Bermuda-domiciled oil tanker operator Nordic American Tanker (NAT) reported that rates for hiring its vessels plunged in the second quarter of this year — but it expects a rebound in the current quarter.

NAT said rates achieved for its trading fleet averaged $12,100 per day in the April through June period, compared to $26,300 in the first quarter of the year.

The company aims to streamline costs by operating one type of vessel — the Suezmax tanker, which can hold one million barrels of oil. This means it breaks even at rates of $12,000 per day, lower than most of its rivals. It aims to pay out high dividends to shareholders while growing its fleet to increase its dividend-paying capacity.

The company’s fleet now numbers 22 tankers, compared to three vessels ten years ago.

NAT said a strong winter market in the first three months of the year had subsided in the second quarter for a number of reasons.

“Refinery maintenance schedules and geopolitical factors affected our results this quarter in a weaker spring market,” NAT stated. “However, there are now reaffirmed indications that a recovery may be on the horizon.

“The third quarter of 2014 has started on a more positive note than the second quarter. The spikes in rates seen this year are a sign that the crude oil tanker market is becoming more balanced.”

NAT announced a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share, along with a special dividend-in-kind of Nordic American Offshore (NAO) shares worth 16 cents per share. NAO, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange two months ago, provides supply vessels to rigs operating in the North Sea.