Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) – Update on TC arrangements with major oil companies and comments on the NAT potential.

Hamilton, Bermuda, August 23, 2017

Dear Shareholder,

In our message of August 9, 2017, we informed you about our time charter (TC) arrangements with Shell, ExxonMobil and other major oil companies both in the West and in the East. The TC arrangements are from three months to 18 months in duration. We are currently discussing additional TC arrangements with major oil interests worldwide.

Some of the agreements have special structures. There is an agreed minimum rate well above our cash break-even of $11,500 per day per ship with an upside in a rising market. As an example, if the whole NAT fleet is achieving average rates of $30,000 per day per ship, all things being equal, the cash surplus to NAT is expected to be in the region of $45 million per quarter. This is an indication of the potential earnings capacity of NAT.

The Chairman & CEO commented: “These balanced contracts give NAT a floor rate, which is well above our current cash break-even, and produce a solid cash surplus in a more buoyant market. My family is one of the largest shareholders of NAT and as a shareholder, we are very pleased with these arrangements”.

Kind regards,
Herbjørn Hansson
Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Limited

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:
Herbjørn Hansson, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or +47 90 14 62 91

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

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

www.nat.bm

Press release (PDF)