Imperial Petroleum Inc.'s Schedule 13D/A (Amendment No. 9) reports holdings and recent transactions by Harry N. Vafias and affiliated entities. The cover pages show Flawless Management Inc. beneficially owns 6,991,255 shares (20.1%), Arethusa Properties LTD owns 3,066,227 shares (8.8%), and Harry N. Vafias beneficially owns 12,860,056 shares (36.9%). The amendment discloses that Arethusa purchased 139,832 shares in the open market on April 9-10, 2025 for $325,570 using working capital, and that Nikolaos Vafias transferred 33,626 shares to Mr. Vafias on April 14, 2025 without consideration. It also records compensatory awards to Mr. Vafias of 431,894 restricted shares (vesting 50% on August 8, 2026 and 50% on August 8, 2027) and options for 299,003 shares exercisable at $3.01 with an August 8, 2035 expiration; the optioned shares are excluded from the stated beneficial ownership. The filing states the securities were acquired for investment purposes and adds a Joint Filing Agreement as Exhibit 99.2.
Imperial Petroleum agreed to acquire three Japanese-built drybulk carriers totaling approximately 164,400 dwt for an aggregate purchase price of $51.6 million. The vessels average about 12.5 years in age and are being bought from entities affiliated with Brave Maritime Corp Inc., which is linked to members of the Vafias family; the related-party transaction was approved by the company’s independent directors. Ten percent of the purchase price is payable in the company’s common stock valued at the 30-day VWAP through the acquisition date, and Imperial may elect to pay for each vessel up to one year after its purchase date without interest. Deliveries are expected between September 2025 and August 2026, and assuming no other changes the fleet will total 22 vessels after these deliveries.