NAT Looking into a ‘Ship or Two’

Nasdaq-listed tanker company Nordic American Tankers Limited is pondering ship acquisition opportunities to be financed by its cash, held back from previous quarters.

“The company is in an excellent position to grow the fleet,” Herbjørn Hansson, NAT’s Chairman & CEO said, adding that the company will resume to restrain from making large fleet acquisitions.

According to Hansson, based on the company’s strategy NAT has the financial capacity to increase the fleet beyond 24 units, “by a ship or two, without issuing stock.”

“We see that some other players, both public and private, have suffered as a result of what I like to call gigantomania. Our approach to risk management is to take one step at a time, always considering the many pitfalls of large and complicated transactions,” he added.

NAT already has two newbuildings on order scheduled for delivery in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

For the second quarter of 2015, NAT is expected to achieve rates generally at the same level as in the first quarter of 2015, which should result in a strong dividend for the 2nd Q of 2015.

The decline of the price of oil coupled with minimal tanker fleet growth are among the key factors keeping Nordic American in clover.

“Our strategy of maintaining a strong balance sheet and focusing on the quality of our operations and vessels is quite literally paying dividends,” Hansson went on to say.

Image courtesy: DN GL/Damir Cvetojevic