UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
6-K
REPORT
OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-16 OR 15D-16 OF
THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the
month of May 2009
Commission
File Number: 001-13944
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NORDIC
AMERICAN TANKER SHIPPING LIMITED
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(Translation
of registrant’s name into English)
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LOM
Building, 27 Reid Street, Hamilton, HM 11, Bermuda
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(Address
of principal executive office)
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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): [ ].
Note: Regulation S-T Rule
101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely
to provide an attached annual report to security holders.
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): [ ].
Note: Regulation S-T Rule
101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to
furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer
must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the
registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant's
"home country"), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the
registrant's securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is
not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the
registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already
been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on
EDGAR.
INFORMATION
CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT
Attached
as Exhibit 1 is a press release of Nordic American Tanker Shipping
Limited, dated May 15, 2009, relating to the partial exercise of the
over-allotment option granted to the underwriters in the Company’s previously
announced underwritten public offering.
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)
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Dated: May
15, 2009
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By:
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/s/
Herbjørn Hansson
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Herbjørn
Hansson
Chairman,
Chief Executive Officer and
President
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Nordic
American Tanker Shipping Limited (NYSE:NAT) Announces Underwriters' Exercise of
Over-allotment Option.
Hamilton,
Bermuda, May 15, 2009
Nordic
American Tanker Shipping Limited (the "Company") announced today that, in
connection with its previously announced follow-on offering of 4,000,000 common
shares, the underwriters have partially exercised the over-allotment option
granted to them by the Company. The Company will sell an additional
225,000 common shares as a result of the over-allotment exercise on the same
terms on which the 4,000,000 common shares were sold to the underwriters,
resulting in aggregate net proceeds to the Company, before expenses relating to
the offering, of approximately $130.0 million.
Morgan
Stanley is acting as the bookrunning manager for the offering, and DnB NOR
Markets is acting as co-manager of the offering. The Company expects to
close the sale of the 4,225,000 common shares on May 18, 2009, subject to
customary closing conditions. After the closing, the Company will have
42,204,903 common shares outstanding.
This
release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy the
common shares referred to above. An offering of any such common shares will be
made only by means of a prospectus. No offer to sell or solicitation of an offer
to buy such common shares shall be made in any state or jurisdiction in which
such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
The
offering is being made only by means of a prospectus and related prospectus
supplement. A prospectus supplement related to the offering has been filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of the prospectus and prospectus
supplement relating to the offering may be obtained from the offices of Morgan
Stanley at 180 Varick Street, Second Floor, New York, New York 10014, Attention:
Prospectus Department or by email at prospectus@morganstanley.com.
About
the Company
The
Company is an international tanker company that owns 13 modern double-hull
Suezmax tankers and has agreed to acquire an additional three double-hull
Suezmax tankers, of which two are newbuilding Suezmax tankers and one is an
existing Suezmax tanker.
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,"
"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 piracy, 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 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 Shipping 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
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
SK 01318
0002 996542