New York-listed Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) took delivery of its brand-new shuttle tanker Anfield DP from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. The DP2 suezmax shuttle tanker is the third in a series of 12 DP2 shuttle tankers under construction at Samsung.
Friday was a special day for the shipowner who celebrated the delivery and naming of its newly built shuttle tanker chartered for long-term to an US oil major. The 10-year employment comes with options to extend until the vessel’s 20th year anniversary.
The naming ceremony was attended by dignitaries from Greece, South Korea and the USA. The US Ambassador to Greece, K. Guilfoyle, named the vessel which hoisted the Greek flag.
With this latest addition, TEN operates seven shuttle tankers on long-term employment, with nine more on order. Minimum gross revenues from the backlog of long-term charters are currently approximately $3.5bn.
According to TEN, the delivery of the tanker further advances the company’s second phase expansion in the Brazilian offshore space, having established a presence in this “high barriers-to-entry” market since 2012.
“We welcome another advanced spec shuttle tanker in our fleet. The company continues its tested strategy of divesting its first-generation tankers at very profitable levels while replacing them with high-end specialized tonnage backed by accretive long-term contracts,” George Saroglou, president and COO of TEN stated. “With a secured revenue backlog of $3.5 billion, supported by blue-chip counterparties, TEN can comfortably continue its growth trajectory and at the same time reward shareholders with healthy dividends,” Saroglou concluded.
TEN’s diversified energy fleet currently consists of 82 vessels, including twelve DP2 shuttle tankers, two scrubber-fitted suezmax vessels, two scrubber-fitted MR product tankers and five scrubber-fitted LR1 tankers under construction, consisting of a mix of crude tankers, product tankers and LNG carriers, totaling 10.1 million dwt.
