Epic Gas is looking to avoid falling into the trap of buying expensive steel as it keeps an eye open for expansion in a recovering market, its chief executive says.

BW-backed Epic has $78m in cash and completed the purchase of four new ships with the aid of an equity raise this spring.

The deal will take Epic’s fleet to 44 LPG vessels, which provides plenty of critical mass to be fine-tuned, Maltby told TradeWinds.