The contract is expected minimum gross revenues of $100 million
Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. announced the delivery of the 158,000 dwt, suezmax tanker Dimitris P, from the Sungdong yard in South Korea. On delivery, the vessel entered a twelve-year time charter with minimum and profit sharing provisions to a major Far Eastern entity. The contract is expected to generate minimum gross revenues of $100 million over its duration.
The Dimitris P is the sister vessel to the Spyros K, which was delivered in May 2011 with an eleven-year contract attached. This delivery concludes the Company’s conventional suezmax newbuilding program, leaving two DP2 suezmax shuttle tankers under construction with expected delivery and commencement of fifteen-year employment in Q4 2012 and Q1 2013 respectively. The two new conventional suezmax vessels have been partially financed at competitive terms by a European bank with whom the Company has a strong and long term relationship.
The Company continues to fix forward, despite the market weakness, parts of its fleet on long term accretive contracts, ranging from eleven to fifteen years. As already announced, recent chartering activities include the conventional Suezmax tankers Spyros K (fixed for eleven years from May 2011) and Dimitris P (fixed for twelve years from August 2011) together with the two DP2 shuttle tankers (fixed for fifteen years from late 2012/early 2013) and the Company’s LNG carrier Neo Energy (fixed for four years from 2012) are expected to expand the Company’s future revenue stream generating minimum revenues over the duration of their respective charters in excess of $830 million.
As of today, the Company has 36 out of its 48 vessels under fixed employment with the secured contract coverage of 68% and 46% for the remaining available vessel days for 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Cash flow generation, security and value preservation, cost-effective management practices, strategic vessel sales, dividend sustainability and further growth in both conventional tankers and in higher margin sectors of the energy spectrum as in shuttle tankers and in LNG, all remain within the Company’s overall strategy in order to navigate and grow beyond the constraints of the current market conditions.
“We welcome the Dimitris P to our fleet and look forward to its contribution to the Company’s bottom line for the years to come,” stated Mr. Nikolas P. Tsakos, President & Chief Executive Officer of TEN. “The long term visible cash flow generation of Dimitris P as well as Spyros K will enable us to sail through the current market trough with more confidence and allow us to maintain our pre-stated policy of fleet growth and steady dividend payments to our shareholders.” Finally, Mr. Tsakos concluded: “We would like to thank our long established charterers and our bankers that, by virtue of the length and level of the charter contracts and competitiveness of the loan terms showed faith both in the quality of the vessels and in the Company as a whole.”
As previously announced, the Company will pay a dividend of $0.15 per share on August 10th. Inclusive of this distribution, the Company has distributed in total $8.925 per share in dividends to its shareholders since the Company was listed on the NYSE in March of 2002. The listing price was $7.50 per share taking into account the 2-1 share split of November 14th, 2007. The Company has been paying regular cash dividends since its listing on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2002.
To date, TEN’s pro forma fleet consists of 50 double-hull vessels of 5.4 million dwt that includes two DP2 suezmax tankers currently under construction totalling 314,000 dwt. TEN’s balanced fleet profile is reflected in 23 crude tankers ranging from VLCCs to aframaxes and 26 product carriers ranging from aframaxes to handysize and one LNG carrier.
Source: Tsakos Energy Navigation
