Share |

Tsakos Energy Navigation Awarded Two 15-Year
Shuttle Tanker Contracts With National Oil Major

Accretive project to be financed with proceeds from recent
equity offering Project revenues to exceed $520 million

ATHENS, GREECE – December 15, 2010 – Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. ("TEN") (NYSE: TNP or the “Company”) today announced two 15-year time charters with a national oil major for two DP2 Suezmax shuttle tankers with delivery within 2012. These charters are expected to generate revenues of at least $520 million over their corresponding periods. The return on equity anticipated from this project is attractive when compared to other mainstream shipping projects and our overall investment criteria and will make a significant contribution to our bottom line. The construction of these two high specification Suezmax tankers will be financed with cash from our recent $85 million equity offering and bank debt.

Shuttle tankers are a highly specialized sector, which calls for state of the art vessels specifically designed for oil transport from an offshore field. Typically, such vessels are committed to industrial projects for long periods and at premium daily rates.

George Saroglou, Chief Operation Officer of TEN commented:
“TEN’s expansion into the shuttle tanker business is expected to generate significant long term advantages for our Company and its shareholders and puts to good use the proceeds of our recent equity offering. This project is within the context of our strategy to operate modern, diversified and versatile vessels across all sectors of tanker operations aiming to meet the overall transportation needs of our clients. In addition, it solidifies our long standing relationship with the specific high quality charterer as well as our standing with oil majors worldwide. The sizeable and highly accretive returns that we expected to generate over the life of these charters will significantly enhance our cash flow and ability to continue rewarding our shareholders with stable and regular dividends. TEN is a growth company and given our strong balance sheet and high liquidity we will continue to monitor the market for additional fleet expansion opportunities.”

About Tsakos Energy Navigation
To date, TEN's pro forma fleet consists of 50 double-hull vessels of 5.1 million dwt that includes two suezmax tankers currently under construction totalling 316,000 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.

Tsakos Energy Navigation press release