TEN intends to pay cash dividends representing between one-quarter and
one-half of ordinary net income. Such payments shall be subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on available cash,
anticipated cash needs, overall financial condition, loan agreement restrictions, capital commitments, future prospects for earnings and cash flows, as well as other relevant factors. The Company currently pays a semi-annual dividend in October and April.
"Financial strength has been a hallmark of the Company for many years,"
commented Nikolas Tsakos, President and CEO of TEN. "The declaration of our
first cash dividend confirms our current strong financial position and provides a healthy return to our shareholders."
The Company also confirmed the appointment of Mr. Torben Janholt to its
Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Janholt is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Danish ship owning and trading company, J. Lauritzen A/S. TEN recently announced that it had entered into a joint venture with Lauritzen Kosan A/S, one of the world's leading regional transporters of LPG and petrochemical products and a wholly owned subsidiary of J. Lauritzen A/S.
"Mr. Janholt brings enormous industry depth and expertise to our Board of
Directors. In addition to his many years at J. Lauritzen A/S, Mr. Janholt
holds distinguished positions on The Danish Shipowners Association and The
Danish Education of Seafarers. Mr. Janholt also has experience working in the
U.S. marketplace, which adds another valuable dimension to our board,"
concluded Mr. Tsakos.
Torben Janholt worked at J. Lauritzen A/S from 1978-1995, including
various business developments and marketing positions at several of the company's subsidiaries, and also served as President of J. Lauritzen A/S USA,
Inc. from 1982-1989. From 1995-1998, Mr. Janholt served as Director Ocean
Transport at the United Nations World Food Program in Rome. Mr. Janholt
returned to J. Lauritzen A/S as President and Chief Executive Officer in 1998.
J. Lauritzen A/S has 1000 employees and annual sales of US $800 million.
ABOUT TSAKOS ENERGY NAVIGATION
TEN currently operates a fleet of nineteen tankers (including one
chartered-in Aframax) comprising 1,864,000 DWT with an average age of
7.7 years, which is much younger than the world's tanker tonnage, which has an
average age of 14.2 years. Additionally, TEN will take delivery of eight
newbuildings. With these eight newbuildings (three Suezmaxes, two Aframaxes,
and four Panamaxes) the average pro-forma age of the fleet will be reduced to
6.4 years in March 2004. The resulting fleet of 27 vessels with 2,680,000 DWT
includes 16 newbuildings (1997-2004) with 1,981,000 DWT. Consistent with the
Company's strategy, to offer its customers a young and growing fleet, TEN will
seek additional attractive opportunities to contract for new vessels and to
dispose of older vessels.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those predicted by such forward-looking statements. TEN undertakes no
obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or otherwise.