Hamilton, Bermuda, December 1, 2017
In our message of November 3, 2017, we informed shareholders about the schedule for financing of the three NAT newbuildings under construction at Samsung shipyard in South Korea. We are now pleased to announce that NAT has entered into final agreements with a subsidiary of Ocean Yield ASA for the financing of the outstanding commitments of $39 million per ship, due on delivery.
30% of the contract price for each vessel ($55.7 m) was paid cash by NAT to the yard when the vessels were ordered in October 2016. The three Suezmax newbuildings are expected to be delivered during the latter part of 2018. The financed amount by Ocean Yield is about $43 million per vessel.
The agreements are based on a 10-year bareboat charter for each vessel. NAT will buy back the vessel at the end of the charter, but also has the flexibility to buy-back the vessels from Ocean Yield after year five and seven. Ocean Yield ASA, a company within the Aker sphere, is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE).
The Chairman & CEO, Herbjørn Hansson, commented: "It is exciting to do business with Ocean Yield , which is 66% owned by Aker ASA. We are pleased to have secured solid long term financing for the three newbuildings with such good companies."
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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 worldwide 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 | Bjørn Giæver, CFO Nordic American Tankers Limited Tel: +1 888 755 8391 or +47 91 35 00 91 |
| Gary J. Wolfe Seward & Kissel LLP, New York, USA Tel: +1 212 574 1223 | www.nat.bm |
