The direction of the market is down, at least until Thanksgiving. We will be down another 5% but on any given day we could be up. And the way tanker earnings are coming in NAT will go down more than 5%. For example,D'AMICO, a European Tanker Co. reported earnings at the end of last week and said "The steady supply of ships, driven by the large influx of new buildings into the market, has resulted in significant pressure on the spot rate. Considering the difficult operating environment, characterized by the world economy recession combined with vessel over-capacity, the d’Amico International Shipping (DIS) results should be considered as relatively good. The significant percentage of fixed contracts coverage, the strong market positioning, together with efficiencies in general and administrative costs and the solid balance sheet allowed
DIS to sail at the water line, close to its break-even level."

NAT does not have:
1. Fixed contracts (except for one)
2. Strong market positioning - everything is outsourced
3. G&A efficiencies - they will be taking a charge

With at least another 50% cut in dividend the stock price will drop to $25 or less. Selling calls or buying puts is prudent. Right now the premium on put buying is very steep. I would need a market rally to buy them. On the other hand, selling the Nov $26 calls on Monday looks good on a risk reward basis. But again, selling them you can't afford to be whipsawed next week. You must be willing to take a temporary loss. On the other hand the safe play would be to wait until Friday just before the close to take a short position. My strategy, some both.