HAMILTON, Bermuda, Dec. 1, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Dear Shareholder,

As we approach the end of a good year for Nordic American, I would like to share with you some thoughts about our company and our industry. This is an exciting time for us in the tanker industry, with strong bookings and high profits. Nordic American is in excellent shape. I believe that our well-defined and well-executed strategy will continue to propel NAT going forward. Key elements of our strategy are our quarterly dividends for 74 successive quarters since the autumn of 1997 coupled with minimal debt.

Below is a synopsis of the strategy of Nordic American:

Link to the graph: http://hugin.info/201/R/1970475/720392.pdf

OPEC's decision in the autumn of 2014 to raise oil production has helped our industry. Wrongly, some investors seem to consider NAT as part of the energy sector. While many companies exposed to the oil price have been negatively affected, we must keep in mind that the low oil price is a result of large volumes of oil being produced, shipped and also stored. This has increased demand for our vessels, while the lower oil price has reduced our fuel expenses. A low oil price is good for the world economy and hence for the tanker industry.

The world, from the eyes of a tanker owner, has changed significantly in recent years. Trade patterns are constantly shifting and the flow of crude from the West to the East has now become a larger trade than in the past. A new feature over the last few years is that oil to a larger extent also is being transported the other way; from East to the West.

Domestic production of crude in the United States has been affected by the objective of Middle East countries to retain market share. At the same time China, India and other countries in the area are rapidly catching up and China can now be expected to become the world's largest importer of crude oil in a few years. We believe oil demand is developing in a way that will continue to boost demand for transportation.

As things appear, fleet growth and transportation demand growth in 2016 look well balanced, setting the tone for a healthy tanker market. We expect that the fourth quarter 2015 will be good as we approach a strong winter market. As a shareholder you can expect this market strength to enable NAT to continue to pay healthy dividends. The excellent quality of our fleet is encouraging, showing our keen willingness to comply with the strict requirements of the major oil companies when it comes to safety for crew, the environment and assets. We took over two 2010 built suezmaxes in September and October this year and Nordic American has two newbuildings joining the fleet in 2016 and 2017. We are then at 26 vessels.

This brings me to the core of what we do at Nordic American - we focus on satisfying our clients and maximizing total return to our shareholders. As one of the largest shareholders myself, every decision made by our team affects me and my family in the same way as it does every other shareholder. As matters stand, our newbuildings and the two second-hand vessels acquired earlier this year do not require any additional equity to be issued. We are always looking at opportunities to grow. There are always ships for sale. Our focus will remain on making any transactions add value to the shareholders.

We continue to believe in our way of doing business. Our focus on quality and the strength of our balance sheet are compelling reasons to be an investor in Nordic American. We are the most liquid tanker stock, underlining that NAT is a popular way to gain exposure to the volatile tanker market. We look forward with optimism to what the tanker market may bring in 2016, realizing the volatility in the market place.

As always, please feel free to email me with any comments you may have at Herbjorn.hansson@scandicamerican.com

I wish you and your families all the best for the holidays.

Kind regards,
Herbjorn 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 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:

Jan H. A. Moller, 
Head of Investor Relations & Financial Manager
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +47 33 42 73 00 or +47 90 11 53 75
 
Herbjørn Hansson, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or +47 90 14 62 91
 
Turid M. Sørensen, CFO & EVP
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +47 33 42 73 00 or +47 90 57 29 27
 
Rolf Amundsen, Advisor
Nordic American Tankers 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

Press release (PDF) http://hugin.info/201/R/1970475/720392.pdf

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