SFL Corp Ltd.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

[☐ ] REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g)

OR

[☒] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OR

[☐ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OR

[☐ ] SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

SFL Corporation Ltd.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

(Translation of Registrant's name into English)

Bermuda

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to section 12(b) of the Act

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act.

None

(Title of Class)

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.

None

(Title of Class)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer's classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

[ ] Yes [ ☒ ]No

Note – Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of "large accelerated filer", "accelerated filer", and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.:

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

† The term new or revised financial accounting standard refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If "Other" has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow:

☐ Item 17 ☐ Item 18

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

[☐ ] Yes [☒ ] No

INDEX TO REPORT ON FORM 20-F

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Matters discussed in this annual report and the documents incorporated by reference may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

These statements reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events and financial performance and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results. When used in this document, the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “targets,” “likely,” “would,” “could” “seeks,” “continue,” “possible,” “might,” “pending” and similar expressions, terms or phrases may identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements herein are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including, without limitation, management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Company’s records and other data available from third parties. Although the Company believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control, the Company cannot assure you that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

Such statements reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected or intended. The Company is making investors aware that such forward-looking statements, because they relate to future events, are by their very nature subject to many important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated. In addition to these important factors and matters discussed elsewhere herein, important factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

▪the strength of world economies and currencies;

▪inflationary pressures and central bank policies intended to combat overall inflation and rising interest rates and foreign exchange rates;

▪the Company’s ability to generate cash to service its indebtedness;

▪the Company’s ability to continue to satisfy its financial and other covenants, or obtain waivers relating to such covenants from its lenders under its credit facilities;

▪the availability of financing and refinancing, as well as the Company’s ability to obtain such financing or refinancing in the future to fund capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate activities and the Company's ability to comply with the restrictions and other covenants in its financing arrangements;

▪the Company’s counterparties’ ability or willingness to honor their obligations under agreements with it;

▪general market conditions in the seaborne transportation industry, which is cyclical and volatile, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values;

▪prolonged or significant downturns in the tanker, dry-bulk carrier, container, car carrier and/or offshore drilling charter markets;

▪the volatility of oil and gas prices, which effects, among other things, several sectors of the maritime, shipping and offshore industries, including oil transportation, dry bulk shipments, oil products transportation, car transportation and drilling rigs;

▪a decrease in the value of the market values of the Company’s vessels and drilling rigs;

▪an oversupply of vessels, including drilling rigs, which could lead to reductions in charter hire rates and profitability;

▪any inability to retain and recruit qualified key executives, key employees, key consultants or skilled workers;

▪the potential difference in interests between or among certain of the Company’s directors, officers, key executives and shareholders, including Hemen Holding Limited, or Hemen, our largest shareholder;

▪the risks associated with the purchase of second-hand vessels;

▪the aging of the Company’s fleet which could result in increased operating costs, impairment or loss of hire;

▪the adequacy of insurance coverage for inherent operational risks, and the Company’s ability to obtain indemnities from customers, changes in laws, treaties or regulations;

▪changes in supply and generally the number, size and form of providers of goods and services in the markets in which the Company operates;

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▪the supply of and demand for oil and oil products and vessels, including drilling rigs, comparable to ours, including against the background of the possibility of accelerated climate change transition worldwide, including shifts in consumer demand for other energy resources could have an accelerated negative effect on the demand for oil and thus its transportation and drilling;

▪changes in market demand in countries which import commodities and finished goods and changes in the amount and location of the production of those commodities and finished goods and resulting changes to trade patterns;

▪delays or defaults by the shipyards in the construction of our newbuildings;

▪technological innovation in the sectors in which we operate and quality and efficiency requirements from customers;

▪technology risk associated with energy transition and fleet/systems rejuvenation to alternative propulsions;

▪risks associated with potential cybersecurity or other privacy threats and data security breaches;

▪our ability to comply with, and the expected cost of, governmental regulations and maritime self-regulatory organization standards, including new environmental regulations and standards, as well as standard regulations imposed by our charterers applicable to our business;

▪governmental laws and regulations, including environmental regulations, that add to our costs or the costs of our customers;

▪potential liability from safety, environmental, governmental and other requirements and potential significant additional expenditures related to complying with such regulations;

▪the impact of increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, lenders, charterers and other market participants with respect to our Environmental, Social and Governance, or ESG, practices;

▪increased inspection procedures and more restrictive import and export controls;

▪the imposition of sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the U.S. Treasury or pursuant to other applicable laws or regulations imposed by the U.S. government, the European Union, the United Nations or other governments against the Company or any of its subsidiaries;

▪compliance with governmental, tax, environmental and safety regulation, any non-compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or other applicable regulations relating to bribery;

▪changes in the Company’s operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs;

▪fluctuations in currencies and interest rates such as Norwegian Inter-Bank Offer Rate, or NIBOR, and Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR;

▪the impact that any discontinuance, modification or other reform or the establishment of alternative reference rates may have on our floating interest rate debt instruments;

▪the volatility of prevailing spot market charter rates, which effects the amount of profit sharing payment the Company receives under our charters;

▪the volatility of the price of the Company’s common shares;

▪changes in the Company’s dividend policy;

▪the future sale of the Company’s common shares;

▪the failure to protect the Company’s information security management system against security breaches, or the failure or unavailability of these systems for a significant period of time;

▪the entrance into transactions that expose the Company to additional risk outside of its core business;

▪difficulty managing planned growth properly;

▪the Company’s incorporation under the laws of Bermuda and the different rights to relief that may be available compared to other countries, including the United States;

▪the Company potentially becoming subject to corporate income tax in Bermuda in the future;

▪shareholders’ reliance on the Company to enforce the Company’s rights against contract counterparties;

▪dependence on the ability of the Company’s subsidiaries to distribute funds to satisfy financial obligations and make dividend payments;

▪the potential for shareholders to not be able to bring a suit against the Company or enforce a judgment obtained against the Company in the United States;

▪treatment of the Company as a “passive foreign investment company” by U.S. tax authorities;

▪being required to pay taxes on U.S. source income;

▪the Company’s operations being subject to economic substance requirements;

▪the exercise of a purchase option by the charterer of a vessel;

▪potential liability from future litigation, including litigation related to claims raised by public-interest organizations or activism with regard to failure to adapt or mitigate climate impact;

▪increased cost of capital or limiting access to funding due to EU Taxonomy or relevant territorial taxonomy regulations;

▪the arresting or attachment of one or more of the Company’s vessels or rigs by maritime claimants;

▪damage to storage, receiving and other shipping inventories’ facilities;

▪impacts of supply chain disruptions and market volatility

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▪the impact of restrictions on trade, including the imposition of new tariffs, port fees and other import restrictions by the United States on its trading partners and the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by China and the European Union on the United States, and potential further protectionist measures and/or further retaliatory actions by others, including the imposition of tariffs or penalties on vessels calling in key export or import ports such as the United States, European Union and/or China;

▪potential requisition of the Company’s vessels or rigs by a government during a period of war or emergency; and

▪world events, political instability, international sanctions or international hostilities, including the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Iran conflict and related developments in the Middle East, including vessel attacks in the Strait of Hormuz or the Red Sea, which have resulted in disruptions in international shipping routes, as a result thereof.

This report may contain assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions and beliefs about future events. These statements are intended as forward-looking statements. The Company may also from time to time make forward-looking statements in other documents and reports that are filed with or submitted to the Commission, in other information sent to the Company’s security holders, and in other written materials. The Company also cautions that assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions and beliefs about future events may and often do vary from actual results and the differences can be material. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this report, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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