Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Dear Shareholders & Investors,
I thought I would share with you my thoughts for what I think 2023 holds for our company.
The last days of 2022 are a good harbinger for the future: We concluded four contracts at rate levels of about USD 40,000 to USD 50,000 per day ranging between 30 days to 50 days each.
As we have seen in the past, political uncertainty creates demand for the transport of oil. As a consequence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the West's strong reaction, energy security is of paramount concern. Oil will have to be sourced from further away than in the past, creating longer voyages. Uncertain times also encourages hoarding among some buyers, adding to demand for oil and for the NAT tankers.
I also see a longer-term trend, and that is the increased demand for oil, in particular from Asian economies. Over the last decades, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty. A strong middle class has taken root and continues to grow rapidly, producing an ever-expanding appetite for oil.
Finally, NAT in particular stands to benefit from the fact that the supply of Suezmax tankers will remain at historic low levels for at least the next two or three years. Environmental regulations, increased steel and production costs, and higher interest rates make investing in new ships quite challenging. A smaller order book for new tankers has always helped our industry.
As the owner of a versatile fleet of Suezmax tankers, NAT is ideally positioned to meet the opportunities and challenges of this year and beyond.
I am highly optimistic about the future, and wish you and your families the best for 2023!
Yours sincerely,
Herbjorn Hansson
Founder, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Ltd
www.nat.bm
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.
Contacts:
Bjørn Giæver, CFO
Nordic American Tankers Ltd
Tel: +1 888 755 8391
Alexander Kihle, Finance Manager
Nordic American Tankers Ltd
Tel: +47 91 724 171
