Small LPG tankers are set to emerge from a market slump this year and their earnings will improve from 2018, but medium-size carriers will take longer to benefit from better times, DVB Bank ­predicts.

“We expect LPG shipping to bottom out during 2017 and improve thereafter,” the bank said in its latest report, LPG Shipping Market Outlook 2016-2019.

However, it adds that medium gas carriers (MGCs) “will experience a turn in the cycle slightly later than the other segments”, due to significant vessel supply growth in the period.