Message to the investor market from Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE: NAT). Lower oil price is good for crude oil tankers.

Hamilton, Bermuda, December 9, 2014

Low oil price is good for crude tanker companies. We said that very explicitly in our letter to shareholders of November 20th 2014 – please see enclosure. Lower oil price leads to increased oil demand and economic growth, stimulating the need for transportation. Some observers wrongly seem to indicate that the crude tanker business could suffer from low/lower oil prices. The opposite is the case.

The current rates in the spot tanker market have continued on a positive path, boding well for the 4th quarter of 2014, a development we hope will continue in 2015.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements.  The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “pending” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties.  Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.  We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market, as a result of changes in OPEC’s petroleum production levels and world wide oil consumption and storage, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the prospectus and related prospectus supplement, our Annual Report on Form 20-F, and our reports on Form 6-K.

For questions related to this message, please contact Nordic American Tankers Limited:

Jacob Ellefsen,
Manager, Investor Relations and Research
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: + 33 678 631 959 or + 377 93 25 89 07 

Turid M. Sørensen, CFO & EVP
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +47 33 42 73 00 or +47 90 57 29 27

Rolf Amundsen, Advisor
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +1 800 601 9079 or + 47 908 26 906

Herbjørn Hansson, Chairman  & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or + 47 901 46 291

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For questions related to the newly established separate company, Nordic American Offshore Ltd., please contact:

Tor-Øyvind Bjørkli, Chief Executive Officer
Nordic American Offshore Ltd.
Tel: +47 90 62 70 14 or +47 21 99 24 81

Herbjørn Hansson, Executive Chairman
Nordic American Offshore Ltd.
Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or + 47 901 46 291

Jacob Ellefsen,
Manager, Investor Relations and Research
Nordic American Offshore Ltd.
Tel: + 33 678 631 959 or + 377 93 25 89 07 

Gary J. Wolfe
Seward & Kissel LLP, New York, USA
Tel: +1 212 574 1223

Letter to Shareholders

Press release (PDF)