Bermuda-based tanker owner Nordic American Tankers Limited (NAT) has christened two of its new Suezmax tankers, the Nordic Star and the Nordic Space, on Aug. 24.

Nordic Star is scheduled to begin operations in early September, while Nordic Space is still awaiting completion.

The 162,000dwt vessels, scheduled to join their owner in the third quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, respectively, are being built by South Korea-based Sungdong Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.

Nordic American Tankers ordered the vessels from Sungdong in December 2014 for a total of US$65m each.

Featuring 84,000 gross tons, the vessels have a length of 277 meters and a width of 48 meters.

Despite increasing its fleet during the second quarter of 2016, NAT has seen its operating cash flow drop to US$40.7m in the period from an operating cash flow of US$54.5m reported in the same quarter in 2015.

The company said that the second quarter of the year showed "solid results" as its expanding fleet, trading in the spot market and under contract, produced about US$28,500 per day per vessel.

NAT's net income for the quarter plunged to US$12.9m from US$30.9m seen in the corresponding quarter in 2015.