CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
This document includes assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions and beliefs about future events. These statements are intended as “forward-looking statements.” We desire to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are including this cautionary statement in connection therewith. This document and the documents incorporated by reference herein and any other written or oral statements made by us or on our behalf may include forward-looking statements, which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance, and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results or events. We caution that assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions and beliefs about future events may and often do vary from actual results and the differences can be material. When used in this document, the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “target,” “project,” “likely,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could” and similar expressions, terms, or phrases may identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this document and the documents incorporated by reference 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 our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe 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 our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to important factors and matters discussed elsewhere in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and the documents incorporated into each by reference, important factors that, in our view, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include:
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the strength of world economies and currencies;
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general market conditions, including the market for our vessels, fluctuations in spot and charter rates and vessel values;
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the performance of our newbuilding vessels;
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availability of financing and refinancing;
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potential liability from pending or future litigation;
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general domestic and international political conditions;
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potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events;
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vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires;
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competition within our industry;
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the supply of and demand for vessels comparable to ours;
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corruption, piracy, militant activities, political instability, terrorism, ethnic unrest in locations where we may operate;
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delays and cost overruns in construction projects;
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our level of indebtedness;
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our ability to obtain financing and comply with the restrictive and other covenants in our financing arrangements;