Press release from Ship Finance International Limited, January 26, 2009
Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE:SFL) (“Ship Finance” or the “Company”), today announces the following changes in our Board of Directors:
Mr. Hans Petter Aas will take over as Chairman of the Board, while Mr. Craig H. Stevenson Jr., who has been Chairman of the Board since September 2007, will continue as a non-executive board member.
Craig H. Stevenson, Jr., said in a comment: “We are very pleased that Mr. Aas has accepted the position of Chairman of the Board of Ship Finance. In the near term, I will be focusing more on the expansion of Diamond S Shipping, Inc., a joint venture between myself and First Reserve Corporation, while Mr. Aas, who is based in Norway, will assume a more active role in the interaction with the Company’s management team in Oslo. He has a long and distinguished career in the international shipping and offshore markets, and his background will be ideal to identify business opportunities for the Company in the current market environment.”
Hans Petter Aas said in a comment: “I am excited to be nominated Chairman of the Board. Ship Finance is one of the largest ship owning companies in the world, and has a diversified asset base and very high charter backlog. These are turbulent times for the shipping and credit markets, but I am convinced that Ship Finance will be able to take advantage of interesting investment opportunities that may arise.”
Non-executive board member Mr. Tor Olav Trøim, has decided to resign, following the appointment of Ms. Cecilie Astrup Fredriksen to the Board of Directors in November 2008. Mr. Trøim has been a member of the Board since the Company’s inception in 2003, and Ms. Fredriksen will continue to represent our largest shareholder in the Board of Directors.
January 26, 2009
The Board of Directors
Ship Finance International Limited
Hamilton, Bermuda
Contact Persons:
Lars Solbakken: Chief Executive Officer, Ship Finance Management AS
+47 2311 4006 / +47 9119 8844
Ole B. Hjertaker: Chief Financial Officer, Ship Finance Management AS
+47 2311 4011 / +47 9014 1243
About Ship Finance
Ship Finance is a major ship owning company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: SFL). Including newbuildings and announced acquisitions, the Company has a fleet of 70 vessels, including 33 crude oil tankers (VLCC and Suezmax), two chemical tankers, eight oil/bulk/ore vessels, 13 container vessels, three dry bulk carriers, six offshore supply vessels, two jack-up drilling rigs and three ultra-deepwater drilling units. The fleet is one of the largest in the world and most of the vessels are employed on long term charters.
More information can be found on the Company’s website: www.shipfinance.org
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward looking statements. These statements are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including Ship Finance management’s examination of historical operating trends. Although Ship Finance believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control, Ship Finance cannot give assurance that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or intentions.
Important factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in this presentation include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions including fluctuations in charter hire 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 the Company’s operating expenses including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs, 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 accidents or political events, and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.