Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd ex-Maritime Investment Fund or (MIF), the oldest Greek-based public tanker company, was founded by Nikolas P. Tsakos in 1993 and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
Since the early days of its existence, TEN’s progress has been exceptional and to this date it remains the only public company with uninterrupted profitability each quarter since its inception in 1993. TEN’s tanker fleet began in 1993 with 4 tankers with 0.2 million dwt. Since then, the fleet has grown steadily to its present (March 2008) 44 vessels which, with an additional six newbuildings currently on order, have a total tonnage of 5,338,897 million dwt. TEN has built 53 tankers since 1997 in South Korean and Japanese shipyards. The Company is one of world’s largest energy transporters, controlling a fleet of 50 modern crude/product tankers and one LNG carrier.
TEN provides worldwide transportation services to state-owned, international oil majors and refineries under long-, medium- and short-term time charters and operates one of the world’s youngest fleets, with an average age of 5.5 years, compared to the global average of 10.7 years. TEN’s additional 6 newbuildings will be delivered from 2008 through 2010 and, upon receiving the last vessel, TEN’s fleet will consist of 25 crude carriers and 24 product tankers, 23 of which can operate in ice-class environments. In addition, the Company’s first LNG carrier was delivered during 2007 and, after a series of spot voyages, has been time chartered by a major international energy concern. TEN has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since March 2002.
Company culture
The Tsakos family, which sponsored TEN in 1993, has been the Company’s largest investor ever since. TEN’s fleet is technically managed by Tsakos Shipping & Trading SA (TST). This is very much a Group operating in the spirit of its founder, Captain Panayotis N. Tsakos, according to Mr. Vasilis Papageorgiou vice chairman of the Tsakos Group. “The company’s culture is literally ‘by the fender’. By that I mean that if a captain comes from a ship to work here at the company offices, the mentality is the same. The crew and the seafarers – all are part of the same family. We are very much in-depth involved with what and how we conduct our operations. A high percentage of our crew have been with the company for 20 to 30 years. When discussing crew and company culture, training is an essential cornerstone of this. We have a commitment to be at the top of the shipping industry’s quality index – training is a must as without training you are out. Training is also done on board on a regular basis.”
Environment
The group’s concern for environmental issues is genuine. Captain Tsakos was one of the founders of HELMEPA (Hellenic Marine Environment Association) in 1982. HELMEPA is a joint initiative by Greek seafarers and shipowners that voluntarily undertake the responsibility to eliminate ship-generated marine pollution and enhance safety at sea. On the public front, TEN established in 2007 an Operational, Environmental, Research & Development Committee to draw the attention of the Board and the Company’s management to issues of concern regarding the safety of crew and vessel and the impact of the maritime industry on the environment. The Committee expects to play a more active role in adopting operational procedures and technologies that will ensure maximum safety for crew and vessel and contribute to a better environment. Mr. Papageorgiou, who is a member of the committee, believes that “CO2 is the real issue, the top priority. All other emissions can be controlled. CO2 is the really difficult issue and I believe there will be more regulations governing this. The Kyoto Protocol made CO2 reductions into a big issue. A key question will be how to reduce consumption. Refined fuel products may form part of the solution here, but I question how to achieve this. We will implement all the Clean notations from class, and we are very aware of using the Green Passport system on our vessels to follow each individual vessel throughout its operational life. It is important to be conscious of the environment and we are in the process of applying for a Green Award.”