New York-listed Tsakos booked an adjusted loss of $5.3m in the three months to the close of 2013, an improvement on the $9.0m red number of a year earlier.

Its loss per share of $0.09 was exactly as analysts tracking the company had expected.

Nikolas P. Tsakos, chief executive of TEN, said in a statement: "TEN has once more demonstrated its ability to navigate through the rough shipping cycles and arrive at the other end stronger and bigger.

“Our