Nordic American Tankers Ltd (NYSE: NAT) - Doubling of the dividend in the first quarter 2020

Hamilton, Bermuda, March 24, 2020

 

Dear shareholders,

On March 17, 2020 we indicated that the dividend for the fourth quarter 2019 could be expected to double in 1Q 2020. The timecharter for our fleet in 1Q 2020 will be about $45,000/day per ship. NAT has 23 suezmaxes. Operating costs are $8,000/day per ship.



The Board of NAT has decided that the actual dividend will be 14 cent per share for 1Q 2020 versus 7 cent for 4Q 2019. The dividend for 1Q 2019 was 3 cent per share.



The first quarter 2020 report will be announced May 18, 2020. The record date for the dividend will be Tuesday May 26, 2020 and the payment date will be Friday June 5, 2020.



NAT has an objective to prioritize dividend.



The market for our ships remains very strong.

Best regards,

Herbjørn Hansson

Chairman & CEO

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.