Hamilton, Bermuda, September 5, 2011
Nordic American Tankers Limited (“NAT” or the “Company”) today announced that the Company has agreed to acquire its twentieth vessel, a double-hull suezmax tanker built at Samsung Heavy Industries, Korea. The agreed purchase price is $24.45 million. This first class vessel is expected to be delivered to us no later than October 5, 2011. The acquisition will be financed from the financial resources of the Company.
Nordic American has a modern fleet of vessels at an average age of about 9.5 years. The newly acquired vessel is built in the same year and at the same yard as the sister vessel, the Nordic Sprite (1999). It is of significant importance to have sister vessels in the fleet as operational and cost synergies can be realized. The vessel was built at high technical specifications. Our focus on safety for crew, vessels and the environment will never cease. NAT is a company built on quality in all respects.
At the end of 2010, Nordic American had 15 vessels employed in the spot market. Including the delivery of the current acquisition and the delivery of the second newbuilding from Samsung this October, Nordic American is expected to have a fleet of 20 vessels at that time – an increase of 33.3% in less than a year – bolstering our dividend and earnings capacity going forward.
The acquisition represents a natural step in the further development of Nordic American. The Company is seeking to increase its dividend and earnings capacity through further expansion, but we are in no rush. We believe that our strong balance sheet, well defined and transparent operating model provide the Company with a solid competitive position going forward.
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.
Contacts:
Scandic American Shipping Ltd
Manager for:
Nordic American Tankers Limited
P.O Box 56, 3201 Sandefjord, Norway
Tel: + 47 33 42 73 00 E-mail: nat@scandicamerican.com
Rolf Amundsen, Head of Investor Relations, Norway
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +1 800 601 9079 or + 47 908 26 906
Jacob Ellefsen, Head of Research, United Kingdom
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: + 44 20 31 78 58 20 or + 44 78 27 92 94 11
Gary J. Wolfe
Seward & Kissel LLP, New York, USA
Tel: +1 212 574 1223
Herbjørn Hansson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or + 47 901 46 291