About Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Limited operates as an international tanker company focusing solely on owning, operating and chartering of Suezmax tankers. The vessels in the company’s fleet are homogenous and interchangeable, which is a business strategy it refers to as the ‘Nordic American System’. Under the ‘Nordic American System’, the company is focusing on close customer relationships and serving the ‘Big Oil’ companies with a top-quality fleet. All tankers in the company’s fleet are Suezmax vessels, which have a carrying capacity of one million barrels of oil. Fleet The company’s fleet as of December 31, 2022, consisted of 19 Suezmax crude oil tankers, of which the vast majority have been built in South Korea. The company sold five vessels and taken the delivery of two Suezmax newbuildings in 2022. The majority of its vessels are employed in the spot market. The two newbuildings delivered to the company in May and June 2022 have been chartered out on six-year time charter agreements that commenced upon delivery of the vessels from the shipyard. The company has further two vessels chartered out on longer term time-charter agreements expiring in late 2023 with an option to extend the agreement for a year for one of these vessels. The vessels in the company’s fleet are considered homogenous and interchangeable as they have approximately the same freight capacity and ability to transport the same type of cargo. Environmental and Other Regulations in the Shipping Industry A variety of government and private entities subject the company’s vessels to both scheduled and unscheduled inspections. These entities include the local port authorities (applicable national authorities such as the United States Coast Guard (‘USCG’), harbor master or equivalent), classification societies, flag state administrations (countries of registry) and charterers, particularly terminal operators. Certain of these entities require the company to obtain permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations for the operation of the company’s vessels. In September of 1997, the IMO (International Maritime Organization) adopted Annex VI to MARPOL (International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships) to address air pollution from vessels. Effective May 2005, Annex VI sets limits on sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from all commercial vessel exhausts and prohibits ‘deliberate emissions’ of ozone depleting substances (such as halons and chlorofluorocarbons), emissions of volatile compounds from cargo tanks and the shipboard incineration of specific substances. Annex VI also includes a global cap on the sulfur content of fuel oil and allows for special areas to be established with more stringent controls on sulfur emissions, as explained below. Emissions of ‘volatile organic compounds’ from certain vessels, and the shipboard incineration (from incinerators installed after January 1, 2000) of certain substances (such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or ‘PCBs’) are also prohibited. All the company’s vessels are compliant in all material respects with these regulations. The company’s vessels are in substantial compliance with SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea of 1974) and LLMC (the Convention of Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims) standards. Under Chapter IX of the SOLAS Convention (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of 1974), or the International Safety Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (the ‘ISM Code’), the company’s operations are also subject to environmental standards and requirements. All of the company’s vessels are in possession of a CLC (International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage of 1969) State issued certificate attesting that the required insurance coverage is in force. The company has obtained Anti-fouling System Certificates for all of the company’s vessels that are subject to the Anti-fouling Convention. Both the United States (U.S.) Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) impact the company’s operations. The company complies with the USCG’s financial responsibility regulations by providing applicable certificates of financial responsibility. The EPA and the USCG (the United States Coast Guard) have also enacted rules relating to ballast water discharge, compliance with which requires the installation of equipment on the company’s vessels to treat ballast water before it is discharged or the implementation of other port facility disposal arrangements or procedures at potentially substantial costs, and/or otherwise restrict the company’s vessels from entering the U.S. Waters. All the company’s vessels are in substantial compliance with and are certified to meet the Maritime Labor Convention 2006. History The company was founded under the laws of the Islands of Bermuda in 1995. It was incorporated in 1995. The company was formerly known as Nordic American Tanker Shipping Limited and changed its name to Nordic American Tankers Limited in 2011.