouse gas emissions from ships. At the October 2016 Marine Environmental Protection Committee (“MEPC”) session, the IMO adopted a roadmap for developing a comprehensive IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions. In April 2018, the MEPC adopted an initial strategy designed to reduce GHG emissions from vessels, including short-term, mid-term and long-term candidate measures with a vision of reducing and phasing out GHG emissions from vessels as soon as possible in the 21st Century. In June 2021, the MEPC adopted amendments to MARPOL Annex VI that enter into force on November 1, 2022 and establish as short-term GHG reduction measures an enforceable regulatory framework to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping, consisting of technical and operational carbon reduction measures. These measures include use of an Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (“EEXI”), an operational Carbon Intensity Indicator “CII”) and an enhanced SEEMP to drive reductions in the carbon intensity. A vessel’s attained EEXI will be calculated in accordance with values established based on type and size category, which compares the vessels’ energy efficiency to a baseline. A vessel is then required to meet a specific EEXI based on a required reduction factor expressed as a percentage relative to the EEDI baseline. Under the MARPOL VI amendments, vessels with a gross tonnage of 5,000 or greater must determine their required annual operational CII and their annual carbon intensity reduction factor needed to ensure continuous improvement of the vessel’s CII. On an annual basis, the actual annual operational CII achieved would be documented and verified against the vessel’s required annual operational CII to determine the vessel’s operational carbon intensity rating on a performance level scale of A (major superior) to E (inferior). The performance level would be required to be recorded in the vessel’s SEEMP. A vessel with an E rating, or three consecutive years of a D (minor inferior) rating, would be required to submit a corrective action plan showing how the vessel would achieve a C (moderate) rating. The requirements for EEXI and CII certification included in the MARPOL Annex VI amendments took effect January 1, 2023, which means the first annual reporting was completed in 2023 and the first rating will be given in 2024. The MEPC regulatory approach is consistent with the IMO’s initial GHG strategy target of a 40% carbon intensity reduction for international shipping by 2030, as compared to 2008. The initial GHG strategy contemplated the adoption of a revised strategy in 2023. This revised strategy, the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (“2023 IMO GHG Strategy”), was adopted by the MEPC on July 7, 2023. The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy includes as a goal attaining net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping by or around 2050, promotes the uptake of alternative zero and near-zero GHG emissions technologies, fuels and/or energy sources by 2030, and identifies as indicative checkpoints a level of ambition at least a 20% reduction, compared to 2008, in total annual GHG emissions from international shipping by 2030 and at least a 70% reduction by 2040, striving for reductions of 30% by 2030 and 80% by 2040. The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy contemplates adoption of an updated strategy in 2028 and calls for the adoption of mid-term GHG reduction measures by 2025 and the development, finalization and agreement on possible long-term GHG reduction measures as part of the 2028 strategy review.

In the United States, the EPA issued an “endangerment finding” regarding greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. While this finding in itself does not impose any requirements on our industry, it authorizes the EPA to regulate directly greenhouse gas emissions through a rule-making process. In addition, from time to time climate change initiatives have been or are considered in the United States Congress and by individual states and may be considered in the future. In June 2013, the European Commission developed a strategy to integrate maritime emissions into the overall EU strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In accordance with this strategy, in April 2015 the European Parliament and Council adopted regulations (EU Directive 2015/757 or EU MRV Regulation) requiring vessels exceeding 5,000 gross tons using EU ports to monitor, report and verify their carbon dioxide emissions beginning in January 2018, with the first reports due in June 2019. In February 2019, the European Commission adopted a proposal to amend the EU MRV Regulation to harmonize the requirements of the EU MRV Regulation and the IMO DCS. On September 15, 2020, the European Parliament adopted measures to include maritime transport in the EU’s Emissions Trading System (“ETS”) as of 2022 and to set binding requirements for at least a 40% reduction (compared to 1990) in GHG emissions by shipping companies by 2030. On May 10, 2023, the EU extended the EU-ETS to the shipping sector commencing January 1, 2024. Beginning in 2026, in addition to carbon dioxide emissions, the EU MRV and the EU-ETS for shipping will cover methane and nitrous oxide emissions.

Although it is no longer a part of the EU MRV regime, the United Kingdom retained in domestic law the EU regulation establishing the EU MRV, and amended the law to make the regulation applicable in a United Kingdom-only context. Operators of ships over 5,000 gross tons using ports in the United Kingdom were required to begin collecting emissions data for their ships commencing January 1, 2022 for the 2022 reporting period. The requirement to report the data required to be collected to the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been delayed pending the agency’s development of a digital reporting system.

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Any passage of climate control legislation or other regulatory initiatives by the IMO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the EU, Norway, Brazil or other countries where we operate, that restrict GHG emissions could have a significant financial and operational impact on our business, including requiring us to make significant financial expenditures that we cannot predict with certainty at this time. For example, the Paris Agreement could lead to increased regulation of greenhouse gases or other concerns relating to climate change. In addition, even without such regulation, our business may be indirectly affected to the extent that climate change results in sea level changes or more intense weather events.

Vessel Security Regulation

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there have been a variety of initiatives intended to enhance vessel security. On November 25, 2002, the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (the “MTSA”), came into effect in the United States. To implement certain portions of the MTSA, in July 2003, the U.S. Coast Guard issued regulations requiring the implementation of certain security requirements aboard vessels operating in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Similarly, in December 2002, amendments to SOLAS created a new chapter of the convention dealing specifically with maritime security. The maritime security chapter came into effect in July 2004 and imposes various detailed security obligations on vessels and port authorities, most of which are contained in the ISPS. The ISPS is designed to protect ports and international shipping against terrorism. After July 1, 2004, to trade internationally, a vessel must maintain an International Ship Security Certificate (“ISSC”) from a recognized security organization approved by the vessel’s flag state.

Among the various requirements are:

onboard installation of automatic identification systems to provide a means for the automatic transmission of safety-related information from among similarly equipped ships and shore stations, including information on a ship’s identity, position, course, speed and navigational status;
onboard installation of ship security alert systems, which do not sound on the vessel but only alert the authorities on shore;
the development of vessel security plans;
a ship identification number to be permanently marked on a vessel’s hull;
a continuous synopsis record kept onboard showing a vessel’s history, including the name of the ship and of the state whose flag the ship is entitled to fly, the date on which the ship was registered with that state, the ship’s identification number, the port at which the ship is registered and the name of the registered owner(s) and their registered address; and
compliance with flag state security certification requirements.

The U.S. Coast Guard regulations, intended to align with international maritime security standards, exempt non-U.S. vessels from the MTSA vessel security measures provided such vessels have onboard a valid ISSC that attests to the vessel’s compliance with SOLAS security requirements and the ISPS. KNOT has implemented the various security measures addressed by the MTSA, SOLAS and the ISPS.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time we have been, and expect to continue to be, subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of our business, principally personal injury and property casualty claims. These claims, even if lacking merit, could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources. We are not aware of any legal proceedings or claims that we believe will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on us.

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Taxation of the Partnership

Certain of our subsidiaries are subject to taxation in the jurisdictions in which they are organized, conduct business or own assets. We intend that our business and the business of our subsidiaries will be conducted and operated in a manner designed to minimize the tax imposed on us and our subsidiaries. However, we cannot assure this result as tax laws in these or other jurisdictions may change or we may enter into new business transactions relating to such jurisdictions, which could affect our tax liability.

Marshall Islands

Because we and our subsidiaries do not, and assuming we and our subsidiaries continue not to, carry on business or conduct transactions or operations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, neither we nor our subsidiaries are subject to income, capital gains, profits or other taxation under current Marshall Islands law, other than taxes, fines or fees due to (i) the incorporation, dissolution, continued existence, merger, domestication (or similar concepts) of legal entities registered in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, (ii) filing certificates (such as certificates of incumbency, merger, or re-domiciliation) with the Marshall Islands registrar, (iii) obtaining certificates of good standing from, or certified copies of documents filed with, the Marshall Islands registrar, (iv) compliance with Marshall Islands law concerning record keeping and vessel ownership, such as tonnage tax, or (v) non-compliance with economic substance regulations or requests made by the Marshall Islands Registrar of Corporations relating to our books and records and the books and records of our subsidiaries. As a result, distributions KNOT UK receives from its subsidiary, distributions that such subsidiary receives from the operating subsidiaries, and distributions we receive from KNOT UK, are not expected to be subject to Marshall Islands taxation.

United States

We have elected to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, we are subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent we earn income from U.S. sources or income that is treated as effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States unless such income is exempt from tax under an applicable treaty or Section 883 of the Code. Because our fleet is owned by subsidiaries resident in Norway, we expect that we qualify for an exemption from U.S. federal income tax on any U.S. source gross transportation income we earn by virtue of the application of the U.S.-Norway Tax Treaty, and we intend to take this position for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Moreover, we do not expect to earn any income that is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States.

Norway

We are treated as fiscally transparent for Norwegian tax purposes and expect to organize our affairs and conduct our business in a manner such that we, and our remaining subsidiaries that are not organized under the laws of the Kingdom of Norway, are not subject to a material amount of Norwegian taxes.

Our vessel-owning subsidiaries have been organized under the laws of the Kingdom of Norway and are subject to the tonnage tax regime in Norway. Pursuant to this regime, our vessel-owning subsidiaries will be subject to Norwegian tax based predominantly upon the net tonnage of their owned vessels rather than income generated from operating the vessels (i.e., operating income). Based upon the net tonnage of our current vessels and the applicable rate of taxation, our Norwegian subsidiaries are liable for approximately $211,700 of Norwegian tonnage tax for the year ended December 31, 2023. In addition, under the tonnage tax regime, net financial income (i.e. income not generated from operating vessels) is subject to the regular Norwegian corporate income tax rate.

On December 14, 2017, the Norwegian government concluded negotiations with the EFTA Surveillance Authority regarding the Norwegian tonnage tax regime, which has been approved for another ten years until 2027. Pursuant to the approval, Norway has introduced restrictions that eliminate the ability of companies that operate vessels under certain bareboat charters to qualify for the Norwegian tonnage tax regime. Companies that no longer qualify for the Norwegian tonnage tax regime will instead be subject to regular Norwegian corporate income tax. However, there are no limitations on intra-group bareboat chartering, as well as bareboat charters where crewing services are carried out by a related party. In order to constitute a related party, a minimum of 25% joint ownership/control is required according to the Norwegian General Taxation Act Section 8-13, paragraph 6. Because KNOT owns more than 25% of our partnership interests and owns 100% of KNOT Management and KNOT Management Denmark (which provide these crewing services to us), our bareboat charters are effectively seen as time charter services to the customer. If this related party situation is ended, other alternatives and possibly mitigating measures would need to be evaluated by the Partnership.

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The United Kingdom’s withdrawal and exit from EU, commonly referred to as “Brexit”, took place on January 31, 2020. In order to meet any future national flag requirements pursuant to the Norwegian tonnage tax regime, we reflagged some of our previously U.K.-flagged vessels to an EU/European Economic Area (“EEA”) flag. Whether there will be a flag requirement for any year is announced in September/October of that year. On September 22, 2023, it was announced that the flag requirement was applicable for the year ended December 31, 2023. Our Norwegian vessel-owning subsidiaries were compliant with the flag requirement in 2023.

Further, as from January 1, 2021, as the Brexit transition period has ended, the domestic Norwegian legislation providing exemption of withholding tax on outbound dividends from KNOT Shuttle Tankers AS to KNOT UK is no longer applicable, as this exemption rule only includes dividend distributions to corporate shareholders within the EU/EAA. However, we expect that dividends from KNOT Shuttle Tankers AS to KNOT UK are still exempt from withholding tax pursuant to the double tax treaty between Norway and the U.K.

United Kingdom

Although we are managed and controlled in the United Kingdom, we have obtained confirmation from HM Revenue & Customs that we are treated as a transparent partnership for United Kingdom tax purposes. Accordingly, we are not subject to U.K. tax in our own name, but rather any partners subject to U.K. tax will be taxed on their share of our profits.

Our general partner and KNOT UK expect to be a resident of the United Kingdom for taxation purposes subject to tax on ordinary income. Nonetheless, these companies are primarily expected to earn dividend income from our controlled affiliates, which should generally be exempt from United Kingdom taxation under applicable exemptions for distributions from subsidiaries.

Employees

We directly employ one onshore employee and no seagoing employees. As of December 31, 2023, KNOT employed (directly and through ship managers) approximately 837 seagoing staff to serve on our vessels. KNOT and its affiliates may employ additional seagoing staff to assist us as we grow. KNOT, through certain of its subsidiaries, provides onshore advisory, commercial, technical and operational support to our operating subsidiaries pursuant to the technical management agreements and management and administration agreements. Please read “Item 7. Major Unitholders and Related Party Transactions—Related Party Transactions.”

We and KNOT regard attracting and retaining motivated seagoing personnel as a top priority. KNOT offers seafarers competitive employment packages and opportunities for personal and career development, which relates to a philosophy of promoting internally. The officers operating our vessels are engaged on individual employment contracts, and we have entered into collective bargaining agreements that cover substantially all of the sailing personnel that operate the vessels in our current fleet, which are flagged in Norway, the Isle of Man, Malta, Denmark, United Kingdom or the Bahamas. We believe our relationships with these labor unions are good. Our commitment to training is fundamental to the development of the highest caliber of seafarers for our marine operations. KNOT’s cadet training approach is designed to balance academic learning with hands-on training at sea. KNOT trains personnel mainly in Norway and the Philippines and at institutions that utilize ship handling, dynamic positioning and cargo handling simulators. After receiving formal instruction at one of these institutions, our seafarers’ training continues onboard one of KNOT’s vessels. Additional vessel and equipment training and courses are arranged in accordance with our training policies and the training requirements of our charterers. We believe that high-quality crewing and training policies will play an increasingly important role in distinguishing the larger, independent shipping companies with shuttle tanker experience from those that are newcomers and lack experienced, in-house staff and established expertise on which to base their customer service and safety operations.

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C. Organizational Structure

We are a publicly traded limited partnership formed on February 21, 2013.

The diagram below depicts our simplified organizational and ownership structure as of April 11, 2024.

Graphic

(1)Each of our vessels are owned by certain vessel-owning subsidiaries.

We listed our common units on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) in April 2013 under the ticker symbol “KNOP.”

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We were formed under the law of the Marshall Islands and maintain our principal executive headquarters at 2 Queen’s Cross, Aberdeen, AB15 4YB, United Kingdom. Our telephone number at that address is +44 (0) 1224 618420. Our principal administrative offices are located at 2 Queen’s Cross, Aberdeen, AB15 4YB, United Kingdom.

A full list of our significant operating and vessel-owning subsidiaries is included in Exhibit 8.1.

D. Property, Plants and Equipment

Other than the vessels in our current fleet, we do not have any material property.

Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects

The following should be read in conjunction with “Item 4. Information on the Partnership,” “Forward-Looking Statements” and the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in this Annual Report. Among other things, those financial statements include more detailed information regarding the basis of presentation for the following information. Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) and are presented in U.S. Dollars.

Overview

We were formed in February 2013 as a limited partnership under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to own and operate shuttle tankers under long-term charters. Our initial fleet of shuttle tankers was contributed to us by KNOT, a leading independent owner and operator of shuttle tankers. Our current fleet consists of eighteen shuttle tankers. Under the Omnibus Agreement, we have the right to purchase from KNOT any shuttle tankers operating under charters of five or more years.

On April 18, 2013, we completed our IPO. In connection with our IPO, we sold 8,567,500 common units to the public, through the underwriters, at a price of $21.00 per unit, and issued to KNOT 8,567,500 subordinated units and all of our incentive distribution rights. On May 18, 2016, all of the subordinated units converted into common units on a one for one basis. On September 10, 2021, KNOT contributed to the Partnership all of KNOT’s incentive distribution rights in exchange for the issuance by the Partnership to KNOT of 673,080 common units and 673,080 Class B Units, whereupon the incentive distribution rights were cancelled. As of April 11, 2024, KNOT owned 28.4% of our common units, 208,333 Series A Preferred Units, 252,405 Class B Units and our general partner, and our general partner owned a 1.83% general partner interest in us and 0.3% of our common units.

Significant Developments in 2023 and Early 2024

$240 Million Loan Facility

On June 2, 2023, the Partnership closed its new five-year $240 million senior secured term loan facility with DNB. The new facility, like the previous facility which was scheduled to mature in September 2023, is secured by the Windsor Knutsen, the Bodil Knutsen, the Fortaleza Knutsen, the Recife Knutsen, the Carmen Knutsen and the Ingrid Knutsen. The $240 million term loan bears interest at a rate per annum equal to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus a margin of 2.4% and is repayable in 20 consecutive quarterly installments, with a final payment at maturity in May 2028 of $85.4 million, which amount includes the balloon payment and last quarterly installment. The loan is guaranteed by the Partnership and secured by mortgages on the related vessels.

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Refinancing of Revolving Credit Facilities

On August 16, 2023, the Partnership closed the refinancing of the first of its two $25 million revolving credit facilities, with the facility being rolled over with NTT Finance Corporation. The new facility will mature in August 2025, bears interest at a rate per annum equal to SOFR plus a margin of 2.23% and has a commitment fee of 0.5% on the undrawn portion of the facility. The commercial terms of the facility are substantially unchanged from the facility entered into in June 2021 with NTT Finance Corporation.

On November 15, 2023, the Partnership closed the refinancing of the second of its two $25 million revolving credit facilities, with the facility being rolled over with SBI Shinsei Bank, Limited. The new facility will mature in November 2025, bears interest at a rate per annum equal to SOFR plus a margin of 2.0% and has a commitment fee of 0.8% on the undrawn portion of the facility. The commercial terms of the facility are substantially unchanged from the facility entered into in November 2020 with SBI Shinsei Bank, Limited.

Repayment of $172.5 million Loan Facility

On September 15, 2023, the loan facility secured by the Dan Cisne was repaid in full with a $10.2 million payment. On January 9, 2024, the loan facility secured by the Dan Sabia was repaid in full with a $10.4 million payment. The Dan Sabia and the Dan Cisne are now debt-free and there are no plans to incur additional borrowings secured by these vessels until such time as the Partnership has better visibility on the vessels’ future employment.

Hilda Loan Facility

On April 5, 2024, the Partnership’s subsidiary, Knutsen Shuttle Tankers 14 AS, which owns the vessel Hilda Knutsen, entered into a new $60 million senior secured term loan facility with DNB (the “$60 Million Hilda Facility”). The $60 Million Hilda Facility will refinance and replace the $100 Million facility with Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance (Hong Kong) Limited, which is also secured by the Hilda Knutsen and is due to be repaid in full in May 2024 with a ballon payment of $58.5 million. This refinancing is anticipated to close prior to the maturity date of the expiring facility, and remains subject to execution of definitive documentation and other customary closing conditions.

ATM program

On November 2, 2023, the Partnership entered into an at-the-market sales agreement with B. Riley Securities, Inc. (the “Agent”) for a new ATM program pursuant to which the Partnership may offer and sell up to $100 million of common units from time to time, through the Agent. This new sales agreement replaces and supersedes the prior sales agreement with the Agent entered into on August 26, 2021, which had provided for a $100 million at-the-market offering program for our common units. The Partnership intends to use the net proceeds of any sales of offered units for general partnership purposes, which may include, among other things, the repayment of indebtedness or the funding of acquisitions or other capital expenditures.

Vessel Impairments

Impairments in respect of the Dan Cisne and the Dan Sabia of $24.5 million and $25.2 million respectively were recognized in the second quarter of 2023. In accordance with US GAAP, the Partnership’s fleet is regularly assessed for impairment as events or changes in circumstances may indicate that a vessel’s net carrying value exceeds the net undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated over its remaining useful life, and in such situation the carrying amount of the vessel is reduced to its estimated fair value. This exercise in the second quarter resulted in an impairment in respect of these vessels due to their current charter contracts moving closer to expiry, their high carrying value, and their smaller size not being optimal for the Brazilian market, therefore affecting the outlook for their future employment.

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Management Transition

As previously announced on August 4, 2023, Mr. Derek Lowe became the Partnership’s new Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, taking office on September 13, 2023. Mr. Lowe joined the Partnership from Telford Offshore, a provider of accommodation, construction and pipelay in the global offshore energy services industry. He served as the Group Company Secretary of Telford Offshore since its formation in 2018, having provided consultancy services to its predecessor since 2015. He worked from 2011 to 2015 for the debt capital markets group of Pareto Securities, and from 1994 to 2010 for the equity capital markets group of UBS.

Time Charters with KNOT for the Hilda Knutsen, Torill Knutsen and Bodil Knutsen

The Hilda Knutsen, Torill Knutsen and Bodil Knutsen each continued to operate on separate time charter contracts with a subsidiary of KNOT, at a reduced charter rate. On January 2, 2024, these rolling monthly contracts were extended to January 2025 for the Hilda Knutsen and the Torill Knutsen. The Bodil Knutsen’s contract was extended until she was delivered to Equinor on March 27, 2024 to commence on a new fixed two-year time charter. The Partnership is continuing to market the Hilda Knutsen and the Torill Knutsen for new, third-party charter employment.

The Hilda Knutsen successfully completed her drydock on July 13, 2023. The Torill Knutsen successfully completed her drydock on December 3, 2023.

Anna Knutsen

The vessel operates under a time charter contract with a subsidiary of TotalEnergies that expires in April 2024. On March 22, 2024, TotalEnergies exercised its option to extend the charter to April 2026.

Windsor Knutsen

On January 11, 2023, the Windsor Knutsen began operating under a time charter contract with Shell for a fixed period of one year with a charterer’s option to extend the charter by one further year. On October 30, 2023, Shell exercised its option to continue the charter to the first quarter of 2025. In September 2023, the Partnership signed a new time charter contract for the Windsor Knutsen with an oil major to commence within the window from February 1, 2025 to May 1, 2025. The new time charter contract is for a fixed period of two years.

Dan Cisne and Dan Sabia

On December 15, 2023, the Partnership received the Dan Cisne back via redelivery, following expiry of its bareboat charter party to Transpetro. The Dan Cisne is being assessed for shuttle tanker operations in the North Sea and has also been deployed on short-term conventional tanker contracts.

On January 9, 2024, an extension to the existing bareboat charter party for the Dan Sabia was signed with Transpetro, extending the vessel’s fixed employment to early June 2024.

Fortaleza Knutsen and Recife Knutsen

The bareboat charters of the Fortaleza Knutsen and the Recife Knutsen with Transpetro expired in March 2023 and August 2023, respectively. The Partnership entered into a new three-year time charter contract for each of these two vessels with the existing charterer to commence directly upon expiration of the existing bareboat charters. The new charter for the Fortaleza Knutsen commenced on March 30, 2023, and the contract for the Recife Knutsen commenced on August 3, 2023.

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Carmen Knutsen

The Carmen Knutsen successfully completed her planned 10-year special survey drydocking on February 24, 2023 and recommenced on her charter with Repsol. On December 15, 2023 Repsol exercised its extension option to the existing time charter for the Carmen Knutsen, extending the vessel’s fixed employment to mid-January 2025. A further one year extension option remains available to Repsol.

Ingrid Knutsen

In accordance with the time charter agreement with Eni for the Ingrid Knutsen, the vessel was returned to the Partnership on January 2, 2023, and the vessel subsequently performed a number of spot voyages, including in the conventional tanker market. On March 2, 2023, the vessel began operating under a time charter contract with Altera. On March 28, 2024 the Ingrid Knutsen was redelivered from Altera, following which she has worked in the conventional tanker market. While she is due for delivery to Eni during April 2024 on three-year time charter contract, it is possible that commercial terms no less favourable to the Partnership may be agreed for an alternative delivery later in 2024. The Ingrid Knutsen successfully completed her drydock on December 19, 2023.

Tordis Knutsen

The vessel operated under a time charter with a subsidiary of TotalEnergies which expired on July 1, 2023. On the same day, the vessel was delivered to Shell to commence on a three-year time charter contract. On October 2, 2023, the Partnership signed an agreement with Shell to extend the current time charter for the Tordis Knutsen to July 2027.

Lena Knutsen

The vessel operated under a time charter agreement with a subsidiary of TotalEnergies until August 31, 2023. In September 2023, the Lena Knutsen commenced operating under a three-year time charter contract with Shell. On October 2, 2023, the Partnership signed an agreement with Shell to extend the time charter for one more year to September 2027.

Brasil Knutsen

The Brasil Knutsen successfully completed her drydock on July 14, 2023, and continued her time charter with Petrogal, a subsidiary of Galp, until November 24, 2023 when she was delivered to Petrorio Luxembourg Holding S.A.R.L. for a new time charter contract which will expire in May 2025 with the option to extend by two further months. The vessel will commence on a new 3 year time charter with Equinor in the third quarter of 2025.

Vigdis Knutsen

The Vigdis Knutsen operated under a time charter with China Offshore Oil (Singapore), International Pte. Ltd., a company within the same group as PetroChina, which originally expired in September 2023. This charter was extended until the vessel was delivered to Shell on March 16, 2024 to commence a three-year time charter contract.

Cash Distribution

On January 11, 2023, the Partnership reduced its quarterly common unit distribution to $0.026 per common unit. The quarterly common unit distribution has remained at $0.026 since that time. We expect to continue to use our internally generated cash flow to provide for working capital, reduce our debt levels and strengthen our balance sheet.

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Our Charters

We generate revenues by charging customers for the hire of our vessels and for services related to the transportation of their crude oil using our vessels. These services are provided under the following basic types of contractual relationships:

Time charters, whereby the vessels that we operate and are responsible for the crewing of are chartered to customers for a fixed period of time at hire rates that are either fixed for the firm period of the time charter with escalations to be made in case of option periods or that increase annually based on a fixed percentage increase or fixed schedule in order to enable us to offset expected increases in operating costs. Under our time charters, hire rate payments may be reduced if the vessel does not perform to certain of its specifications, such as if the average vessel speed falls below a guaranteed speed or the amount of fuel consumed to power the vessel under normal circumstances exceeds a guaranteed amount, and the customer is generally responsible for any voyage expenses incurred; and
Bareboat charters, whereby customers charter our vessels for a fixed period of time at hire rates that are generally fixed, but the customers are responsible for the vessel operation and bear the operating and voyage expenses, including crewing and other operational services.
Single voyage charters or spot charters is a contract entered into by the Partnership or the owner of the vessels and a charterer whereby the charterer is entitled to use the vessel to perform transportation services between specified geographical locations at a specified freight rate per ton. Under single voyage charter or spot charter agreements, voyage expenses are paid by the Partnership or the owner of the vessels.

The table below compares the primary features of a time charter, a bareboat charter and a single voyage charter:

    

Time Charter

    

Bareboat Charter

    

Single Voyage Charter

 

Typical charter length

One year or more

One year or more

One month or less

Hire rate basis(1)

Daily

Daily

Freight rate per ton

Voyage expenses(2)

Customer pays

Customer pays

Owner pays

Vessel operating expenses(2)

Owner pays

Customer pays

Owner pays

Off-hire(3)

Varies

Customer typically pays

Not applicable

(1)“Hire rate” refers to the basic payment from the charterer for the use of the vessel.
(2)Defined below under “—Important Financial and Operational Terms and Concepts.”
(3)“Off-hire” refers to the time a vessel is not available for service. Our time charters contain provisions whereby the customer is generally not required to pay the hire rate during off-hire. Our bareboat charters do not contain such provisions.

Market Overview and Trends

As of March 1, 2024, the shuttle tanker market consisted of approximately 74 vessels plus 11 newbuilds on order, characterized by mid to long-term charters with offshore oil producers. Most shuttle tankers operate in the North Sea or offshore Brazil.

Demand for shuttle tankers is based on offshore oilfield development and prior to mid-2014, higher oil prices and a positive long-term offshore oil outlook led to increased activity. During 2015-2018, oil companies delayed certain oil production start-ups in both the North Sea and Brazil. In 2019, there were increased project startups.

Then, following announcements made during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 by many of the large oil exploration and production companies, near-term capital expenditure cuts were again seen, delaying many new developments in Brazil and the North Sea by an expected 12 - 24 months. These announcements also indicated to the Partnership that these projects would not be cancelled. This assumption is supported by the relatively low costs of oil production in the North Sea and especially Brazil, the rebound in both oil prices and, to a degree, current global oil demand and FPSO activity, particularly in Brazil where market activity has already strengthened as oil production has increased.

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Brazil has continued on a path to higher offshore deepwater oil production and on November 30, 2022, Petrobras signaled that its investments had returned to pre-COVID levels as it approved its Strategic Plan for 2023-2027. In the plan, Petrobras is committing around $42 billion of capex to Pre-salt exploration and production, all related to projects that on average remain viable at a long-term Brent oil price of $35 per barrel, and while keeping on-track with its 2030 low-carbon intensity goals (Brazil’s pre-salt region is known for its highly productive wells and has some of the lowest carbon intensity levels seen globally).

With several new platforms expected to commence operations, we believe that demand for shuttle tankers in Brazil, where fourteen of our vessels have typically operated, will strengthen, and continue into the mid and long term.

The dampened demand in the North Sea shuttle tanker market as a result of production and project delays, as well as maintenance and upgrades in the Balder and Njord fields, persisted throughout 2023. However, we continue to expect the market to rebalance as customers move forward with offshore projects that were postponed or delayed, as countries increasingly prioritize oil production due to high oil prices and energy security concerns, and as some older vessels also naturally exit the shuttle tanker market. Such macro variables make forecasting the specific timing of this rebalancing more difficult.

We also face risks and trends that could adversely affect our industry and business. Energy rebalancing trends have accelerated in recent years as evidenced by promulgated or proposed government policies and commitments by many of our customers to further invest in sustainable energy sources. Our industry could be further challenged as our customers rebalance their capital investments to include alternative energy sources, as well as respond to the normal cycles that have historically existed in our industry. It is also possible that the inflationary pressures experienced in 2023 may persist in 2024.

We believe that demand for existing and for newbuild shuttle tankers will continue to be driven over the long term, based on the requirement to replace older tonnage in the North Sea and from further expansion of deep and ultra-deep water offshore oil production in areas such as Pre-salt Brazil and the Barents Sea. We therefore remain positive with respect to the mid-to-long-term outlook for the growth in demand for shuttle tankers and the opportunities that this will present.

The statements in this “Market Overview and Trends” section are forward-looking statements based on management’s current expectations and certain material assumptions and, accordingly, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance and outcomes to differ materially from those expressed herein. See “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors.”

Items You Should Consider When Evaluating Our Historical Financial Performance and Assessing Our Future Prospects

You should consider the following facts when evaluating our historical results of operations and assessing our future prospects:

The size of our fleet continues to change. Our historical results of operations reflect changes in the size and composition of our fleet due to our acquisitions of the Carmen Knutsen, the Hilda Knutsen, the Torill Knutsen, the Dan Cisne , the