OMI CORP. SEES 3RD-QUARTER EARNINGS FALL 66.2%

OMI CORP. SEES 3RD-QUARTER EARNINGS FALL 66.2%    OMI Corp. the international tanker owner and operator, reported third quarter net income fell 66.2 percent, to $7.6 million, due to the sagging world economy and generally weak tanker rates.
   Despite the current conditions, OMI Corp. is confident of positive results over the next two years, due to a 'bullish' demand for tankers and forced scrapping of tonnage required by the Ocean Pollution Act of 1990, which requires single-hull tankers to be replaced by safer double-hull designs.
   'While there is a lot of tanker tonnage being delivered into the market during the next two years, the combination of lower short-term rate prospects and the forced scraping of tonnage by regulation should return the favorable outlook as economics recover,' the company said. 'We feel confident that with a majority of its vessels on long-term charters during the 2002-2004 the company will be profitable even during a weak economic period.
   For the first nine months of 2001, OMI reported net income of $75.6 million, compared to $21.7 million for the year-earlier period.