Bermuda-based shipping company Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. (NAT) last night announced it would offer three million common shares for sale to raise money for planned future acquisitions.

The company expects to close the sale of the shares on January 13. Morgan Stanley is acting as the bookrunning manager for the public offering.

Earlier this week, NAT said it had purchased a Suezmax tanker, for March delivery, at a cost of $56.7 million, to be funded from the company's resources.

This will be the seventh share offering since October 2004 for NAT, which carries no debt and has used share offerings as an alternative method of raising capital for growth.

NAT has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 450,000 additional shares to cover over-allotments.

NAT shares fell $1.27 (3.45 percent) in New York trading yesterday to close on $35.49. The offering was announced after the close of regular trading.

NAT chairman and chief executive officer Herbjorn Hansson said: "In our view, the present markets offer attractive opportunities to increase the company's fleet further.

"Because of the financial turmoil internationally, ship values have been reduced. We believe that our past acquisitions have been accretive, that is, after acquisitions our dividend and earnings per share have been higher than under a scenario where such acquisitions had not taken place.

"Going forward, we expect this offering to strengthen the company's equity base and increase the company's capacity to make further acquisitions.

"So far in 2009 the spot charter contracts which have been concluded for our Suezmax vessels, have on average been above the average level achieved for the fourth quarter of 2008."