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 August 2006
NORDIC AMERICAN TANKER SHIPPING LIMITED
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
Thistle House
4 Burnaby Street
Hamilton, HM 11
Bermuda
(Address of principal executive offices)
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): ___
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: ___
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): ________.
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 on July 31, 2006, announcing that it has
agreed to purchase another two Suexmax vessels.
[GRAPHIC OMITTED]
Exhibit 1
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. - (NYSE: NAT)
Announces Agreement to Purchase Another Two Suezmax Vessels
Hamilton, Bermuda, July 31, 2006
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. (the "Company" or "NAT") today announced
that it has agreed to acquire its eleventh and twelfth Suezmax tanker. These
vessels, one built in 2002 and one in 2003 in the Samsung shipyard in South
Korea, are sister vessels to the Company's tenth vessel (built 2003) whose
acquisition was announced on July 17. While the tanker market is volatile and
difficult to predict, our analysis shows that the spot market results in higher
average rates than those achieved in the fixed term-charter market. Therefore,
it is presently anticipated that these vessels will be employed in spot or spot
related business, like all but one of the Company's existing vessels. The
aggregate price for the three sister vessels is $ 246m. All the twelve vessels
of the Company have double hull.
NAT has several sister vessels in its fleet. The Company's experience is that
sister vessels provide for particular efficiency as regards operating costs
through interchange of spare parts and greater ease of crew training. In
addition, the Company believes that being able to offer sister vessels increases
their attraction to potential customers who wish to charter a specific vessel
type.
Herbjorn Hansson, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated: "By
increasing our fleet to twelve Suezmax tankers, we believe that we shall be able
to realize increased operational efficiencies and it will help us in providing
for a stronger market presence, having one of the largest and most modern fleets
of double hull Suezmax tankers. These acquisitions will not require any
significant increase in the Company's overhead costs, and, therefore, we should
be able to reduce our overhead costs per vessel. We expect that these
acquisitions will result in higher dividend and earnings per share than had
these vessels not been acquired. Growth will remain an essential part of our
operating model." Together with the acquisition that was announced on July 17,
the Company expects that these two vessels also will join its fleet no later
than by the end of November 2006. Financing for these acquisitions is expected
to consist of a combination of debt and equity.
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-hire, failure on the
part of a seller to complete a sale to us 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 Ltd.
P.O Box 56, 3201 Sandefjord, Norway
Tel: + 47 33 42 73 00 E-mail: nat@scandicamerican.com
Web-site: www.nat.bm
Rolf Amundsen, Investor Relations
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd.
Tel: +1 800 601 9079 or + 47 908 26 906
Herbjorn 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: August 2, 2006 By: /s/ Herbjorn Hansson
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Herbjorn Hansson
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer
and President
SK 01318 0002 691384