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 May 2020
Commission File Number: 001-32199
SFL Corporation Ltd.
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(Translation of registrant's name into English)
Par-la-Ville Place
14 Par-la-Ville Road
Hamilton, HM 08, Bermuda
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(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


On May 13, 2020, SFL Corporation Ltd. (the "Company") entered into a sales agreement (the "Sales Agreement") with BTIG, LLC, as sales agent ("BTIG"), pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time, up to an aggregate of $100 million of its common shares, par value $0.01 per share (the "Common Shares") under the Company's "at-the-market" offering program (the "Program").

Attached to this Report on Form 6-K (this "Report") as Exhibit 1.1 is a copy of the Sales Agreement, dated May 13, 2020, by and between the Company and BTIG.

Attached to this Report as Exhibit 5.1 is the opinion of MJM Limited, relating to the Common Shares.

Attached to this Report as Exhibit 99.1 is a copy of the press release of the Company, dated May 13, 2020, announcing the launch of the Program.

The information contained in this Report on Form 6-K (other than Exhibit 99.1) is hereby incorporated by reference into the Company's registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-237971) that was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission effective May 1, 2020.

Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this Report on Form 6-K may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations and observations with respect to future events and financial performance. Where the Company expresses an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. However, the Company's forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected, or implied by those forward-looking statements. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including changes in the Company’s financial resources and operational capabilities and as a result of certain other factors listed from time to time in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

 



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.

 
SFL CORPORATION LTD.
 
       
Date: May 13, 2020
     
 
By:
/s/ Ole B. Hjertaker
 
 
Name:
Ole B. Hjertaker
 
 
Title:
SFL Management AS
 (Principal Executive Officer)
 


Exhibit 1.1



Executed

SFL CORPORATION LTD.
UP TO $100,000,000 OF COMMON SHARES
(par value $0.01 per share)

AT-THE-MARKET SALES AGREEMENT
 May 13, 2020
BTIG, LLC
66 East 55th Street
New York, New York 10022
Ladies and Gentlemen:
SFL Corporation Ltd., a Bermuda exempted company (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with BTIG, LLC (“BTIG” and, together with the Company, the “Parties”), as follows:
1. Issuance and Sale of Shares. The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell to or through BTIG, as sales agent and/or principal, up to that number of shares of the Company’s common shares, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Shares”), having an aggregate offering price of $100,000,000 (the “Shares”); provided, however, that in no event shall the Company issue or sell to or through BTIG such number of Shares that would (a) exceed the number or amount of shares of Common Shares then available for offer and sale under the currently effective Registration Statement (as defined below) pursuant to which the offering hereunder and under any Terms Agreement is being made or (b) exceed the number of authorized but unissued Common Shares of the Company (the lesser of (a) and (b), the “Maximum Amount”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Parties acknowledge and agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 1 on the Maximum Amount of Shares that may be issued and sold under this Agreement and any Terms Agreement (as defined below) shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that BTIG shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The Company agrees that whenever it determines to sell Shares directly to BTIG, as principal, it will enter into a separate agreement (each, a “Terms Agreement”) in a form to be agreed to by the Parties relating to such sale in accordance with Section 2(b) of this Agreement (each such transaction being referred to as a “Principal Transaction”). Each transaction pursuant to this Agreement in which the Company determines to sell Shares through BTIG, as sales agent, is hereinafter referred to as an “Agency Transaction”. The issuance and sale of Shares to or through BTIG will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company and which became effective upon filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act (as defined below).
The Company has prepared and filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), with the Commission, not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof, an “automatic shelf registration statement” (as defined under Rule 405 under the Securities Act) on Form F-3 (File No. 333-237971), including a base prospectus, with respect to offerings of certain securities of the Company, including the Shares, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”). The Company has prepared a prospectus supplement to the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement at the time it became effective specifically relating to the offering of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement (the “Prospectus Supplement”). The Company will furnish to BTIG, for use by BTIG, copies of the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement at the time it became effective, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, when it became effective upon filing with the Commission, including the information, if any, deemed pursuant to Rule 430B or 430C under the Securities Act, as applicable, to be part of the registration statement at the time of its effectiveness and all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in the Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, collectively, are herein called the “Registration Statement,” and the base prospectus included in the registration statement at the time it became effective, including all documents incorporated therein by reference to the extent such information has not been superseded or modified in accordance with Rule 412 under the Securities Act (as qualified by Rule 430B(g) of the Securities Act), as it may be supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, together with any “issuer free writing prospectus”, as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act (“Rule 433”), relating to the Shares that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company or (ii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i), in each case, in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g), is herein called the “Prospectus.” If the Company has filed an abbreviated registration statement to register additional securities of the Company pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, then any reference to the Registration Statement in this Agreement shall also be deemed to include such abbreviated registration statement filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act. Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing after the execution hereof of any document with the Commission deemed to be incorporated by reference therein (such documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference are herein called the “Incorporated Documents”). For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include any copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval system, or if applicable, the Interactive Data Electronic Applications system when used by the Commission (collectively, “EDGAR”).



2. Placements; Principal Transactions.
(a) Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell Shares hereunder in an Agency Transaction (each, a “Placement”), it will notify BTIG by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the Parties, which may include telephonic communication with an email confirmation) of the amount of Shares requested to be sold or the gross proceeds to be raised in a given time period, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the amount of Shares that may be sold in any single day, any minimum price below which sales may not be made or any minimum price requested for sales in a given time period and any other instructions relevant to such requested sales (a “Placement Notice”), the form of which is attached hereto as Schedule 1. A Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individual representatives of the Company set forth on Schedule 3, and shall be addressed to each of the individual representatives of BTIG set forth on Schedule 3, as such Schedule 3 may be amended from time to time by either party. Provided the Company is otherwise in compliance with the terms of this Agreement, the Placement Notice shall be effective unless and until (i) BTIG, in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion (which shall not be deemed a breach of BTIG’s agreement herein), (ii) the entire amount of the Shares thereunder have been sold or the aggregate Shares sold under this Agreement and all Terms Agreements equals the Maximum Amount, whichever occurs first, (iii) the Company, in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, suspends or terminates the Placement Notice or sales thereunder, (iv) BTIG, in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, suspends sales under the Placement Notice, (v) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice with parameters superseding those on the earlier dated Placement Notice or (vi) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 12. The amount of any commission to be paid by the Company to BTIG in connection with the sale of the Shares effected through BTIG, as agent, in an Agency Transaction shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 2. It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor BTIG will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to BTIG and BTIG does not decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified therein and herein. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control.
(b) If the Company wishes to issue and sell Shares hereunder in a Principal Transaction, it will notify BTIG by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the Parties) of the proposed terms of the Principal Transaction. If BTIG, acting as principal, wishes to accept such proposed terms (which it may decline to do for any reason in its sole discretion) or, following discussions with the Company, wishes to accept amended terms, the Company and BTIG shall enter into a Terms Agreement setting forth the terms of such Principal Transaction. Neither the Company nor BTIG shall have any obligation to enter into a Principal Transaction. The terms set forth in a Terms Agreement shall not be binding on the Company or BTIG, unless and until the Company and BTIG have each executed such Terms Agreement accepting all of the terms of such Terms Agreement. Any such Terms Agreement shall specify the number or amount of Shares to be sold by the Company to and purchased by BTIG pursuant thereto, the per share purchase price to be paid to the Company for such Shares (specifying and giving effect to all market price discounts applicable to such Principal Transaction), all other compensation and/or other fees or expenses payable by the Company to or for the benefit of BTIG in connection with such Principal Transaction, the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company, the time, date and place of delivery of and payment for such Shares (to the extent the settlement terms for sales of such Shares are intended to differ from those set forth in Section 5 hereof), and the other terms upon which such sale is to occur. A Terms Agreement may also specify certain provisions relating to the reoffering of such Shares by BTIG. Each of the Parties acknowledges and agrees that such Principal Transaction shall be based on compensation that is mutually agreeable to both the Company and BTIG. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Terms Agreement, the terms of the Terms Agreement will control. The commitment of BTIG to purchase the Shares as principal pursuant to any Terms Agreement shall be deemed to have been made on the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company contained in this Agreement and shall be subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth. Each of the Parties acknowledges and agrees that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, BTIG may engage in sales and other transactions in respect of a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Shares deliverable to BTIG pursuant to a Terms Agreement, whether or not BTIG has taken possession of such Shares at the time of such sales or other transactions, and nothing contained in this Agreement or any Terms Agreement shall limit or be deemed to limit BTIG’s ability to engage in such sales or other transactions.
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3. Sale of Shares by BTIG. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, upon the Company’s issuance of a Placement Notice in an Agency Transaction, and unless the sale of the Shares described therein has been declined, suspended or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, BTIG, as sales agent for the Company, will use its commercially reasonable efforts, consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of the New York Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”), for the period specified in the Placement Notice to sell such Shares up to the amount specified by the Company in, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of, such Placement Notice. If acting as sales agent in an Agency Transaction, BTIG will provide written confirmation to the Company no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) next following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Shares hereunder, setting forth the number of Shares sold on such day, the compensation payable by the Company to BTIG with respect to such sales pursuant to Section 2 (it being hereby acknowledged and agreed that such compensation shall not apply when BTIG acts as principal, in which case such compensation, discounts or other fees shall be set forth in the applicable Terms Agreement), and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company, with an itemization of the deductions made by BTIG (as set forth in Section 5(a)) from the gross proceeds for the Shares that it receives from such sales. BTIG may sell Shares, as sales agent in an Agency Transaction, by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at-the-market” offering as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including, without limitation, sales made directly on the Exchange, on any other existing trading market for the Common Shares or to or through a market maker or through an electronic communications network. After consultation with the Company and subject to the terms of a Placement Notice, BTIG may also sell Shares, as sales agent in an Agency Transaction, in privately negotiated transactions. During the term of this Agreement and notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, BTIG agrees that in no event will it or any of its affiliates engage in any market making, bidding, stabilization or other trading activity with regard to the Common Shares if such activity would be prohibited under Regulation M or other anti-manipulation rules under the Exchange Act. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that BTIG will be successful in selling Shares in any Agency Transaction hereunder, (ii) BTIG will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Shares in any Agency Transaction for any reason other than a failure by BTIG to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Shares as required under this Section 3, and (iii) BTIG shall not be under any obligation to purchase Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as may otherwise be specifically agreed by each of BTIG and the Company pursuant to a Terms Agreement, and then only to the extent permitted by applicable law and the rules and regulations of the Exchange. For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which Common Shares are purchased and sold on the principal market on which the Common Shares are then listed or quoted.
4. Suspension of Sales.
(a) The Company or BTIG may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individual representatives of the other party set forth on Schedule 3, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable facsimile transmission or email correspondence to each of the individual representatives of the other party set forth on Schedule 3), suspend this offering and any sale of Shares in an Agency Transaction for a period of time (a “Suspension Period”); provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice. Each of the Parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against the other unless it is made to one of the individuals named on Schedule 3 hereto, as such Schedule may be amended from time to time. During a Suspension Period, the Company shall not issue any Placement Notices and BTIG shall not sell any Shares hereunder. The party that issued a Suspension Notice shall notify the other party in writing of the Trading Day on which the Suspension Period shall expire not later than twenty-four (24) hours prior to such Trading Day.
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(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, the Company shall not offer or sell, or request the offer or sale of, any Shares and, by notice to BTIG given by telephone (confirmed promptly by verifiable facsimile transmission or email), shall cancel any instructions for the offer or sale of any Shares, and BTIG shall not be obligated to offer or sell any Shares, (i) during any period in which the Company is, or may be deemed to be, in possession of material non-public information or (ii) at any time from and including the date (the “Announcement Date”) on which the Company shall issue a press release containing, or shall otherwise publicly announce, its earnings, revenues or other results of operations (each, an “Earnings Announcement”) through and including the time that is 24 hours following the date  (A) of such  Earnings Announcement, in the case of the Company’s first or third fiscal quarters, and, (B) that a report on Form 6-K is filed with the SEC which includes consolidated financial statements, in the case of the Company’s second fiscal quarter; and (C) that the annual report on Form 20-F is filed with the SEC, in the case of the Company’s fourth fiscal quarter (to the extent the Annual Report contains any material non-public-information not otherwise previously disclosed).
(c) If either BTIG or the Company believes that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are not satisfied with respect to the Company or the Shares, such party shall promptly notify the other party thereof, and sales of the Shares under this Agreement and any Placement Notice or Terms Agreement shall be suspended until such exemptive provisions or such other applicable exemptive provisions have been satisfied in the judgment of each party.
5. Settlement.
(a) Settlement of Placement Shares. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice or Terms Agreement (as applicable), settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the second (2nd) Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice for regular-way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date”). The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate sales price received by BTIG for the Placement Shares, after deduction for (i) BTIG’s commission for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof in an Agency Transaction, or BTIG’s compensation, discounts or other fees pursuant to the terms of the applicable Terms Agreement in a Principal Transaction, as applicable, (ii) any other amounts due and payable by the Company to BTIG hereunder and under any Terms Agreement, as applicable, pursuant to Section 7(g) (Expenses) hereof and (iii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.
(b) Delivery of Placement Shares. On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, issue and electronically transfer the Placement Shares being sold by crediting BTIG’s or its designee’s (provided BTIG shall have given the Company written notice of such designee prior to the Settlement Date) account at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the Parties, which Placement Shares in all cases shall be freely tradeable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date, BTIG will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company prior to the Settlement Date. The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent, defaults in its obligation to deliver Placement Shares on a Settlement Date pursuant to the terms of any Agency Transaction or Terms Agreement, in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 10(a) (Indemnification by the Company), the Company will (i) hold BTIG, its directors, officers, members, partners, employees and agents of BTIG and each person, if any, who (A) controls BTIG within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or (B) is controlled by or is under common control with BTIG (other than the Company and its subsidiaries) (a “BTIG Affiliate”), harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or expense (including reasonable legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company or its transfer agent (if applicable) and (ii) pay to BTIG any commission or other compensation (including the value of any market price discounts in any applicable Principal Transaction) to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.
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(c) Limitations on Offering Size. With respect to each Trading Day during which sales are requested to be made pursuant to a Placement Notice in an Agency Transaction, under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Shares pursuant to this Agreement on, or over the course of, such Trading Day in excess of 25% of the average daily trading volume (as such term is used in Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act) in the Common Shares on the Exchange for the thirty (30) Trading Days immediately preceding the date of delivery of the Placement Notice, or as otherwise agreed between the Company and BTIG and documented in the applicable Placement Notice.  Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement or any Terms Agreement (i) if, after giving effect to the sale of such Placement Shares, the aggregate number of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement and all Terms Agreements would exceed the lesser of (A) the Maximum Amount and (B) the number or amount authorized from time to time to be issued and sold under this Agreement by the Company’s board of directors, a duly authorized committee thereof, or a duly authorized executive committee, and notified to BTIG in writing, or (ii) at a price lower than the minimum price therefor authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors, a duly authorized committee thereof, or a duly authorized executive committee, and notified to BTIG in writing. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Shares in any Agency Transaction pursuant to this Agreement or cause the offer or sale to BTIG of any Shares in any Principal Transaction pursuant to this Agreement and any Terms Agreement, in each case, at a price lower than the minimum price therefor authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof or a duly authorized executive committee, and notified to BTIG in writing. Under no circumstances shall the aggregate number of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement and all Terms Agreements exceed the Maximum Amount. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Parties acknowledge and agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 5(c) on the number or amount of Placement Shares that may be issued and sold under this Agreement and any Terms Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that BTIG shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance.
6. Representations and Warranties of the Company.  The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, BTIG that as of (i) the date of this Agreement, (ii) each Representation Date (as defined in Section 7(m)) on which a certificate is required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(m), (iii) the date on which any Placement Notice is delivered by the Company hereunder, (iv) the date on which any Terms Agreement is executed by the Company and BTIG and (v) each time of sale of Shares pursuant to this Agreement or any Terms Agreement (each such time of sale, an “Applicable Time”), as the case may be:
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(a) Registration Statement and Prospectus. All of the conditions to the use of Form F-3 in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares as contemplated hereby have been satisfied. The Registration Statement meets, and the offering and sale of Shares as contemplated hereby comply with, the requirements of Rule 415(a)(1)(x) under the Securities Act. At the time of the initial filing of the Registration Statement, at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this paragraph only, of Rule 163(c) under the Securities Act) made any offer relating to the Shares in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Securities Act, at the earliest time that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act) of the Shares, and at the date hereof, the Company was, is and will be a “well- known seasoned issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, including not having been and not being an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act. The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement,” as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act, and the Shares, since their registration on the Registration Statement, have been and remain eligible for registration by the Company on a Rule 405 “automatic shelf registration statement.” The Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Securities Act objecting to the use of the automatic shelf registration statement form. The Registration Statement became effective upon filing under Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act on May 1, 2020, and any post-effective amendment thereto has also been declared effective or became effective upon filing. No stop order of the Commission preventing or suspending the use of the base prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus, or the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, has been issued, and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, are contemplated by the Commission. The Company has paid, or if the Prospectus Supplement has not yet been filed with the Commission will pay, the required Commission filing fees relating to the Shares within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) under the Securities Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Securities Act (including, if applicable, by updating the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in accordance with Rule 456(b)(1)(ii) under the Securities Act either in a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or on the cover page of the Prospectus).Any offer that is a written communication relating to the Shares made prior to the initial filing of the Registration Statement by the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this paragraph only, of Rule 163(c) under the Securities Act) has been filed (unless exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 163 under the Securities Act) with the Commission in accordance with the exemption provided by Rule 163 under the Securities Act and otherwise complied with the requirements of Rule 163 under the Securities Act, including without limitation the legending requirement, to qualify such offer for the exemption from Section 5(c) of the Securities Act provided by Rule 163 under the Securities Act. Copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, and any such amendments or supplements and all documents incorporated by reference therein that were filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement have been delivered, or are available through EDGAR, to BTIG and its counsel.
(b) No Material Misstatement or Omission. At the respective times the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto became effective, at each deemed effective date with respect to BTIG pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) under the Securities Act, and at each Settlement Date, as the case may be, the Registration Statement complied, complies and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including Rule 415(a)(1)(x) under the Securities Act), and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Prospectus, when so filed with the Commission under Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, complied, complies and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and each Prospectus furnished to BTIG for use in connection with the offering of the Shares was identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T. Neither the Prospectus nor any amendments or supplements thereto, at the time the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement was issued, as of the date hereof, at each Representation Date, and at each Applicable Time, as the case may be, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendments or supplements thereto made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to BTIG furnished to the Company by BTIG expressly for use therein.
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(c) Incorporated Documents. Each Incorporated Document heretofore filed, when it was filed (or, if any amendment with respect to any such document was filed, when such amendment was filed), conformed in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and any further Incorporated Document so filed and incorporated after the date of this Agreement will, when it is filed, conform in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder; no such Incorporated Document when it was filed (or, if an amendment with respect to any such document was filed, when such amendment was filed), contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and no such further Incorporated Document so filed and incorporated after the date of this Agreement will, when it is filed, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(d) Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company has not distributed and will not distribute any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the Securities Act) or offering material in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares other than the then most recent Prospectus Supplement and any “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 433) reviewed and consented to by BTIG, in each case accompanied by the then most recent base prospectus. Each issuer free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 433), as of its issue date and as of each Applicable Time, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any Incorporated Document deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified. The foregoing sentence does not apply to any statements in or omissions from any issuer free writing prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to BTIG furnished to the Company by BTIG expressly for use in such issuer free writing prospectus. The Company is not disqualified, by reason of subsection (f) or (g) of Rule 164 under the Securities Act, from using, in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares, issuer free writing prospectuses pursuant to Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities Act. The Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act at the times specified in Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Shares. Any issuer free writing prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433 has been, or will be, timely filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of Rule 433. Each issuer free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433 or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
(e) Incorporation and Good Standing of the Company and the SubsidiariesThe Company and each of the Company’s subsidiaries (i) has been duly incorporated, organized or formed, as the case may be, is validly existing and is in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization, (ii) has all requisite power and authority to carry on its business and to own, lease and operate its properties and assets as described in the Registration Statement and in the Prospectus and (iii) is duly qualified or licensed to do business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation, partnership or other entity as the case may be, authorized to do business in each jurisdiction in which the nature of such businesses or the ownership or leasing of such properties requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the properties, business, prospects, operations, earnings, assets, liabilities or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole or the ability of the Company to perform its obligations in all material respects under this Agreement or consummate the transactions contemplated hereby (each, a “Material Adverse Effect”).
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(f) Subsidiaries. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock or other equity or ownership interests of each of the Subsidiaries have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of all liens, security interests, mortgages, pledges, charges, equities, claims or restrictions on transferability or encumbrances of any kind (collectively, “Liens”), except in instances where such Liens would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than (i) the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 8.1 to the Annual Report and (ii) certain other subsidiaries which, considered in the aggregate as a single subsidiary, do not constitute a “significant subsidiary” as defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X.
(g)  Capitalization and Other Capital Stock Matters. All of the issued and outstanding shares or other equity interests of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and were not issued in violation of, and are not subject to, any preemptive or similar rights. The Common Shares and all other issued and outstanding shares or other equity interests of the Company conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no outstanding (A) options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase from the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, (B) agreements, contracts, arrangements or other obligations of the Company or any of the subsidiaries to issue or (C) other rights to convert any obligation into or exchange any securities for, in the case of each of clauses (A) through (C), shares of or other ownership or equity interests in the Company or any of its subsidiaries.
(h) This Agreement.  This Agreement and each Terms Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(i) Validity of Shares.  The Shares have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and the issuance of such Shares will not be subject to any preemptive or similar rights.
(j) Financial Statements. The historical consolidated financial statements and related notes and supporting schedules of the Company and its subsidiaries contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (the “Financial Statements”) present fairly the financial position, results of operations, changes in stockholders' equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, as of the respective dates and for the respective periods to which they apply and have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles of the United States (“GAAP”), applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved, and the requirements of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act (“Regulation S-X”). All other financial, statistical and market and industry data and forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are fairly and accurately presented, are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate and are presented on a reasonable basis. No other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement or Prospectus. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or incorporated by reference therein, regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the SEC) comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act, to the extent applicable. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.
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(k) Disclosure Controls and ProceduresThe Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures applicable to it under Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15a-15(e). The statements relating to disclosure controls and procedures made by the principal executive officers (or their equivalents) and principal financial officers (or their equivalents) of the Company in the certifications required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith are complete and correct.
(l)  Independent Accountants. MSPC Certified Public Accountants and Advisors, P.C., who have certified and expressed their opinion with respect to the financial statements including the related notes thereto and supporting schedules contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, are an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and as required by the Securities Act.
(m) No Material Adverse Change. Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred any liabilities, direct or contingent, including without limitation any losses or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood, earthquakes, accident or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any strike, labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, that are material, individually or in the aggregate, to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or has entered into any material transactions not in the ordinary course of business, (ii) there has not been any material decrease in the share capital or any material increase in any short-term or long-term indebtedness of the Company or its subsidiaries, or any payment of or declaration to pay any dividends or any other distribution with respect to the Company, and (iii) there has not been any material adverse change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the properties, business, prospects, operations, earnings, assets, liabilities or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
(n) Registration Rights. There are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities registered for sale pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered for sale or sold by the Company under the Securities Act pursuant to this Agreement.
(o) Compliance with Existing InstrumentsNeither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its certificate of incorporation, memorandum of association, bye-laws or other organizational documents (the “Charter Documents”); (ii) in violation of any U.S. or non-U.S. federal, state or local statute, law (including, without limitation, common law) or ordinance, or any judgment, decree, rule, regulation, order or injunction (collectively, “Applicable Law”) of any U.S. or non-U.S. federal, state, local or other governmental or regulatory authority, governmental or regulatory agency or body, court, arbitrator or self-regulatory organization (each, a “Governmental Authority”), applicable to any of them or any of their respective properties; or (iii) in breach of or default under any bond, debenture, note, loan or other evidence of indebtedness, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, lease or any other agreement or instrument to which any of them is a party or by which any of them or their respective property is bound (collectively, the “Applicable Agreements”); except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), for such violations, breaches or defaults that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. There exists no condition that, with the passage of time or otherwise, would constitute (a) a violation of such Charter Documents or applicable laws, (b) a breach of or default or a “Debt Repayment Triggering Event” (as defined below) under any Applicable Agreement or (c) result in the imposition of any penalty or the acceleration of any indebtedness, except, in the case of clauses (b) and (c), for such breaches, defaults, penalties or the acceleration of indebtedness that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. As used herein, a “Debt Repayment Triggering Event” means any event or condition that gives, or with the giving of notice or lapse of time would give, the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder's behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties.
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(p) Compliance with LawsThe Company and its subsidiaries have been and are in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, except where failure to be so in compliance could not be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(q)  No Conflicts. Neither the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement nor the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated thereby (including the use of proceeds from the sale of the Common Shares as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) will conflict with, violate, constitute a breach of or a default (with the passage of time or otherwise) or a Debt Repayment Triggering Event under, or result in the imposition of a Lien on any assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or the imposition of any penalty or a Debt Repayment Triggering Event under or pursuant to (a) the Charter Documents, (b) any Applicable Agreement, (c) any Applicable Law or (d) any order, writ, judgment, injunction, decree, determination or award binding upon or affecting the Company (except, with respect to clauses (b), (c) and (d) above, for such violations, breaches, defaults, Debt Repayment Triggering Events, Liens or impositions that would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect).
(r) No ConsentsNo consent, approval, authorization, order, filing or registration of or with any Governmental Authority or third party is required for execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement or the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated hereby or by any Terms Agreement (including the use of proceeds from the sale of the Shares as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”), except (i) those that have been official or made, as the case may be, that are in full force and effect and (ii) as may be required under the securities or “Blue Sky” laws of U.S. state or non-U.S. jurisdictions or other non-U.S. laws applicable to the purchase of the Shares outside the U.S. in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby or by any Terms Agreement.
(s) No Material Actions or Proceedings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation brought by or before any governmental entity now pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries, which could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect or materially and adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any such subsidiary is a party or of which any of their respective properties or assets is the subject, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, if determined adversely to the Company, could not be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No material labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or with the employees of any principal supplier, shipyard, manufacturer, customer or contractor of the Company, exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened or imminent, which, in either case, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(t) All Necessary Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses, certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such license, certificate, authorization or permit which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
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(u) Title to Properties. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has good, marketable and valid title to all real property owned by it and good title to all personal property owned by it and good and valid title to all leasehold estates in real and personal property being leased by it, free and clear of all Liens except such as (A) are described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and (B) do not, singly or in the aggregate, materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company of any of its subsidiaries or the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under the Documents.
(v) Tax Law Compliance. All Tax (as hereinafter defined) returns required to be filed by the Company and each of its subsidiaries have been filed and all such returns are true, complete and correct in all material respects except insofar as the failure to file such returns would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. All material Taxes that are due from the Company and its subsidiaries as set forth in such filed returns have been paid other than those (i) currently payable without penalty or interest or (ii) being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings and for which adequate accruals have been established in accordance with GAAP, applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. To the knowledge of the Company, after due inquiry, there are no actual or proposed Tax assessments against the Company or any of its subsidiaries that would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. The accruals on the books and records of the Company and its subsidiaries in respect of any Tax liability for any period not finally determined are adequate to meet any assessments of Tax for any such period, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this Agreement, the terms “Tax” and “Taxes” shall mean all U.S. and non-U.S. federal, state, local and taxes, and other assessments of a similar nature (whether imposed directly or through withholding), including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto.
(w) Intellectual Property Rights. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries owns, or is licensed under, and has the right to use, all patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, domain names and trade names (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary for the conduct of its businesses and the Intellectual Property, if any, is free and clear of all Liens, other than Permitted Liens. The Company is not a party to, or bound by, any options, licenses or agreements with respect to the intellectual property rights of any other person or entity that are necessary to be described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus to avoid a material misstatement or omission and are not described therein.
(x) Title to VesselsAll of the vessels described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are owned directly (or as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus) by subsidiaries of the Company; each of the vessels listed on Schedule 4 hereto collectively, the “Owned Vessels”) has been duly registered as a vessel under the laws and regulations and flag of the jurisdiction set forth opposite its name on Schedule 4 (with respect to the vessels listed therein) in the sole ownership of the subsidiary of the Company set forth opposite its name on Schedule 4 hereto (with respect to the vessels listed therein); each such subsidiary of the Company has good title to the applicable Owned Vessel, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests and claims and all defects of the title of record except for those liens as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and such other encumbrances which would not, in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; and each subsidiary of the Company that owns an Owned Vessel is in good standing with respect to the payment of past and current taxes, fees and other amounts payable under the laws of the jurisdiction where it is registered as would affect its registry with the ship registry of such jurisdiction except for failures to be in good standing which would not, in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.
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(y) Absence of Vessel Contract Modification. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, none of the contracts or agreements filed as an exhibit to, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement, have been terminated (other than by its own terms), amended, modified, supplemented or waived; neither the Company nor any subsidiary has sent or received any communication regarding the termination, amendment, modification, supplementation or waiver of, or an intention to terminate, amend, modify, supplement or waive, or not to consummate any transaction contemplated by, any such contract or agreement; and no such termination, amendment, modification, supplementation or waiver, or intention to terminate, amend, modify, supplement or waive, or not to consummate any transaction contemplated by, any such contract or agreement has been threatened by the Company or any subsidiary or, to the knowledge of the Company, any other party to any such contract or agreement.
(z) Environmental Laws. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, (A) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is, or has been, in violation of any international, federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, and including conventions adopted by the International Maritime Organization, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials, oily bilge water, harmful organisms or mold (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (B) the Company and its subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements, (C) there are no pending or threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries to which a governmental authority is a party and which is reasonably likely to result in monetary judgments of $150,000 or more. There are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up or remediation of releases, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws or any permit, license, certificate or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties whether statutory, contractually or otherwise) which would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole and there are no events or circumstances that would reasonably be expected to result in such costs or liabilities.
(aa) Environmental Compliance Review. In the ordinary course of its business, the Company periodically reviews the effect of Environmental Laws on its business, operations and properties, in the course of which it identifies and evaluates associated costs and liabilities (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for environmental remediation, for closure of properties or for compliance with Environmental Laws, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties). On the basis of such review, the Company has reasonably concluded that such associated costs and liabilities would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(bb) Insurance. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries are insured by recognized, financially sound and reputable institutions (which term shall include protection and indemnity insurance clubs) with policies in such amounts and with such deductibles and covering such risks as are generally deemed adequate and customary for their businesses, including, but not limited to, policies covering their personnel, operations, business and real and personal property owned or leased by the Company and its subsidiaries against theft, damage, destruction, acts of vandalism and earthquakes. There are no material claims by the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any insurance policy or instrument as to which any insurance company or mutual protection and indemnity association is denying liability or defending under a reservation of rights clause; none of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently required to make any material payment, or is aware of any facts that would require it to make any material payment, in respect of a call by, or a contribution to, any mutual protection and indemnity association. The Company has no reason to believe that it or any of its subsidiaries will not be able (i) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (ii) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not, individually or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(cc) Foreign Private Issuer. The Company is a “foreign private issuer” as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
(dd) Dividends and Other DistributionsExcept as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, all interest, dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the Common Shares may under the current laws and regulations of Bermuda be paid in United States dollars and may be freely transferred out of Bermuda, and all such interest, dividends and other distributions will not be subject to withholding or other taxes under the current laws and regulations of Bermuda and are otherwise free and clear of any other tax, duty, withholding or deduction in and without the necessity of obtaining any consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, licenses, registrations, clearances and qualifications of or with any court or governmental agency or body or any stock exchanges authorities in Bermuda.
(ee) Bermuda Monetary AuthorityTo ensure the legality, validity, enforceability and admissibility into evidence of each of this Agreement and any other document to be furnished hereunder in Bermuda, it is not necessary that the Agreement, the Common Shares or such other document be filed or recorded with any court or other authority in Bermuda or any stamp or similar tax be paid in Bermuda on or in respect of this Agreement or any such other document except that the consent of the Bermuda Monetary Authority is required and has been obtained for the sale and subsequent transferability of the Common Shares provided the Common Shares remain listed on the NYSE or another appointed stock exchange.
(ff) Accounting System. The Company and each of its subsidiaries make and keep accurate books and records and maintain a system of internal accounting controls and procedures sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management's general or specific authorization, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP, and to maintain asset accountability, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management's general or specific authorization and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any material differences. The Company's independent auditors and board of directors have been advised of: (i) all “material weaknesses” and “significant deficiencies” (each, as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act), if any, in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the Company's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data and (ii) all fraud, if any, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a role in the Company's internal controls (whether or not remediated); all such material weaknesses and significant deficiencies, if any, have been disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus in all material respects; and since the date of the most recent evaluation of such disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls, there have been no significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.
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(gg) Investment Company Act. The Company has been advised of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Investment Company Act”); as of the date hereof and, after giving effect to the offering of the Shares and the use of proceeds of such offering, each of the Company and its subsidiaries is not and will not be, individually or on a consolidated basis, an “investment company” that is required to be registered under the Investment Company Act; and the Company and its subsidiaries will conduct their businesses in a manner so as not to be required to register under the Investment Company Act.
(hh) No Restrictions on Payments of Dividends. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there is no encumbrance or restriction on the ability of any subsidiary of the Company (x) to pay dividends or make other distributions on such subsidiary's capital stock or to pay any indebtedness to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company, (y) to make loans or advances or pay any indebtedness to, or investments in, the Company or any other subsidiary or (z) to transfer any of its property or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company.
(ii) Sarbanes-OxleyThere is and has been no failure on the part of the Company and its subsidiaries or any of the officers and directors of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, in their capacities as such, to comply with the applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith.
(jj) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. (i) None of the Company or its subsidiaries, or any director or officer thereof, or, to the Company’s knowledge, any affiliate, employee, agent or representative of the Company or of any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, has taken or will take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment, giving or receipt of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any government official (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office) (“Government Official”) in order to influence official action in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws, or to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws; (ii) the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates have conducted their businesses in material compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and maintained and will continue to maintain policies and procedures designed to promote compliance with such laws and with the representations and warranties contained herein; and (iii) neither the Company nor its subsidiaries will use, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of the offering in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws.
(kk) Money LaunderingThe operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with all applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and with applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business, and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened.
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(ll) OFAC(A) None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries, or any director or officer thereof, or, to the Company's knowledge, any employee, agent, affiliate or representative of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, is an individual or entity (“Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by one or more Persons that are:
(1)          the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), or
(2)          located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria).
(B)  The Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person:
(1)          to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions; or
(2)          in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the offering, whether as sales agent, advisor, investor or otherwise).
(C) Other than has been disclosed in the Registration Statement, for the past five years, the Company and its subsidiaries (1) have not knowingly engaged in any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction was the subject of Sanctions, and (2) are not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is the subject of Sanctions.
(mm) Stamp TaxesThere are no stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or duties or other similar fees or charges required to be paid in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the issuance or sale of the Shares.
(nn) Listing. The Common Shares are registered pursuant to Section 12b of the Exchange Act and are listed on the NYSE, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Shares under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common Shares from the NYSE. The Company has not received any notification that the Commission or the NYSE is contemplating terminating such registration or listing.
(oo) PFIC Status. The Company was not a “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”) as defined in Section 1297 of the Code, for its most recently completed taxable year and, based on the Company's current projected income, assets and activities, the Company does not expect to be classified as a PFIC for any subsequent taxable year.
(pp) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Any statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes, after reasonable inquiry, to be reliable and accurate and, to the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.
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(qq) Immunity from Jurisdiction. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor any of its or their properties or assets has any immunity from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process (whether through service or notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution or otherwise) under the laws of the Bermuda. The irrevocable and unconditional waiver and agreement of the Company contained in Section 18 not to plead or claim any such immunity in any legal action, suit or proceeding based on this Agreement is valid and binding under the laws of the Bermuda.
(rr) Choice of Law; Submission to Jurisdiction. The choice of law of the State of New York as the governing law of this Agreement is a valid choice of law under the laws of Bermuda and will be honored by the courts of Bermuda. The Company has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 18 has, to the extent permitted by law, legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the jurisdiction of the Specified Courts and has the power to designate, appoint and empower, and pursuant to Section 19, has legally, validly and effectively designated, appointed and empowered an agent for service of process in any suit or proceeding based on or arising under this Agreement in any of the Specified Courts. The courts of Bermuda would recognize as a valid judgment any final monetary judgment obtained against the Company in the courts of the State of New York.
(ss) Cybersecurity.  (A) There has been no security breach or incident, unauthorized access or disclosure, or other compromise of or relating to the Company or its subsidiaries information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data and databases (including the data and information of their respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained, processed or stored by the Company and its subsidiaries, and any such data processed or stored by third parties on behalf of the Company and its subsidiaries), equipment or technology (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”) which would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect , (B) neither the Company nor its subsidiaries have been notified of, and each of them have no knowledge of any event or condition that could result in, any security breach or incident, unauthorized access or disclosure or other compromise to their IT Systems and Data and (C) the Company and its subsidiaries have implemented appropriate controls, policies, procedures, and technological safeguards to maintain and protect the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of their IT Systems and Data reasonably consistent with industry standards and practices, or as required by applicable regulatory standards.  The Company and its subsidiaries are presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification.
(tt) Actively-Traded Security.  The Common Shares are an “actively-traded security” exempted from the requirements of Rule 101 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act by subsection (c)(1) of such rule.
(uu) No Reliance. The Company has not relied upon BTIG or its legal counsel for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares.
(vv) Absence of Manipulation. Neither the Company, nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any of its or their respective directors, officers or, to the knowledge of the Company, controlling persons has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to stabilize or manipulate, or which has constituted or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, the stabilization or manipulation of, the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares.
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Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to BTIG or to counsel for BTIG pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement or any Terms Agreement shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to BTIG as to the matters set forth therein as of the date or dates indicated therein.
7. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with BTIG that:
(a) Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which a Prospectus relating to any Shares is required to be delivered by BTIG under the Securities Act (without regard to the effects of Rules 153, 172 and 173 under the Securities Act) (the “Prospectus Delivery Period”), (i) the Company will notify BTIG promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than the Incorporated Documents, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus or for additional information, (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon BTIG’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in BTIG’s reasonable judgment, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Shares by BTIG (provided, however, that the failure of BTIG to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder and under any Terms Agreement, as applicable, or affect BTIG’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus relating to the Shares (except for the Incorporated Documents) unless a copy thereof has been submitted to BTIG a reasonable period of time before the filing and BTIG has not reasonably objected thereto (provided, however, (A) that the failure of BTIG to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder and under any Terms Agreement, as applicable, or affect BTIG’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement, (B) that, if BTIG objects thereto, BTIG may cease making sales of Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and/or may terminate any Terms Agreement and (C) that the Company has no obligation to provide BTIG any advance copy of such filing or to provide BTIG an opportunity to object to such filing if such filing does not name BTIG or does not relate to the transactions contemplated hereunder or under any Terms Agreement); (iv) the Company will furnish to BTIG at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via EDGAR; and (v) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) of the Securities Act) or, in the case of any Incorporated Document, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the Exchange Act, within the time period prescribed (the determination to file or not file any amendment or supplement with the Commission under this Section 7(a), based on the Company’s reasonable opinion or reasonable objections, shall be made exclusively by the Company); and (vi) the Company will pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Shares within the time period required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) of the Securities Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) of the Securities Act.
(b) Notice of Commission Stop Orders. During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will advise BTIG, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any notice objecting to, or other order preventing or suspending the use of, the Prospectus, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation of any proceeding for any such purpose or any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the Securities Act, or if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Shares; and it will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued. Until such time as any stop order is lifted, BTIG may cease making offers and sales under this Agreement or any Terms Agreement.
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(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes. During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and to file on or before their respective due dates all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, 15(d) or any other provision of or under the Exchange Act.  If during the Prospectus Delivery Period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify BTIG to suspend the offering of Placement Shares during such period, and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance.
(d) Listing of Placement Shares. During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on the Exchange. The Company will timely file with the Exchange all material documents and notices required by the Exchange of companies that have or will issue securities that are traded on the Exchange.
(e) Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company will furnish to BTIG and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all Incorporated Documents) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during the Prospectus Delivery Period, including all documents filed with the Commission during such period that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein, in each case, as soon as reasonably practicable via e-mail in “.pdf” format to an e-mail account designated by BTIG and, at BTIG’s request, will also furnish copies of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement Shares may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to BTIG to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.
(f) Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 16 months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Securities Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) and Rule 158 of the Securities Act. The terms “earnings statement” and “make generally available to its security holders” shall have the meanings set forth in Rule 158 under the Securities Act.
(g) Expenses. The Company, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder or under any Terms Agreement are consummated or this Agreement or any Terms Agreement is terminated in accordance with the provisions of Section 12 hereunder, will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder and under each Terms Agreement, including, but not limited to, expenses relating to: (i) the preparation, printing, filing and delivery to BTIG of the Registration Statement and each amendment and supplement thereto, of each Prospectus and of each amendment and supplement thereto, and of this Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Shares; (ii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the Placement Shares, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any stamp or other duties payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Shares to BTIG; (iii) the fees and disbursements of the counsel, accountants and other advisors to the Company in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and any Terms Agreement;  (iv) the reimbursement for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by BTIG (including the fees and disbursements of counsel to BTIG), not to exceed an amount of  $60,000 in connection with the launch of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and in an amount up to $5,000 per quarter in connection with the out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including the fees and disbursements of counsel) of BTIG relating to the quarterly bring-downs and due diligence updates required by this Agreement; (v) the qualification of the Placement Shares under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(x), including filing fees, if any, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for BTIG in connection therewith; (vi) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing or qualification of the Placement Shares for trading on the Exchange; (vii) the fees and expenses of the transfer agent or registrar for the Common Shares; and (viii) filing fees and expenses, if any, of the Commission and FINRA.
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(h) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the Net Proceeds as described in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.”
(i) Other Sales. During the pendency of any Placement Notice given hereunder, and during the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company shall provide BTIG notice as promptly as reasonably possible before it offers to sell, contracts to sell, sells, grants any option to sell or otherwise disposes of any Common Shares (other than Shares offered pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares, or warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Shares; provided, however, that such notice shall not be required in connection with the (i) issuance, grant or sale of Common Shares, options to purchase Common Shares, restricted stock units or stock awards, or Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of options or the exercise or vesting of other equity awards pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock or compensatory plan or arrangement of the Company described in the Prospectus, (ii) issuance of securities in connection with an acquisition, merger or sale or purchase of assets described in the Prospectus, (iii) issuance or sale of Common Shares upon conversion of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding, and disclosed in filings by the Company available on EDGAR or otherwise in writing to BTIG, (iv) issuance or sale of Common Shares pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan or direct stock purchase plan that the Company may adopt from time to time, provided the implementation of such is disclosed to BTIG in advance, or (v) issuance or sale of Common Shares, or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares, in an amount that is immaterial relative to the Company’s market capitalization, offered and sold in a privately negotiated transaction to vendors, customers, strategic partners or potential strategic partners or other investors and conducted in a manner so as not to be integrated with the offering of Shares hereby.
(j) Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during the term of this Agreement, advise BTIG promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document required to be provided to BTIG pursuant to this Agreement.
(k) Due Diligence Cooperation. The Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by BTIG or its agents in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby or any Terms Agreement, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as BTIG may reasonably request.
(l) Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares. The Company agrees that (i) as promptly as practicable after the close of each of the Company’s fiscal quarters, or on such other dates as required under the Securities Act or under interpretations by the Commission thereof, the Company shall prepare a prospectus supplement, which will set forth the number of Placement Shares sold to or through BTIG during such quarterly period (or other relevant period), the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation paid or payable by the Company to BTIG with respect to such sales of Placement Shares and shall file such prospectus supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (and within the time periods required by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430B or 430C under the Securities Act, as applicable) and shall file any issuer free writing prospectus that is required to be filed with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 433 of the Securities Act or (ii) if the Company, at its discretion, elects not to file a prospectus supplement with respect to a particular fiscal quarter, the Company shall disclose the information referred to in clause (i) above in its annual report on Form 20-F or in a periodic report on Form 6-K, as applicable, in respect of such quarterly period and shall file such report with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such report under the Exchange Act. The Company shall not file any such prospectus supplement or issuer free writing prospectus relating to such sales, and shall not file any report containing disclosure relating to such sales, unless a copy of such prospectus supplement or issuer free writing prospectus or disclosure relating to such sales to be included in a Form 20-F or Form 6-K (it being acknowledged and agreed that the Company shall not submit any portion of any Form 20-F or Form 6-K other than the specific disclosure relating to any sales of Placement Shares), as applicable, has been submitted to BTIG a reasonable period of time before the filing and BTIG has not reasonably objected thereto (provided, however, (A) that the failure of BTIG to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder and under any Terms Agreement, or affect BTIG’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement, and (B) that, if BTIG objects thereto, BTIG may cease making sales of Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement or any Terms Agreement). The Company shall provide copies of the Prospectus and such prospectus supplement and any issuer free writing prospectus to BTIG via e-mail in “.pdf” format on such filing date to an e-mail account designated by BTIG and shall also furnish copies of the Prospectus and such prospectus supplement to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement Shares may be made as may be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market.
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(m) Representation Dates; Certificate. On or prior to the date the first Placement Notice is given pursuant to this Agreement, each time Shares are delivered to BTIG as principal on a Settlement Date with respect to a Principal Transaction, and each time the Company (i) after the date of the first Placement Notice, files the Prospectus relating to the Shares or amends or supplements the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Shares (other than (A) a prospectus supplement filed in accordance with Section 7(l) or (B) a supplement or amendment that relates to an offering of securities other than the Shares) by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement, but not by means of incorporation of document(s) by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Shares; (ii) files an annual report on Form 20-F under the Exchange Act (including any Form 20-F/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed Form 20-F); or (iii) files a report on Form 6-K containing financial information under the Exchange Act (each date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iii) shall be a “Representation Date”); the Company shall furnish BTIG on each Representation Date with the certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m). The requirement to provide the certificate under this Section 7(m) shall be automatically waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice or Terms Agreement is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of (x) the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date), (y) the date that Shares are delivered to BTIG as principal on a Settlement Date with respect to a Principal Transaction or (z) the next occurring Representation Date; provided, however, that such waiver shall not apply for any Representation Date on which the Company files its annual report on Form 20-F. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Shares following a Representation Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide BTIG with the certificate under this Section 7(m), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or BTIG sells any Shares in an Agency Transaction, or on the applicable Settlement Date with respect to a Principal Transaction, the Company shall provide BTIG with the certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), dated the date of the Placement Notice for such Agency Transaction or the Settlement Date of such Principal Transaction, as applicable.
(n) Chief Financial Officer Certificates. On each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, that arises as a result of the Company’s filing of a report on Form 6-K containing financial information under the Exchange Act for the Company’s first fiscal quarter or third fiscal quarter and for which no comfort letter is required pursuant to Section 7(p), the Company will furnish to BTIG a certificate of the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, in the form attached as Exhibit 7(n) hereto.
(o) Legal Opinions. On or prior to the earlier of (i) the date the first Placement Notice is given pursuant to this Agreement and (ii) the date that Shares are delivered to BTIG as principal on a Settlement Date with respect to the first Principal Transaction pursuant to the first Terms Agreement and this Agreement, the Company shall cause to be furnished to BTIG (A) the written opinion and negative assurance letter of Seward & Kissel LLP, as U.S. counsel to the Company, and and the written opinion of each of  (B) MJM Limited, Hamilton, Bermuda, special counsel for the Company with respect to matters of Bermuda law, (C) Seward & Kissel LLP, special Liberian counsel for the Company, and (D) Seward & Kissel LLP, special Marshall Islands counsel for the Company, in each case substantially in the forms previously agreed between the Parties (A)-(D), collectively, the “Company Counsel Opinions”), in each case, or such other counsel as is reasonably satisfactory to BTIG. Thereafter, (A) each time Shares are delivered to BTIG as principal on a Settlement Date with respect to a Principal Transaction and (B) on each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to BTIG the Company Counsel Opinions, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that if such counsel has previously furnished to BTIG such opinions, such counsel may, in respect of any future Representation Date, furnish BTIG with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) in lieu of such opinion to the effect that BTIG may rely on the prior opinion delivered by such counsel pursuant to this Section 7(o) to the same extent as if each were dated the date of such Reliance Letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented to the date of such Reliance Letter).
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(p) Comfort Letter. On or prior to the date the first Placement Notice is given pursuant to this Agreement, each time Shares are delivered to BTIG as principal on a Settlement Date with respect to a Principal Transaction and on each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) (other than a Representation Date that arises as a result of the Company’s filing of a report on Form 6-K containing financial information under the Exchange Act for the Company’s first fiscal quarter or third fiscal quarter (unless the Company elects to file consolidated interim financial statements in a report on Form 6-K with respect to such first or third fiscal quarter)), for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent accountants to furnish to BTIG a letter, dated as of such date (the “Comfort Letter”), in form and substance satisfactory to BTIG, (i) confirming that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the PCAOB and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission, (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter.
(q) Market Activities. The Company shall not, and shall cause its Subsidiaries and its and their respective directors, officers and controlling persons not to, directly or indirectly, (i) take any action designed to stabilize or manipulate, or which constitutes or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, the stabilization or manipulation of, the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase the Shares to be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting the purchases of the Shares, other than BTIG.
(r) Insurance. The Company and its Subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks the Company reasonably deems adequate.
(s) Compliance with Laws. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, all material permits, licenses and other authorizations required by federal, state and local law in order to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus, and the Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall conduct their businesses, or cause their businesses to be conducted, in substantial compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations and with applicable laws, except where the failure to maintain or be in compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(t) Securities Act and Exchange Act. The Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of, or dealings in, the Shares as contemplated by the provisions hereof and any Terms Agreement and the Prospectus. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, during the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act within the time periods required by the Exchange Act (giving effect to permissible extensions in accordance with Rule 12b-25 under the Exchange Act).
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(u) Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company and each of the Company’s subsidiaries will maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principle and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded book value for assets is compared with the fair market value of such assets (computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission and the Exchange promulgated thereunder.
(v) No Offer To Sell. Other than a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) approved in advance in writing by the Company and BTIG in its capacity as agent hereunder or as principal hereunder and under any Terms Agreement, neither BTIG nor the Company (including its agents and representatives other than BTIG in its capacity as such) will, directly or indirectly, make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any free writing prospectus relating to the Shares to be sold by BTIG as agent hereunder or as principal hereunder and under any Terms Agreement.
(w) Investment Company Act. The Company shall conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that neither it nor any of its subsidiaries will be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.
(x) Transfer Agent. The Company shall maintain, at its sole expense, a registrar and transfer agent for the Common Shares.
(y) Blue Sky and Other Qualifications. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts, in cooperation with BTIG, to qualify the Placement Shares for offering and sale, or to obtain an exemption for the Placement Shares to be offered and sold, under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as BTIG may designate and to maintain such qualifications and exemptions in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement); provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject. In each jurisdiction in which the Placement Shares have been so qualified or exempt, the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification or exemption, as the case may be, in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement).
(z) Renewal of Registration Statement. If, immediately prior to the third (3rd) anniversary of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement (the “Renewal Date”), any of the Shares remain unsold and this Agreement has not been terminated for any reason, the Company will, prior to the Renewal Date, file a new shelf registration statement or, if applicable, an automatic shelf registration statement relating to the Shares, in a form satisfactory to BTIG and its counsel, and, if such registration statement is not an automatic shelf registration statement, will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Date. The Company will take all other reasonable actions necessary or appropriate to permit the public offer and sale of the Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Shares. From and after the effective date thereof, references herein to the “Registration Statement” shall include such new shelf registration statement or such new automatic shelf registration statement, as the case may be.
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(aa) Consent to BTIG Purchases.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that BTIG may, to the extent permitted under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act (including, without limitation, Regulation M promulgated thereunder), purchase and sell Common Shares for its own account and for the account of its clients while this Agreement is in effect, including, without limitation, at the same time any Placement Notice is in effect or any sales of Shares occur pursuant to this Agreement; provided that BTIG acknowledges and agrees that any such transactions are not being, and shall not be deemed to have been, undertaken at the request or direction of, or for the account of, the Company, and that the Company has and shall have no control over any decision by BTIG and its affiliates to enter into any such transactions.
8. Representations and Covenants of BTIG. BTIG represents and warrants that it is duly registered as a broker-dealer under FINRA, the Exchange Act and the applicable statutes and regulations of each state in which the Placement Shares will be offered and sold, except such states in which BTIG is exempt from registration or such registration is not otherwise required. BTIG shall continue, for the term of this Agreement, to be duly registered as a broker-dealer under FINRA, the Exchange Act and the applicable statutes and regulations of each state in which the Placement Shares will be offered and sold, except in such states in which BTIG is exempt from registration or such registration is not otherwise required, during the terms of this Agreement. BTIG will comply with all applicable laws and regulations in connection with the sale of Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and any Terms Agreement, including, but not limited to, Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
9. Conditions to BTIG’s Obligations. The obligations of BTIG hereunder with respect to a Placement in any Agency Transaction, and the obligations of BTIG with respect to a Principal Transaction pursuant to any Terms Agreement and this Agreement, will in each case be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and under any Terms Agreement, as applicable, to the completion by BTIG of a due diligence review satisfactory to BTIG in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by BTIG in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Statement Effective. The Registration Statement shall be effective and shall be available for the offer and sale of all Placement Shares that have been issued or are contemplated to be issued pursuant to all Placement Notices that have been delivered to BTIG by the Company and all Terms Agreements that have been executed by the Parties. The Company shall have paid the required Commission filing fees relating to the Shares within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) under the Securities Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Securities Act (including, if applicable, by updating the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in accordance with Rule 456(b)(1)(ii) either in a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or on the cover page of the Prospectus).
(b) Prospectus Supplement. The Company shall have filed with the Commission the Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second Business Day following the date of this Agreement.
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(c) No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or other order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; or (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, related Prospectus or documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, that in the case of the Prospectus, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(d) No Misstatement or Material Omission. BTIG shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in BTIG’s reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in BTIG’s opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
(e) Material Changes. Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not have been any material adverse change, on a consolidated basis, in the authorized capital stock of the Company or any Material Adverse Effect, or any development that could reasonably be expected to cause a Material Adverse Effect, or a downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the Company’s securities by any rating organization or a public announcement by any rating organization that it has under surveillance or review its rating of any of the Company’s securities, the effect of which, in the case of any such action by a rating organization described above, in the reasonable judgment of BTIG (without relieving the Company of any obligation or liability it may otherwise have), is so material as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering of the Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, as the case may be, and the Prospectus.
(f) Legal Opinion. BTIG shall have received the opinions and negative assurances required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(o) on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinions are required pursuant to Section 7(o).
(g) Comfort Letter. BTIG shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(p) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(p).
(h) Certificates. BTIG shall have received the certificates required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(m) and Section 7(n) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificates is required pursuant to Section 7(m) and Section 7(n).
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(i) No Suspension. Trading in the Common Shares shall not have been suspended on the Exchange and the Common Shares shall not have been delisted from the Exchange.
(j) Other Materials. On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m), the Company shall have furnished to BTIG such appropriate further information, certificates and documents as BTIG may have reasonably requested. All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents will be in compliance with the provisions hereof. The Company shall have furnished BTIG with such conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as BTIG shall have reasonably requested.
(k) Securities Act Filings Made. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424(b) and Rule 433 under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice hereunder or the Settlement Date with respect to any Principal Transaction under any Terms Agreement, as applicable shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) of the Securities Act) and Rule 433.
(l) Approval for Listing. The Placement Shares shall have been approved for listing on the Exchange, subject only to notice of issuance.
(m) No Termination Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would permit BTIG to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 12(a).
10. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Indemnification by the Company. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless BTIG, its directors, officers, members, partners, employees and agents and each BTIG Affiliate, if any, as follows:
(i) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
(ii) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company, which consent shall not unreasonably be delayed or withheld; and
(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by BTIG), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above;
provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission, or alleged untrue statement or omission, made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to BTIG that has been furnished in writing to the Company by BTIG expressly for inclusion in any document described in clause (i) of this Section 10(a). This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.
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(b) Indemnification by BTIG. BTIG agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with the Company against any and all losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses described in the indemnity contained in Section 10(a), as and when incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), any “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to BTIG that has been furnished to the Company by BTIG expressly for inclusion in any document as described in clause (i) of Section 10(a).
(c) Procedure. Any indemnified party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 10 will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party or parties under this Section 10, notify each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, enclosing a copy of all papers served, but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying party from (i) any liability that it might have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 10 and (ii) any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this Section 10 unless, and only to the extent that, such omission results in the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses by the indemnifying party. If any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of its commencement, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the action from the indemnified party, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the indemnifying party will not be liable to the indemnified party for any legal or other expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of investigation subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, but the fees, expenses and other charges of such counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (1) the employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, (2) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on advice of counsel to the indemnified party) that there may be legal defenses available to it or other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party, (3) a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party) or (4) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the expense of the indemnifying party or parties. It is understood that the indemnifying party or parties shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm admitted to practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly as they are incurred. An indemnifying party will not, in any event, be liable for any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of each indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding relating to the matters contemplated by this Section 10 (whether or not any indemnified party is a party thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (1) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising or that may arise out of such claim, action or proceeding and (2) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
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(d) Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 10 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable from the Company or BTIG, the Company and BTIG will contribute to the total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted) to which the Company and BTIG may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and BTIG on the other. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and BTIG on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the sale of the Shares (net of commissions to BTIG but before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total compensation received by BTIG from the sale of Shares on behalf of the Company. If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and BTIG, on the other, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or BTIG, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and BTIG agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 10(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, liability, expense, or damage, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 10(d) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 10(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim to the extent consistent with Section 10(c) hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 10(d), BTIG shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 10(d), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any officers, directors, members, partners, employees or agents of BTIG, will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this Section 10(d), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 10(d) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement entered into pursuant to the last sentence of Section 10(c) hereof, no party will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled without its written consent if such consent is required pursuant to Section 10(c) hereof.
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11. Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 10 of this Agreement and all representations and warranties of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of BTIG, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.
12. Termination.
(a) BTIG shall have the right, by giving notice as hereinafter specified in Section 13, at any time to terminate this Agreement and/or any Terms Agreement (including at any time at or prior to the Settlement Date with respect to the Shares to be sold under such Terms Agreement) if: (i) any Material Adverse Effect, or any development that has actually occurred and that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, has occurred that, in the reasonable judgment of BTIG, may materially impair the ability of BTIG to sell the Shares hereunder or as contemplated in any Terms Agreement or the Prospectus; (ii) there has occurred any (A) material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, (B) outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or (C) change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which, in the reasonable judgment of BTIG, may materially impair the ability of BTIG to sell the Shares hereunder or as contemplated in any Terms Agreement or the Prospectus; (iii) trading in the Common Shares has been suspended or limited by the Commission or the Exchange, or if trading generally on the Exchange has been suspended or limited (including automatic halt in trading pursuant to market-decline triggers other than those in which solely program trading is temporarily halted), or minimum prices for trading have been fixed on the Exchange; (iv) any suspension of trading of any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market shall have occurred and be continuing; (v) a major disruption of securities settlements or clearance services in the United States shall have occurred and be continuing; or (vi) a banking moratorium has been declared by either U.S. Federal or New York authorities. The Company may not terminate any Terms Agreement without the prior written consent of BTIG. Any such termination pursuant to this Section 12(a) shall be without liability of any party to any other party, except that the provisions of Section 7(g) (Expenses), Section 10 (Indemnification), Section 11 (Survival of Representations), Section 12(f), Section 17 (Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction), Section 18 (Waiver of Jury Trial) and Section 19 (Agent for Service) hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(b) The Company shall have the right, by giving three (3)  trading day’s notice as hereinafter specified in Section 13, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party, except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 10, Section 11, Section 12(f), Section 17, Section 18 and Section 19 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(c) BTIG shall have the right, by giving three (3) trading days notice as hereinafter specified in Section 13, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 10, Section 11, Section 12(f), Section 17, Section 18 and Section 19 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
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(d) Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 12, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of all of the Shares to or through BTIG on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein and any Terms Agreement; provided that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 10, Section 11, Section 12(f), Section 17, Section 18 and Section 19 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(e) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 12(a), (b), (c), or (d) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the Parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 7(g), Section 10, Section 11, Section 12(f), Section 17, Section 18 and Section 19 shall remain in full force and effect.
(f) Any termination of this Agreement or any Terms Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided, however, that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by BTIG or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination, other than a termination of any Terms Agreement pursuant to Section 12(a) above, shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Shares, such termination shall not become effective until the close of business on such Settlement Date and such Shares shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement (it being hereby acknowledged and agreed that a termination of any Terms Agreement pursuant to Section 12(a) above shall become effective in accordance with the first sentence of this Section 12(f) and shall relieve the Parties of their respective obligations under such Terms Agreement, including, without limitation, with respect to the settlement of the Shares subject to such Terms Agreement).
13. Notices.
All notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or any Terms Agreement shall be in writing, unless otherwise specified, and if sent to BTIG, shall be delivered to
BTIG, LLC
66 East 55th Street
New York, New York 10022
Attention: Equity Capital Markets
Email: BTIGUSATMTrading@btig.com
with copies (which shall not constitute notice) to:
BTIG, LLC
600 Montgomery Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Attention: General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer
Email: BTIGuscontrolroom@btig.com
legal@btig.com

and:
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
101 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10178
Attention: Finn Murphy
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and if to the Company, shall be delivered to:

SFL Corporation Ltd.
Par-la-Ville Place, 14 Par-la-Ville Road
Hamilton HM08
Bermuda
Attention: James Ayers

with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

Seward & Kissel LLP
One Battery Park Plaza
New York NY 10004
Attention:  Keith Billotti

Each party may change such address for notices by sending to the other party to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose. Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed given (i) when delivered personally or by verifiable facsimile transmission (with an original to follow) on or before 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on a Business Day or, if such day is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier and (iii) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid). For purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which the Exchange and commercial banks in the City of New York are open for business.
An electronic communication (“Electronic Notice”) shall be deemed written notice for purposes of this Section 13 if sent to the electronic mail address specified by the receiving party under separate cover. Electronic Notice shall be deemed received at the time the party sending Electronic Notice receives confirmation of receipt by the receiving party (other than pursuant to auto-reply). Any party receiving Electronic Notice may request and shall be entitled to receive the notice on paper, in a nonelectronic form (“Nonelectronic Notice”) which shall be sent to the requesting party within ten (10) days of receipt of the written request for Nonelectronic Notice.
14. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement and any Terms Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and BTIG and their respective successors and permitted assigns and, as to Sections 5(b) and 10, the other indemnified parties specified therein. References to any of the Parties contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of such party. Nothing in this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any other person any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement or any Terms Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement or any Terms Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that BTIG may assign its rights and obligations hereunder or under any Terms Agreement to an affiliate of BTIG without obtaining the Company’s consent.
15. Adjustments for Stock Splits. The Parties acknowledge and agree that all share-related numbers contained in this Agreement and any Terms Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any stock split, stock dividend or similar event effected with respect to the Common Shares.
16. Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability. This Agreement (including all schedules and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices and Terms Agreements issued pursuant hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the Parties with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof or any Terms Agreement may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and BTIG. In the event that any one or more of the terms or provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such term or provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the Parties as reflected in this Agreement.
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17. GOVERNING LAW AND TIME; WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY TERMS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAWS. SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME. THE COMPANY AND BTIG EACH HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY TERMS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THEREBY.
18. CONSENT TO JURISDICTION. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE NON-EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF  THE STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS SITTING IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN (“SPECIFIED COURTS”), FOR THE ADJUDICATION  OF ANY DISPUTE HEREUNDER OR ANY TERMS AGREEMENT OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THEREBY (A “RELATED PROCEEDING”), AND HEREBY  IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, AND AGREES NOT TO ASSERT IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING, ANY CLAIM THAT IT IS NOT  PERSONALLY SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION OF ANY SUCH COURT, THAT SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING IS BROUGHT  IN AN INCONVENIENT FORUM OR THAT THE VENUE OF SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING IS IMPROPER. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES PERSONAL SERVICE OF PROCESS AND CONSENTS TO PROCESS BEING SERVED IN ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING BY MAILING A COPY THEREOF (CERTIFIED OR REGISTERED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED) TO SUCH PARTY AT THE ADDRESS IN EFFECT FOR NOTICES TO IT UNDER THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY TERMS AGREEMENT AND AGREES THAT SUCH SERVICE SHALL CONSTITUTE GOOD AND SUFFICIENT SERVICE OF PROCESS AND NOTICE THEREOF. NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHALL BE DEEMED TO LIMIT IN ANY WAY ANY RIGHT TO SERVE PROCESS IN ANY MANNER PERMITTED BY LAW.
19. Agent for Service. The Company hereby irrevocably appoints Seward & Kissel LLP, with offices at One Battery Park Plaza, New York, New York 10004 as its agent for service of process in any Related Proceeding and agrees that service of process in any such Related Proceeding may be made upon it at the office of such agent. The Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any other requirements of or objections to personal jurisdiction with respect thereto. The Company represents and warrants that such agent has agreed to act as the Company’s agent for service of process, and the Company agrees to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all documents and instruments, that may be necessary to continue such appointment in full force and effect.
20. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:
(a) BTIG is acting solely as agent in connection with the sale of the Shares in an Agency Transaction contemplated by this Agreement and the process leading to such transactions, and no fiduciary or advisory relationship between the Company or any of its respective affiliates, stockholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees or any other party, on the one hand, and BTIG, on the other hand, has been or will be created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, irrespective of whether BTIG has advised or is advising the Company on other matters, and BTIG has no obligation to the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and any Terms Agreement;
(b) the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(c) BTIG has not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate;
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(d) the Company is aware that BTIG and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and BTIG has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or otherwise; and
(e) the Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against BTIG for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that BTIG shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract, tort or otherwise) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, partners, employees or creditors of the Company.
21. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.
(a) In the event that BTIG is a Covered Entity and becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from BTIG of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
(b) In the event that BTIG is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of BTIG becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against BTIG are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
(c) For purposes of this Agreement, (A) “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k); (B) “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b); (C) “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable; and (D) “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
22. Effect of Headings; Knowledge of the Company The section and Exhibit headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof. All references in this Agreement and any Terms Agreement to the “knowledge of the Company” or the “Company’s knowledge” or similar qualifiers shall mean the actual knowledge of the directors and officers of the Company, after due inquiry.
23. Counterparts. This Agreement and any Terms Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement or Terms Agreement by one party to the other may be made by facsimile or electronic transmission.

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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and BTIG, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and BTIG.

 
Very truly yours,
     
 
SFL CORPORATION LTD.
     
 
By:
/s/ Aksel C. Olesen
 
Name:
Aksel C. Olesen
 
Title:
Chief Financial Officer of SFL Management AS
   
(Principal Financial Officer of SFL Corporation Ltd.)




 
ACCEPTED as of the date first-above written:
     
 
BTIG, LLC
     
 
By:
/s/ Dean O’Connor
 
Name:
Dean O’Connor
 
Title:
Managing Director
     





SCHEDULE 1
FORM OF PLACEMENT NOTICE
From:
[                   ]
Cc:
[                   ]
To:
[                   ]
Subject:
Placement Notice
Gentlemen:
Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement between SFL Corporation Ltd. (the “Company”), and BTIG, LLC (“BTIG”) dated May 13, 2020 (the “Agreement”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that BTIG sell up to [[___] shares] [$[___] worth of shares] of the Company’s common shares, par value $0.01 per share, subject to the Maximum Amount (the “Shares”), at market prices not lower than $[____] per share, during the time period beginning [month, day, time] and ending [month, day, time].
[The company may include such other sales parameters as it deems appropriate, subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement.]
Terms used herein and not defined herein have the meanings ascribed to them in the Agreement.


Schedule 1

SCHEDULE 2
COMPENSATION
BTIG shall be paid the following compensation from the sales of Shares pursuant to this Agreement:

1.00% of the gross proceeds from Shares sold on such trading day at per share prices equal to or lower than the daily volume weighted average price as reported by Bloomberg for such trading day (the “Daily VWAP”);

1.25% of the gross proceeds from Shares sold on such trading day at per share prices that are higher than the Daily VWAP;

provided that for purposes of calculating the foregoing commissions, none of the Share sale transactions under this Agreement shall be averaged together or otherwise aggregated.



Schedule 2





Exhibit 5.1


   
   
   
   




13 May 2020
Ref. 29404.0013
   
By Email and by Hand
 
   
SFL Corporation Ltd.
Par-la-Ville Place
14 Par-la-Ville Road
Hamilton HM 08
Bermuda
 
   
   



Dear Sirs,

SFL Corporation Ltd. (the “Company”)

1.
Subject of Opinion

We are lawyers duly qualified to practise in Bermuda.  This opinion as to the laws of Bermuda is addressed to you in connection with (i) the Company’s at-the-market offering (the “Offering”) of the  Company’s common shares of par value US$0.01 (the “Shares”), having an aggregate offering price of up to US$100,000,000; (ii) the at-the-market sales agreement (the “Agreement”) dated 13 May 2020 between the Company and BTIG, LLC, as sales agent and/or principal (the “Manager”), including any amendments or supplements thereto, pursuant to which the Company may offer the Shares through the Manager, from time to time; and (iii) the registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-237971, such registration statement as amended and supplemented from time to time the “Registration Statement”, which term does not include any other document or agreement whether or not specifically referred to therein or attached as an exhibit or schedule thereto) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on 1 May 2020 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and a base prospectus of the Company dated 1 May 2020 (the “Base Prospectus”), as supplemented by a prospectus supplement thereto dated  13 May 2020 with respect to the issuance and sale of the Shares included therein (the “Supplement” and together with the Base Prospectus, the “Prospectus”).

2.
Documents Examined

For the purposes of this opinion we have examined and relied upon the following (collectively, the “Documents”):

2.1.
a copy of the Registration Statement;

2.2.
a copy of the Prospectus;

2.3.
a copy of the Agreement;

2.4.
a copy of the following documents of the Company, as certified by the Secretary thereof on 13 May 2020:

(a)
Certificate of Incorporation;


(b)
Memorandum of Association;

(c)
Certificate of Deposit of Memorandum of Increase of Share Capital;

(d)
Bye-laws;

(e)
Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company held on 12 May 2020  (the “Resolutions”);

(f)
Tax Assurance;

(g)
Register of Directors and Officers; and

(h)
Register of Members;

2.5.
a Certificate of Compliance issued by the Bermuda Registrar of Companies (“ROC”) in respect of the Company dated 12 May 2020;

2.6.
a Certificate of a Director of the Company dated 13 May 2020 (the “Director’s Certificate”); and

2.7.
such other documents as we have deemed necessary in order to render this opinion.

A reference to a document does not include any other instrument or agreement whether or not specifically referred to therein or attached as an exhibit or schedule thereto. Except as stated in this paragraph 2, we have not examined any contract, instrument or other document entered into by, or affecting, the Company or any corporate records of the Company and have not made any other enquiries concerning the Company.

3.
Searches

We have also relied upon (i) our searches made on 12 May 2020 of the documents of public record relating to the Company maintained and provided by the Registrar of Companies (the “Searches”).  We have not been able to conduct a search of the Cause Book maintained by the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Bermuda in respect of the Company, given that the Supreme Court Registry is closed to the public until at least 18 May 2020 and physical searches of the Cause Book are suspended unless the search is justifiably urgent in the determination of the Registrar of the Supreme Court.

4.
Opinion Limited to Bermuda Law

We have made no investigation of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Bermuda and this opinion is given only with respect to Bermuda law as applied by the courts of Bermuda at the date thereof and is governed by, and should be construed in accordance with, those laws. This opinion is limited to the matters stated herein and does not extend to, and is not intended to be extended by implication to, any other matters. We give this opinion on the basis that it will not give rise to any legal proceedings with respect thereto in any jurisdiction other than Bermuda.

5.
Assumptions

In giving this opinion we have assumed:

5.1.
the authenticity, accuracy and completeness of all Documents (including, without limitation, public records) submitted to us as originals and the conformity to authentic original documents of all Documents submitted to us as certified, conformed, notarised or photo static copies;

5.2.
the genuineness of all seals, signatures and markings on the Documents;


5.3.
the authority, capacity and power of each of the persons signing the Documents (other than the Company);

5.4.
that any representation, warranty or statement of fact or law, other than the laws of Bermuda, made in any of the Documents, is true, accurate and complete;

5.5.
that each of the Documents which was received by electronic means is complete, intact and in conformity with the transmission as sent;

5.6.
that there are no provisions of the laws or regulations of any jurisdiction other than Bermuda which would have any implication in relation to the opinions expressed herein;

5.7.
that there are no provisions of the laws or regulations of any jurisdiction other than Bermuda which would be contravened by any actions taken by the Company in connection with the Registration Statement or which would have any implication in relation to the opinion expressed herein and that, in so far as any obligation under, or action to be taken under, the Registration Statement is required to be performed or taken in any jurisdiction outside Bermuda, the performance of such obligation or the taking of such action will constitute a valid and binding obligation of each of the parties thereto under the laws of that jurisdiction and will not be illegal by virtue of the laws of that jurisdiction;

5.8.
that the information disclosed by the Searches has not been materially altered and that the Searches did not fail to disclose any material information which had been delivered for filing or registration, but was not disclosed or did not appear on the public files at the time of the Searches;

5.9.
that no litigation, administrative or other proceeding of or before any governmental authority of Bermuda is pending against or affecting the Company;

5.10.
that the Company has not passed a voluntary winding-up resolution and that no petition has been presented to or order made by a court for the winding-up or dissolution of the Company;

5.11.
that the Resolutions certified as being true and accurate and provided to us in connection with the giving of this opinion were duly adopted by the duly elected or appointed directors of the Company or any duly constituted committee thereof; that any provisions contained in the Companies Act 1981 of Bermuda, as amended (the “Companies Act”), or the bye-laws of the Company relating to the declaration of directors’ interests and the convening of, the quorum required for, and voting at the meetings of the directors and the adopting of written resolutions of the directors were duly observed; and that such Resolutions have not been amended or rescinded, either in whole or in part, and are in full force and effect;

5.12.
when issued, all Shares will be issued in compliance with all matters of, and will represent valid and enforceable obligations under, applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws and other laws (other than the laws of Bermuda, in respect of which we are opining); and

5.13.
that, as of each and every time any of the Shares are issued in accordance with the Agreement, the Company will have a sufficient number of authorised and unissued Shares available for issuance.

6.
Opinion

Based upon and subject to the foregoing and subject to the reservations set out below and to any matters not disclosed to us, we are of the opinion that:

6.1.
the Company is duly incorporated for an indefinite period as an exempted limited company, and is validly existing and in ‘good standing’ under the laws of Bermuda;


6.2.
the Shares, when issued, sold and paid for as contemplated in the Prospectus and the Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable; and

6.3.
so far as can be ascertained from the Director’s Certificate, the Company is not engaged in or threatened with any action, suit, or proceeding before any court in Bermuda.

7.
Reservations

We have the following reservations:

7.1.
we have relied upon searches of public records on file at the offices of the ROC but we note that the records disclosed by those searches may not be complete or up to date;

7.2.
any reference in this opinion to shares being “non-assessable” means, in relation to fully-paid shares of the Company and subject to any contrary provision in any agreement in writing between the Company and the holder of shares, that: no shareholder shall be obliged to contribute further amounts to the capital of the Company, either in order to complete payment for their shares, to satisfy claims of creditors of the Company, or otherwise; and no shareholder shall be bound by an alteration of the Memorandum of Association or Bye-Laws of the Company after the date on which he became a shareholder, if and so far as the alteration requires him to take, or subscribe for additional shares, or in any way increases his liability to contribute to the share capital of, or otherwise to pay money to, the Company;

7.3.
any reference in this opinion to the Company being “in good standing” means having paid all fees and taxes and having made all filings required by the laws of Bermuda in order to maintain the valid existence of the Company pursuant to such laws; and

7.4
with respect to opinion paragraph 6.3, we have relied upon statements and representations made to us in the Director’s Certificate provided to us by an authorised officer of the Company for the purposes of this opinion. We have made no independent verification of the matters referred to in the Director’s Certificate, and we qualify such opinion to the extent that the statements or representations made in the Director’s Certificate are not accurate in any respect.


8.
Disclosure

This opinion has been prepared for use in connection with the filing by the Company of a current report on Form 6-K which will be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and the prospectus thereto and is not to be relied upon in respect of any other matter.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the above-described Form 6-K and to the reference to our firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the prospectus attached to the Registration Statement, without admitting that we are “experts” within the meaning of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, with respect to any part of the Registration Statement.  In giving such consent, we do not hereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under section 7 of the Act.

This opinion speaks as of its date and is strictly limited to the matters stated in it and we assume no obligation to review or update this opinion if applicable law or the existing facts or circumstances should change.

Yours faithfully,



/s/ MJM Limited

MJM  LIMITED

Exhibit 99.1


SFL Announces Filing of $100 Million At the Market Program


SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE: SFL) (“SFL” or the “Company”) announced today that it has filed a prospectus supplement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with an “at the market” offering program (the “Program”) pursuant to which the Company may sell up to $100 million of its common shares, par value $0.01 per share.

The Company believes it has a strong balance sheet with more than $200 million in available liquidity at the end of the first quarter of 2020.  The Program, which is effective for up to approximately 36 months, may be utilized at the Company’s discretion from time to time.  The Company is not obliged to offer and sell any of its common shares under the Program.  The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Program, if any, for general corporate purposes.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful. The offering is being made by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement. A prospectus supplement related to the offering has been filed with the SEC on the date hereof. Copies of the prospectus and prospectus supplement relating to the offering may be obtained from BTIG, LLC, Attention: ATM Trading Desk, 65 East 55th Street, New York, NY 10022, or by telephone at +1 212 593 7555 or by email at btigusatmtrading@btig.com

May 13, 2020

The Board of Directors
SFL Corporation Ltd.
Hamilton, Bermuda

Questions can be directed to SFL Management AS:

Investor and Analyst Contacts:
Aksel Olesen, Chief Financial Officer, SFL Management AS
+47 23 11 40 36
André Reppen, Senior Vice President & Chief Treasurer, SFL Management AS
+47 23 11 40 55

Media Contact:
Ole B. Hjertaker, Chief Executive Officer, SFL Management AS
+47 23 11 40 11

About SFL
SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE: SFL) has a unique track record in the maritime industry, being consistently profitable and paying dividends every quarter since 2004. The Company’s fleet of more than 80 vessels is split between tankers, bulkers, container vessels and offshore assets, and SFL’s long term distribution capacity is supported by a portfolio of long term charters and significant growth in the asset base over time.

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 SFL management’s examination of historical operating trends. Although SFL 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, SFL 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 worldwide 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.