AMENDMENT NO. 6 TO
STATEMENT ON SCHEDULE 13D
This Amendment No. 6 (this “Amendment No. 6”) to Schedule 13D (originally filed on August 4, 2023 and amended by Amendment No. 1 filed on August 23, 2023, Amendment No. 2 filed on November 3, 2023, Amendment No. 3 filed on December 11, 2023, Amendment No. 4 filed on December 22, 2023 and Amendment No. 5 filed on January 8, 2024), relates to the common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”), of Imperial Petroleum Inc., a Marshall Islands corporation (the “Issuer”), and is being filed pursuant to a Joint Filing Agreement (attached as Exhibit 13 and incorporated herein by reference) by and between Flawless Management Inc., a Republic of the Marshall Islands corporation (“Flawless”), Arethusa Properties LTD, a British Virgin Islands company (“Arethusa”), and Harry N. Vafias in his personal capacity (sometimes collectively referred to as the “Reporting Persons”).
Information given in response to each item below shall be deemed incorporated by reference in all other items below. Unless indicated otherwise, all items left blank remain unchanged, and any items which are amended below are deemed to amend and update the existing items in the Schedule 13D.
All share amounts reflect the 1-for-15 reverse split of the Common Stock effected by the Issuer on April 28, 2023.
Item 3. Source and Amount of Funds or Other Consideration
Item 3 of the Statement is hereby amended by adding the following paragraphs to the end of Item 3:
This Amendment No. 6 is being filed by the Reporting Persons to update the number of shares beneficially owned by Harry N. Vafias as a result of the acquisition by Mr. Vafias on April 12, 2024, as compensatory awards, 280,000 shares of restricted Common Stock, 50% of which vest on April 12, 2025 and 50% of which vest on April 12, 2026, subject to satisfaction of the time-based vesting terms. On April 12, 2024, Mr. Vafias also acquired, as compensatory awards, options exercisable to acquire 100,000 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price per share of $3.60, the closing price of the Common Stock on April 12, 2024, and an option expiration date of April 12, 2034, 50% of which options vest on April 12, 2025 and 50% of which options vest on April 12, 2026, subject to satisfaction of the time-based vesting terms, which underlying shares are excluded from the number of shares beneficially owned by Mr. Vafias. On April 3, 2024, Mr. Vafias’s father, Nikolaos Vafias, transferred 41,275 shares of Common Stock to Mr. Vafias without consideration.
This Amendment No. 6 also updates the percentage of Common Stock of the Company beneficially owned by the Reporting Persons based on the revised total number of outstanding shares of Common Stock, as reported by the Issuer in the Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 12, 2024.
Item 4. Purpose of Transaction.
The Reporting Persons acquired the securities described in this Schedule 13D for investment purposes and intend to review their investment in the Issuer on a continuing basis. Any Reporting Person may from time to time acquire additional securities of the Issuer, or retain or sell all or a portion of the shares then held by the Reporting Persons, in the open market, block trades, underwritten public offerings or privately negotiated transactions. Any actions any Reporting Person might undertake with respect to its investment in the Issuer may be made at any time and from time to time and will be dependent upon such Reporting Person’s review of numerous factors, including, but not limited to: ongoing evaluation of the Issuer’s business, financial condition, operations, prospects and strategic alternatives; price levels of the Issuer’s securities; general market, industry and economic conditions; the relative attractiveness of alternative business and investment opportunities; tax considerations; liquidity of the Issuer’s securities; and other factors and future developments.
Mr. Vafias serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Issuer and therefore regularly engages in discussions with management of the Issuer, the board of directors of the Issuer, other shareholders of the Issuer and other relevant parties, which discussions may include matters ranging from the operations and conduct of the Issuer’s business to considering or exploring extraordinary corporate transactions including the events listed in Items