What Imperial Petroleum does

Imperial Petroleum Inc. (NASDAQ: IMPP) is a Marshall Islands–incorporated, Athens-headquartered ship-owning company founded in May 2021 that provides seaborne transportation services for petroleum products, crude oil, and drybulk commodities. The company operates a fleet of 21 vessels with approximately 1.3 million deadweight tons of capacity, including Suezmax oil tankers (Suez Protopia, Suez Enchanted), medium-range product tankers (Clean Imperial, Clean Justice, Clean Nirvana, Clean Sanctuary, Clean Thrasher, Magic Wand), and handysize/supra drybulk carriers (Eco Czar, Supra Duke, Supra Baron, Eco Sikousis, Glorieuse, and others). Vessels are flagged primarily in Liberia, Marshall Islands, and Panama, consistent with standard Greek-shipowner practice.

The company generates revenue through charter contracts with oil majors, trading houses, and commodity shippers, split between time charters (providing revenue stability) and spot market voyage charters (offering upside during rate spikes). Pricing is determined by vessel type, size, route, duration, and prevailing market conditions, with no publicly disclosed tiered pricing. Distribution is direct enterprise sales — the company does not operate intermediaries or third-party channels, instead engaging charterers bilaterally. Q1 2026 results demonstrate the operating model at full expression: $61.7M in revenue (+92% YoY) and $28M in net income (+148% YoY), driven by fleet scaling and elevated tanker rates following Middle East conflict and Strait of Hormuz disruption.

Imperial Petroleum maintains a strong balance sheet with $212.6M in cash and time deposits as of Q1 2026, NAV of approximately $508M (September 2025 pro forma), and a market capitalization of approximately $131.8M, implying the shares trade at roughly 0.29x book value. The company has raised $120M across two equity offerings (March 2022 and November 2025) to fund vessel acquisitions, and is contracted to add five more vessels. CEO Harry Vafias, who also leads publicly traded StealthGas, holds 30.1% of common stock and has not sold a share since inception. The company's strategic posture combines fleet expansion (target 26 vessels, 1.5M DWT), opportunistic capital return ($10M repurchase program, preferred dividends), and exposure to event-driven rate volatility.

Name

Imperial Petroleum

Legal name

Imperial Petroleum Inc.

Website

https://imperialpetro.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Imperial Petroleum is a Marshall Islands–incorporated, Athens-based ship-owning company founded in 2021 that provides seaborne transportation of petroleum products, crude oil, and drybulk commodities via a 21-vessel fleet (~1.3M DWT), serving oil majors, trading houses, and commodity shippers through time charters and spot contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tanker Shipping Services

SIC

Water Transportation (4400), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)

akta.pro primary industry

Crude Oil & Petroleum Products Tanker Transport (TLADALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Crude Oil Tanker Shipping (EUALADAG)

Keywords

• Tanker shipping services
• Crude oil transportation
• Drybulk carrier services
• Petroleum product shipping
• Seaborne freight services

Headquarters

HQ city

North Greece

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tanker Transportation Services: Revenue from seaborne transportation of petroleum products, crude oil, and petrochemical products in liquefied form via owned vessel fleet. The company operates both time charters and spot market contracts, with rates influenced by geopolitical factors and global trade route disruptions.
2. Drybulk Commodity Transportation: Revenue from transportation of drybulk commodities including iron ore, coal, and grain via handysize drybulk carriers. Fleet expansion includes additional handysize drybulk carrier acquisitions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Imperial Petroleum is an international shipping transportation company that provides seaborne transportation services for petroleum products, crude oil, and petrochemical products in liquefied form. The company operates a fleet of owned vessels including Suezmax oil tankers, product tankers, and handysize drybulk carriers, serving oil majors, trading houses, and commodity shippers through time charter and spot market contracts.

Product overview

Imperial Petroleum is a ship-owning company that provides petroleum products, crude oil, and drybulk seaborne transportation services. The company operates a fleet of vessels including tankers and drybulk carriers. The fleet comprises oil tankers (such as Suezmax vessels like Suez Protopia and Suez Enchanted, and product tankers like Clean Imperial, Clean Justice, Clean Thrasher, Clean Nirvana, Magic Wand, Clean Sanctuary, Glorieuse) and drybulk carriers (including Eco Czar, Supra Duke, Supra Sovereign, Supra Baron, Neptulus, Eco Wildfire, Eco Sikousis, Supra Pasha, Supra Monarch). The company is expanding its fleet through vessel acquisitions and operates out of Athens, Greece.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Suezmax Crude Oil Tanker Transportation

Quantifiable outcome

• Q1 2026 revenue of $61.7 million, up 92% year-over-year
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• StealthGas: StealthGas is a ship-owning company led by the same CEO (Harry Vafias) and provides seaborne transportation of petroleum products and LPG. Imperial Petroleum was effectively created as a complementary vehicle to StealthGas, and the two share overlapping management, governance structure, and strategic philosophy around small/mid-sized product tanker and gas carrier markets.
• Diana Shipping: Diana Shipping is a Greek drybulk shipping company operating a fleet of Capesize, Kamsarmax, Panamax, and Ultramax bulk carriers. It is a directly comparable pure-play drybulk operator and similarly publicly listed, making it a natural valuation and operational benchmark for Imperial Petroleum's drybulk exposure.
• Star Bulk Carriers: Star Bulk Carriers operates one of the largest drybulk fleets globally with Newcastlemax, Capesize, Kamsarmax, Panamax, and Ultramax vessels. As a Greek-listed drybulk peer with diversified vessel sizes, it provides a relevant benchmark for Imperial Petroleum's handysize and supramax drybulk operations.
• EuroDry: EuroDry is a Greek drybulk shipping company operating a fleet of Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax, and Supramax vessels. As a smaller-cap Greek drybulk peer listed on Nasdaq, EuroDry offers the closest comparable to Imperial Petroleum's drybulk segment in terms of scale, geographic listing, and fleet composition.
• Genco Shipping & Trading: Genco Shipping & Trading operates a fleet of Capesize and Ultramax vessels, providing a relevant comparison for Imperial Petroleum's drybulk exposure. The company similarly pursues a mix of time charters and spot market exposure and is similarly positioned as a US-listed mid-cap drybulk operator.
• Eagle Bulk Shipping: Eagle Bulk Shipping is a US-listed drybulk operator specializing in the Supramax/Ultramax segment, directly overlapping with Imperial Petroleum's handysize and supramax drybulk carrier exposure. Its focus on mid-sized drybulk vessels makes it a closely comparable peer for the drybulk portion of Imperial's fleet.
• Top Ships: Top Ships is a small-cap tanker and drybulk operator also listed in the US with a similarly diversified product/crude/drybulk fleet structure. As a smaller, recently restructured Greek shipping company, Top Ships provides a close comparable for Imperial Petroleum's size and fleet diversification profile.

Broad incumbents

• DHT Holdings: DHT Holdings operates a fleet of VLCC crude oil tankers, making it a relevant but larger-scale tanker peer. While Imperial Petroleum's Suezmax tankers serve different routes than VLCCs, DHT provides useful benchmarking for crude tanker capital allocation, dividend policy, and public-market valuation dynamics.
• Frontline: Frontline is one of the largest independent tanker operators globally, with VLCC, Suezmax, and LR2/Aframax vessels. As a broad incumbent in the tanker space with substantial Suezmax exposure, Frontline offers a benchmark for Imperial Petroleum's Suezmax crude oil tanker operations and overall tanker industry dynamics.
• International Seaways: International Seaways operates a diversified fleet of VLCC, Suezmax, Aframax/LR2, MR, and Panamax tankers, providing a relevant comparison for Imperial Petroleum's mixed tanker and drybulk exposure. The company also has VLCC and Aframax vessels overlapping with Imperial's Suezmax product tanker positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ImperialPetro

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Imperial Petroleum