UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
6-K
REPORT
OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-16 OR 15D-16 OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the
month of October 2008
Commission
File Number: 001-13944
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NORDIC
AMERICAN TANKER SHIPPING LIMITED
|
|
(Translation
of registrant’s name into English)
|
|
LOM
Building, 27 Reid Street, Hamilton, HM 11, Bermuda
|
|
(Address
of principal executive office)
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Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F
[X] Form 40-F
[ ]
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ___
Note: Regulation S-T Rule
101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely
to provide an attached annual report to security holders.
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)7: ___
Note: Regulation S-T Rule
101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to
furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer
must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the
registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant's
"home country"), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the
registrant's securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is
not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the
registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already
been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on
EDGAR.
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in
this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant
to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes
[_] No [X]
If “Yes”
is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):
82-______________.
INFORMATION
CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT
Attached
as Exhibit 1 is a letter to shareholders from Herbjørn Hansson, Chairman and
CEO of Nordic American Tanker Shipping Limited, issued on October 13,
2008.
Exhibit
1
Nordic
American Tanker Shipping Ltd. (NAT)-(NYSE:NAT) Letter to Shareholders from the
Chairman and CEO
Hamilton,
Bermuda, October 13th
2008
Dear
Shareholder,
In
today’s volatile situation in the international financial markets many
shareholders are contacting us to learn more about the situation of the company.
Therefore, I write this letter. In short, the company is in
a very good position.
In my
letter to you of September 10th we gave
you the dividend record so far in 2008: For the 1st quarter
the dividend paid was $1.18 and the 2nd quarter
gave $1.60 in dividend per share. We indicated that the dividend for the 3rd quarter
is expected to be in the order of $1.50 per share. We are upholding this view;
the 3rd quarter
was very good for NAT.
The
earnings and dividend report for the 3rd quarter
is expected to be announced November 7th before
opening of the New York Stock Exchange. The record date for the 3rd quarter
dividend is November 20th - i.e.
this is the date when shareholders must have the shares on record in order to
qualify for the 3rd quarter
dividend. The shares are expected to trade ex dividend November 18th. The
3rd
quarter dividend is expected to be paid on or about December 2nd.
It is essential to note that
the company has no debt. Having one of the strongest balance sheets in
the tanker industry, the financial position of the company is further bolstered
by the fact that the company has an unused available credit facility of $500
million. The term of the credit facility was extended earlier this year from
September 2010 to September 2013. There is no repayment obligation during the
term of the facility. Therefore, we have a platform which provides us with a
basis for further growth and continued dividend payments.
We
estimate that our average cash breakeven for our trading fleet is below $9,000
per day per vessel. When the freight market is above this level, the Company can
be expected to pay a dividend. The breakeven rate is the amount of average daily
revenues for our vessels which would cover our vessel operating expenses, voyage
expenses, if any, cash general and administrative expenses, interest expense and
other financial charges.
The
average spot market rate for modern suezmax tankers, according to the Imarex
Tanker Index (Imarex), was $62,381 per day during the 3rd quarter
2008. The Imarex index is an indication of the level of the spot tanker
market.
We would
like to inform you that 4th quarter
has started on a positive note. The Imarex index shows an average of
$55,089 per day for the first 10 days of October. Two recent fixtures – both
concluded in October – are examples: One of our ships obtained a contract for a
period of about 55 days for a round voyage that is expected to produce more than
$80,000 per day. Expected discharge is on the US West Coast in mid
December. Another ship was fixed for loading in West Africa with
discharge in Canada. This round voyage is expected to produce about $47,000 over
33 days. As a matter of policy, we never predict the short term tanker
market rates – our policy in this regard also applies to the 4th quarter
of 2008.
The
company has paid dividend for 44 consecutive quarters since the autumn of 1997
when the first three vessels in our fleet were delivered. We wish to continue
our simple, predictable and transparent operating model with a full pay-out
dividend policy.
We thank
you for your continued interest in Nordic American which is a very strong
company. NAT is able to reap benefits in a positive freight market and to
withstand any pressure in a more weak environment.
Sincerely,
Herbjørn
Hansson
Chairman
& Chief Executive Officer
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 Tanker Shipping Limited
P.O Box
56, 3201 Sandefjord, Norway
Tel: + 47
33 42 73 00 E-mail: nat@scandicamerican.com
Rolf
Amundsen, Investor Relations
Nordic
American Tanker Shipping Limited
Tel: +1
800 601 9079 or + 47 908 26 906
Gary J.
Wolfe
Seward
& Kissel LLP, New York, USA
Tel: +1
212 574 1223
Turid M.
Sørensen, CFO
Nordic
American Tanker Shipping Limited
Tel: +
47 33 42 73 00 or + 47 905 72 927
Herbjørn
Hansson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Nordic
American Tanker Shipping Limited
Tel:
+1 866 805 9504 or + 47 901 46 291
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized.
NORDIC
AMERICAN TANKER SHIPPING LIMITED
(registrant)
Dated: October
14,
2008
By: /s/ Herbjørn
Hansson
Herbjørn Hansson
Chairman,
Chief Executive Officer and President