TW, the chart action in NAT is "iffy" at best. NAT and VLCCF are incorporated in Bermuda and as we know
the reporting rules are not as great as the US.
NAT as you can see below gets a base rate per day on each of it's tankers and can earn a premium if daily time
charter rates are above a certain level. So clearly NAT can have a reduction in earnings if tanker shipping
declines. With this slowdown in economies worldwide, the shipping volumes obviously shrink.
John
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Nordic American Tanker Shipping Limited was incorporated on June 12, 1995 under the laws of the Islands of Bermuda for the purpose of acquiring, disposing, owning, leasing, and chartering three double hull Suezmax oil tankers (the Vessels). Each of the Company's Vessels is a 1997-built, 151,459 dwt (dead-weight tons) double hull Suezmax oil tanker. The Vessels were delivered between August and December 1997 and have been designed according to the specifications set forth in the shipbuilding contracts between the Builder and the Company (the Shipbuilding Contracts). The Vessels were built at Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. in South Korea. Each Vessel is registered on Isle of Man and flies the British flag.
Chartering Operations Commenced on September 30, 1997. Each Vessel is chartered to BP Shipping Ltd. (the Charterer), pursuant to separate "hell and high water" bareboat charters (the Charters). The initial term of these charters began on September 30, 1997 and will end approximately seven years after such date, subject to extension at the option of the Charterer for up to seven successive one-year periods. Under each Charter, the Charterer is required to provide the Company with at least 12 months' prior notice of each such extension.
The daily charterhire rate payable under each Charter is comprised of two components: a fixed minimum rate of charterhire of $13,500 per Vessel per day (the Base Rate), paid quarterly in advance, and additional charterhire (which will be determined and paid quarterly in arrears and may equal zero), which would equal the excess, if any, of a weighted average of the daily time charter rates for two round-trip trade routes traditionally served by Suezmax tankers (Bonny, Nigeria to/from the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, and Hound Point, U.K. to/from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), over the sum of an agreed amount of $8,500 representing daily operating costs and the Base Rate. |
