Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. - (NYSE: NAT) Letter to Shareholders from the Chairman & CEO

Hamilton, Bermuda, March 8, 2010
 
Dear Shareholder,
 
As Chairman and CEO I strive to keep all our shareholders well informed about
key aspects of the development of our Company. It is therefore now time for me
to send you another letter.
 
Since my letter of September 29, 2009 to you, the Company has acquired two more
suezmax vessels, of which one was delivered to us on November 17, 2009 and the
other was delivered to us on March 2, 2010. We paid $51.5 million for each of
these 2002 built suezmax tankers. Including the two newbuildings expected to be
delivered to us later this year, the fleet of our Company consists of 18 suezmax
vessels. The acquisitions are accretive and the dividend potential of the
Company has increased.
 
Accretive growth is a key element in our strategy. Over time the fleet must grow
faster than the share count in order to create value for shareholders. In
January 2010 we priced a follow-on offering from which the proceeds to the
Company were $137 million before cash offering costs.  The Company currently has
the resources to acquire 4 more vessels without tapping the equity market. An
increase of the fleet from 18 to 22 vessels would represent a 22% increase of
our fleet whereas the share count was increased by about 10% in connection with
the follow-on offering. This is an example of accretion while recognizing that
net debt is expected to be slightly higher after such prospective acquisitions.
 
Having a fleet consisting solely of suezmax vessels, we experience cost benefits
and in today`s environment we also pursue possibilities of further reductions in
our costs. The Company also has low general and administrative costs which
together with our low debt contribute to a very low cash breakeven.
 
So far into the first quarter of 2010, at the time of this writing, we observe a
spot suezmax tanker market which on average is well above the level of the
fourth quarter of 2009.  Based on the market so far in 2010 we therefore expect
the dividend of the Company for the first quarter of 2010 to be substantially
higher than the dividend for the fourth quarter of 2009, which was $0.25 per
share.
 
Our primary objective is to maximize total return to our shareholders, including
maximizing our quarterly cash dividend. Over time we have in the past produced a
very competitive total return for our shareholders and we believe that we are in
an excellent position to achieve such results also going forward.
 
With our proven model and strong balance sheet we aim to be in a position to
reap the benefits in the markets as they develop, be they soft or strong from
time to time.
 
I would like to finalize my letter to you by stressing a key dimension in our
model: the alignment of interests between our shareholders and our management.
If our shareholders do well, so do management and vice versa. We do not believe
in special, supermajority shares, for our management.  In our Company, all
shares have one vote, plain and simple.
 
As you understand, I am optimistic about the future of our Company.
 
All the best!
 
Sincerely,
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:
 
Scandic American Shipping Ltd
Manager for:
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Limited
P.O Box 56, 3201 Sandefjord, Norway
Tel: + 47 33 42 73 00 E-mail:  nat@scandicamerican.com
 
Rolf Amundsen, Investor Relations
Nordic American Tanker ShippingLimited
Tel: +1 800 601 9079 or + 47 908 26 906
 
Gary J. Wolfe
Seward & Kissel LLP, New York, USA
Tel: +1 212 574 1223
 
Turid M. Sørensen, CFO
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Limited
Tel:  + 47 33 42 73 00 or + 47 905 72 927
 
Herbjørn Hansson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Nordic American Tanker Shipping Limited
Tel:  +1 866 805 9504 or + 47 901 46 291
 
[HUG#1391542]
 
Press release (PDF): http://hugin.info/201/R/1391542/349378.pdf