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 September 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 September 10, 2008.
Exhibit 1
Nordic
American Tanker Shipping Ltd. (NAT)-(NYSE:NAT) Letter to Shareholders from the
Chairman and CEO
Hamilton,
Bermuda, September 10th
2008
Dear
Shareholder,
In
my letter to you of July 7 2008 it was indicated that the first half of 2008
would produce excellent results for our company. We were indeed right in this
comment as our dividend for 2Q08 announced August 8 was $1.60 per share – a
dividend which was paid to shareholders in early September. You will recall that
the dividend for the first quarter of 2008 was $1.18 per share.
The
strong spot market for our suezmax vessels has continued into the third quarter.
We now see that the third quarter of 2008 also can be expected to produce good
results. At the time of this writing we would like to inform you that the
dividend payment for the third quarter may be expected to be in the order of
$1.50 per share – reflecting that our modern suezmax tankers have enjoyed good
market conditions during this quarter.
The
average spot market rate for modern suezmax tankers, according to the Imarex
Tanker Index, was $43,553 per day during August. The average Imarex rate for the
first 9 days of September was $48,173 per day. This index is an indication of
the level of the spot tanker market. As examples of the solid market, two of our
vessels have obtained contracts the last two days at healthy rates. One vessel
is expected to generate about $50,000 per day for a voyage lasting for about 35
days and the other one is expected to produce about $40,000 per day for about 50
days. The two voyages are expected to commence in the period September
22/September 24. As of today, 80% to 90% of the income days for the third
quarter 2008 has been covered.
There
are uncertain times in the international financial markets – above all related
to the situation in the US, impacting the equity markets. One of the
top international shipping bankers said in an interview yesterday that it is now
much more difficult and expensive than before for shipping companies to finance
its existing vessels and/or newbuildings because of the credit crunch. Our
company is in a very good position in this environment, as the company has no
debt following our issuance of stock in May 2008. To support the further
expansion of the company, our credit facility of $500 million is still unused
and available. Please remember that the term of the credit facility was extended
earlier this year from September 2010 to September 2013 – an extension which has
contributed to solidifying the financial platform of our company. The credit
facility cannot be reduced by the lenders and there is no repayment obligation
during the term of the facility.
A
softer oil price is positive for world economic growth and hence for the tanker
industry as more transportation capacity is required.
In
summary, we are enjoying healthy rates at this time.
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 and we wish you all the
best!
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: September
10,
2008 By: /s/ Herbjørn
Hansson
Herbjørn Hansson
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President
SK 01318 0002
917687