Greek tanker company Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) stayed in the red for a fourth consecutive quarter but says a turnaround has begun.

Chief executive Nikolas Tsakos pointed to recent analysis, according to which a contango situation similar to the one that caused a spike in tanker earnings in early 2020 could be repeated in February 2022.

"If half of this [analysis] is true, we're in for a much better first quarter for sure," he told analysts in a conference call on Thursday.