Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. yesterday took delivery of its 16th suezmax oil tanker.

The double hull vessel has been named Nordic Grace. The vessel will be employed in the company's cooperative arrangement with the Stena Group of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Herbjorn Hansson, NAT's chief executive officer, said: "Our policy is to grow when it is profitable and accretive to do so. That is, after the acquisition of a vessel, the company should be able to pay a higher dividend per share compared to the situation in which an acquisition had not taken place - irrespective of the level of the spot market, and so long as we remain above our average cash breakeven which is currently less than $10,000 per day per ship.

"We believe that the purchase of this vessel is an example of such an accretive acquisition. Over time, the company's fleet continues to grow faster than its share count."

This transaction is in line with the company's growth strategy. The purchase of this vessel is financed by cash on hand.

"Having one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry, the company is committed to continuing its full dividend policy and transparent operating model," the company added.