Hamilton, Bermuda, July 29, 2011
Nordic American Tankers (the Company) today announced that Nordic Breeze, the first of the two vessels under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., is expected to be delivered to the Company August 23, 2011. This is more than one month earlier than expected.
The second vessel, Nordic Zenith, is expected to be delivered to the Company in the latter part of October 2011 which also is well in advance of the original schedule.
Both vessels are fully financed, and no equity offering is under planning.
Following the delivery of Nordic Breeze and Nordic Zenith, the Company has increased its trading fleet by 27% during 2011, from 15 vessels in 4Q2010 to 19 vessels in 4Q2011 - all suezmax vessels of about 150,000 dwt each - thereby bolstering the dividend and earnings capacity correspondingly.
As previously advised the market, the dividend and earnings report (including the dividend amount per share) for the second quarter 2011 will be published Monday August 8, 2011 before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange. Dividend will be paid August 31, 2011 to shareholders of record August 19, 2011.
Herbjørn Hansson, the Company's Chairman & CEO, commented: "Going forward, Nordic American is continuously seeking to expand its dividend and earnings capacity through further acquisitions; when the timing is right. Nordic American has ample financial resources and a strong balance sheet. After the delivery of the two Samsung vessels our net debt will still be very small. I am pleased that we will receive the vessels from Samsung earlier than planned, which is a clear advantage."
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 Ltd.
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 Ltd.
Tel: +1 800 601 9079 or + 47 908 26 906
Jacob Ellefsen, Head of Research, United Kingdom
Nordic American Tankers Ltd.
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 Ltd.
Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or + 47 901 46 291