d981245_6-k.htm
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
6-K
REPORT
OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO
RULE
13A-16 OR 15D-16 UNDER THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
For the
month of March 2009
Commission
File Number: 001-32199
SHIP
FINANCE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
Par-la-Ville
Place, 14 Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton, HM 08, Bermuda
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F
[ X ] Form 40-F [
]
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ________.
Note: Regulation S-T Rule
101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely
to provide an attached annual report to security holders.
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ________.
Note: Regulation S-T Rule
101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to
furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer
must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the
registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant's
"home country"), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the
registrant's securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is
not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the
registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already
been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on
EDGAR.
INFORMATION
CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT
Attached
as Exhibit 1 is a copy of the press release of Ship Finance International
Limited (the “Company”), dated March 24, 2009, announcing that the Company has
filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31,
2008.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized.
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SHIP
FINANCE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED |
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(registrant) |
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Dated: March
26, 2009
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By:
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/s/
Ole B. Hjertaker
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Name:
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Ole
B. Hjertaker
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Title:
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Chief
Financial Officer
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Ship
Finance Management AS
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Exhibit
1
SFL
- Filing of Annual Report on Form 20-F
Press
release from Ship Finance International Limited March 24, 2009
Ship
Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL) announces that the Company has filed
its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31,
2008.
The
annual report can be downloaded from the Company's website at www.shipfinance.org.
Shareholders can also request a hard copy of our complete audited financial
statements free of charge upon request by writing us at:
Ship
Finance International Limited
PO Box HM
1593, Par-la-Ville Place
14
Par-la-Ville Road
Hamilton
HM 08 Bermuda
or send
an e-mail to: ir@shipfinance.no
In
connection with the filing of the 2008 annual report the Company’s filing status
with the Securities and Exchange Comission (SEC) will change. Our current shelf
registration statement and all other active filings with the SEC will therefore
be amended over the next few weeks, but this does not represent new offering of
our common stock or other securities.
March 24,
2009
The Board
of Directors
Ship
Finance International Limited
Hamilton,
Bermuda
About
Ship Finance
Ship
Finance is a major ship owning company listed on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE: SFL). Including newbuildings, the Company has a fleet of 68 vessels,
including 33 crude oil tankers (VLCC and Suezmax), two chemical tankers, eight
oil/bulk/ore vessels, one dry-bulk carrier, 13 container vessels, 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.