BW Group supremo Andreas Sohmen-Pao has been appointed chairman of Epic Gas following its takeover.
LPG carrier owner Epic said Charles Maltby had stepped down from the role, but remains CEO and a director.
Sohmen-Pao is already chairman of BW Group, BW Offshore, BW LPG, Hafnia and the Singapore Maritime Foundation.
Former Torm Singapore boss Esben Poulsson has also been appointed as an independent non-executive director with immediate effect.
Maltby said: “It is with great pleasure that the board of Epic Gas appoints Andreas as our new chairman.
"Andreas brings unmatched industry knowledge and insight and will be a tremendous asset in leading our board. We also welcome Esben as independent non-Executive director.”
Singapore's BW Group has boosted its stake in Epic to 82.87% after stock deals.
It bought 54.7% of the company for about $50m on 19 March.
Loss cut
Epic's first quarter net loss was cut to $0.3m, a $2.4m improvement from last year.
Revenue was up 3.1% at $39.6m, reflecting growth in vessel charter hire income and a 230 basis-point increase in fleet operational utilisation to 94.2%
Total operating expenses were $4,400 per vessel day, up 2.9%
Since the end of March, the company has chartered in a modern 9,500-cbm LPG vessel with options.
Maltby said: “The year on year improvement in business performance and EBITDA reflects our continued focus on quality, cost control and fleet optimisation, as well as improving underlying market fundamentals.
"The increase in our time charter equivalent and improved fleet operational utilisation shows the underlying and growing demand for our vessels."
He added: "We have commenced initiatives to capture further profitable growth, including the time charter-in of additional pressurised LPG vessels and the proposed purchase of four modern second-hand carriers. These measures are well aligned with our vision of being the leading provider of pressurised LPG shipping solutions."
The company believes fundamentals are improving in the LPG shipping market, with volumes expected to surpass 100m tonnes in the next 18 months.
Norne Research said: "Despite continuous improvement in the top line, the company had higher than we expected expenses that brought EBIT below our estimates and the bottom line again to the negative territory.
"However, the market outlook remains positive and Epic has recently decided to strengthen their leading position in the pressurised vessel market with the order of four modern second-hand carriers to benefit from the improving fundamentals."
