All statements in this annual report that are not statements of historical fact are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This report contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating to us that are based on beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by us and information currently available to us, in particular under the headings “Item 4. Information on the Company” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.” When used in this report, words such as “believe,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We discuss many of these risks in this report in greater detail under the subheadings “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this report and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results. Factors that might cause future results to differ include, but are not limited to, the following:
| • | our future financial condition and liquidity, including our ability to make required payments under our credit facilities and comply with our loan covenants; |
| • | our ability to finance our capital expenditures, acquisitions and other corporate activities; |
| • | our future operating or financial results and future revenues and expenses; |
| • | expectations relating to dividend payments and our ability to make such payments; |
| • | future, pending or recent acquisitions, business strategy, areas of possible expansion and expected capital spending or operating expenses; |
| • | tanker industry trends, including charter rates and vessel values and factors affecting vessel supply and demand; |
| • | expectations about the availability of vessels to purchase, or the time which it may take to construct new vessels or vessels’ useful lives; |
| • | the availability of insurance on commercially reasonable terms; |
| • | our ability to comply with operating and financial covenants and to repay our debt under the secured credit facilities; |
| • | our ability to obtain additional financing and to obtain replacement charters for our vessels; |
| • | our ability to purchase emissions allowances and settle carbon taxes in relation to our transportation services, such as the EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime; |
| • | fluctuations in currencies and interest rates; |
| • | changes in production of or demand for oil and petroleum products, either globally or in particular regions; |
| • | the severity and duration of any new outbreaks or new variants of COVID-19 that may emerge; |
| • | greater than anticipated levels of newbuilding orders or less than anticipated rates of scrapping of older vessels; |
| • | the availability of existing vessels to acquire or newbuilds to purchase, or the time that it may take to construct and take delivery of new vessels, including our newbuild vessels currently on order, or the useful lives of our vessels; |
| • | the availability of key employees and seafarers, the length and number of off-hire days, drydocking requirements and fuel and insurance costs; |
| • | competitive pressures within the tanker industry; |
| • | changes in trading patterns for particular commodities significantly impacting overall tonnage requirements; |
| • | changes in the rate of growth of the world and various regional economies; |
| • | the risk of incidents related to vessel operation, including discharge of pollutants; |
| • | unanticipated changes in laws and regulations, including those in response to the increased focus on sustainability and other environmental, social and governance matters in recent years; |
| • | delays and cost overruns in construction projects; |
| • | any malfunction or disruption of information technology (“IT”) systems and networks that our operations rely on or any impact of a possible cybersecurity breach; |
| • | potential liability from future litigation; |
| • | corruption, piracy, militant activities, political instability, terrorism, ethnic unrest and regionalism in countries where we may operate; |
| • | our business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations; |
| • | any non-compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, or other applicable regulations relating to bribery; and |
| • | other factors discussed in “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this annual report. |
We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this report, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this report might not occur, and our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Further, we cannot assess the impact of each such factor on our business or to the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
