FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D. C. 20549
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the month of January 2005
NORDIC AMERICAN TANKER SHIPPING LIMITED
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
Canons Court
22 Victoria Street
Hamilton HM 12
Bermuda
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F X Form 40-F ______
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
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT
Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 is a copy of the press release issued by
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Limited (the "Company") on January 21, 2005
relating to the announcement of the Company's acquisition of a vessel.
Exhibit 1
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. (NAT) - (NYSE: NAT) Announces Vessel
Acquisition
Hamilton, Bermuda, January 21, 2005 --
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. (the "Company") today announced that the
Company has agreed to acquire a double hull suezmax tanker. The well maintained
tanker was built by a first class yard in the Far East.
Following this acquisition, the Company will have five environmentally friendly
modern suezmax oil tankers. The acquired vessel was built in 1998 and the other
four vessels in the NAT fleet in 1997. All the tankers have double hull.
The Chairman & CEO of NAT, Herbjorn Hansson, commented: "I am pleased that we
have been able to do this business which represents an important step in the
further expansion of our company - a process that we expect will continue. This
transaction is in line with the growth strategy of accretive acquisitions to
bolster dividend and earnings per share".
The acquisition price for the ship of USD 68.25m will be financed with a credit
facility of USD 300m that the Company has established with an international
banking syndicate.
NAT completed the transformation from a financial lease company into an
operating company in mid October 2004, and the Company has expanded its fleet by
two vessels after that point in time.
The Company is expected to take over the acquired ship at the end of March,
whereafter the ship is expected to be employed in the spot market.
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 our Annual Report
on Form 20-F.
Contacts:
Scandic American Shipping Ltd
Manager for
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd.
P.O Box 56
3201 Sandefjord
Norway
Tel: + 47 33 42 73 00
E-mail: info@scandicamerican.com
------------------------
Web-site: www.nat.bm
Rolf Amundsen
Chief Financial Officer
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd.
Tel: +1 800 601 9079 or + 47 908 26 906
Herbj0rn Hansson
Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd.
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: January 27, 2005 By:/s/ Herbjorn Hansson
----------------------------
Herbjorn Hansson
President and
Chief Executive Officer
01318.0002 #542272