Greek shipowner Nicholas Lykiardopulo has invested more money in LPG carrier company BW Epic Kosan (BWEK).

Lykiardopulo, who sits on the board of the BW-controlled company, has acquired a further 285,000 shares at NOK 18 each, meaning an outlay of NOK 5.13m ($488,000).

He now has 4.6m shares through his Local Resources company, equal to nearly 3% of the equity.

The BWEK share was trading at NOK 19.40 on Wednesday afternoon in Oslo.

Lykiardopulo, whose family controls tanker company Neda Maritime Agency, joined the board in 2017.

An experienced shipping veteran, he has advised on the completion of a total of $3bn in purchases, disposals and financing of shipping assets at Neda.

He was also chairman of London-listed Taylor Maritime Investments, a bulker company spun off from private Hong Kong owner Taylor Maritime in 2021 and run by Ed Buttery, whose father, Chris Buttery, was instrumental in founding Epic Gas with Paul Over through a combination with Pantheon in 2012.

Epic Gas was later taken over by BW Group and merged with Lauritzen Kosan to form BWEK in 2021.

In December, BW’s stake was cut to 49.8% from 55.8% after Danish investor J Lauritzen, the former owner of Lauritzen Kosan, bought a further 6% in the company.

BWEK, led by chief executive Charles Maltby, posted net profit of $200,000 in the fourth quarter, versus a loss of $2.1m a year earlier.

Revenue dipped to $90m from $91.3m, while full-year earnings hit $21.4m.