Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) is selling another two ageing suezmaxes, releasing more than $100m into its cash reserves as a 26-ship newbuilding programme steadily feeds younger tonnage into the fleet.

The New York-listed Greek owner said the two ships were built in 2006, but it did not identify them, disclose the buyer or give individual sale prices.

TEN’s current fleet list shows the 2006-built Archangel and Alaska as its only suezmaxes of that vintage, while S&P sources have named Daelon Fathomline and Zeythra Group as the buyers, respectively.

The disposals follow the late-July delivery of another new shuttle tanker from Samsung Heavy Industries. Seven ships from TEN’s 26-vessel newbuilding programme have now joined the fleet, and the company reports $3.5bn in minimum contracted revenue across its forward employment book, giving the owner a visible earnings base as it reshapes the fleet around newer tonnage.

Fleet recycling has been a recurring feature of TEN’s growth strategy in recent years, with multiple sales of ageing tankers, including suezmaxes, allowing it to refresh capacity without slowing the wider fleet expansion.

At the other end of the cycle, TEN has been investing heavily in larger and more specialised tonnage. Last year, the owner expanded its VLCC orderbook at Hanwha Ocean, while its shuttle tanker programme has grown substantially. Earlier this year, the company also returned to the LNG carrier newbuilding market, lining up its first gas ships in roughly seven years.

In April, TEN extended employment on two existing shuttle tankers by up to five years each in deals expected to generate more than $200m of gross revenue. At the time, its shuttle operation comprised six ships on the water and 10 newbuildings.

After the latest sales, TEN puts its pro forma fleet at 81 vessels totalling about 10.5m dwt.