Operating Leases

Total expense under non-cancelable operating lease commitments, primarily for offices, motor vehicles and office equipment was $15.0 million, $12.6 million and $9.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. As of December 31, 2016, minimum annual rentals for non-cancelable leases with initial or remaining terms in excess of one year were as follows (in thousands):

Rental payments applicable to such operating leases are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

Ship Construction Contracts

We have Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Bliss and one additional Breakaway Plus Class Ship on order for delivery in the spring of 2017, spring of 2018 and the fall of 2019, respectively. These ships will be amongst the largest in our fleet, each reaching approximately 164,600 Gross Tons. The combined contract price of these three ships is approximately €2.6 billion, or $2.7 billion based on the euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate as of December 31, 2016. We have export credit financing in place that provides financing for 80% of their contract prices. We have an Explorer Class Ship on order with an original contract price of approximately €422.0 million, or approximately $443.8 million based on the euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate as of December 31, 2016. We have export credit financing in place that provides financing for 80% of the contract price. The Explorer Class Ship is expected to be delivered in the winter of 2020.

In connection with the contracts to build the ships, we do not anticipate any contractual breaches or cancellation to occur. However, if any would occur, it could result in, among other things, the forfeiture of prior deposits or payments made by us and potential claims and impairment losses which may materially impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As of December 31, 2016, minimum annual payments for non-cancelable ship construction contracts with initial or remaining terms in excess of one year were as follows (in thousands):

As of December 31, 2016, future commitments to pay for usage of certain port facilities were as follows (in thousands):

The FMC requires evidence of financial responsibility for those offering transportation on passenger ships operating out of U.S. ports to indemnify passengers in the event of non-performance of the transportation. Accordingly, each of our three brands are required to maintain a $30.0 million third-party performance guarantee in respect of liabilities for non-performance of transportation and other obligations to passengers. The guarantee requirements are subject to additional consumer price index-based adjustments. Also, our brands have a legal requirement to maintain a security guarantee based on cruise business originated from the U.K. As of December 31, 2016, approximately British Pound Sterling 10.5 million was in place as a security guarantee. We also are required to establish financial responsibility by other jurisdictions to meet liability in the event of non-performance of our obligations to passengers from those jurisdictions.

From time to time, various other regulatory and legislative changes have been or may in the future be proposed that may have an effect on our operations in the U.S. and the cruise industry in general.

Litigation

In the normal course of our business, various claims and lawsuits have been filed or are pending against us. Most of these claims and lawsuits are covered by insurance and, accordingly, the maximum amount of our liability is typically limited to our deductible amount.

Nonetheless, the ultimate outcome of these claims and lawsuits that are not covered by insurance cannot be determined at this time. We have evaluated our overall exposure with respect to all of our threatened and pending litigation and, to the extent required, we have accrued amounts for all estimable probable losses associated with our deemed exposure. We are currently unable to estimate any other potential contingent losses beyond those accrued, as discovery is not complete nor is adequate information available to estimate such range of loss or potential recovery. However, based on our current knowledge, we do not believe that the aggregate amount or range of reasonably possible losses with respect to these matters will be material to our consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. We intend to vigorously defend our legal position on all claims and, to the extent necessary, seek recovery.