UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-16 OR 15D-16

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of January 2023

Commission File Number: 001-34153

GLOBAL SHIP LEASE, INC.

(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

c/o Global Ship Lease Services Limited

25 Wilton Road

London SW1V 1LW

United Kingdom

(Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:

Form 20-F  ☒            Form 40-F  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):  ☐.

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security holders.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)7:  ☐.

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant’s “home country”), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the registrant’s securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the registrant’s security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.

INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT

On January 5, 2023, Global Ship Lease, Inc. (the “Company”) re-convened its 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Meeting”) for the sole purpose of voting on Proposal Three, as set forth in more detail in the Company’s Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Proxy Statement furnished to shareholders on or about October 25, 2022. The Meeting was further adjourned to February 2, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. local time, at 3-5 Menandrou Str., 14561 Kifisia, Athens, Greece (the “Adjournment”).

Attached to this report on Form 6-K (this “Report”) as Exhibit 99.1 is a copy of the press release of the Company, dated January 5, 2023, and attached to this Report as Exhibit 99.2 is a copy of a letter to shareholders, dated January 5, 2023, each relating to the Meeting and the Adjournment.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Exhibit 99.1

Investor and Media Contact:

The IGB Group

Bryan Degnan

646-673-9701

or

Leon Berman

212-477-8438

Global Ship Lease Announces Further Adjourned 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders

The Company to Reconvene the 2022 Annual Meeting on February 2, 2023 for Shareholders to Act on

One Outstanding Proposal

LONDON, January 5, 2023 – Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE: GSL) (the “Company” or “GSL”) announced that today its 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders was reconvened (the “Annual Meeting”) for the sole purpose of voting on one outstanding proposal—to approve the adoption of an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation establishing a quorum for all meetings of shareholders of the Company of one-third (1/3) of the shares, present either in person or by proxy, issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at such meetings (“Proposal Three”). The Annual Meeting was further adjourned without taking action on Proposal Three in order to provide additional time for shareholders to vote on this proposal, which as of January 5, 2023, was supported by approximately 88% of the Class A common shares voted, but did not achieve the requisite affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the Class A common shares outstanding. The adjourned Annual Meeting is scheduled to reconvene on February 2, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. local time, at 3-5 Menandrou Str., 14561 Kifisia, Athens, Greece.

The Company encourages all shareholders to read the proxy statement dated October 25, 2022, including any amendments and supplements thereto, and to submit a proxy indicating their vote on Proposal Three prior to the reconvened Annual Meeting. The record date for shareholders entitled to vote remains October 17, 2022. Shareholders who require proxy materials are encouraged to contact Morrow Sodali, the Company’s proxy solicitor, at (800) 662-5200 or by e-mail at GSL@investor.morrowsodali.com. Valid proxies submitted by the Company’s shareholders prior to the original Annual Meeting will continue to be valid for purposes of the reconvened Annual Meeting.

This communication is not a solicitation of a proxy from any shareholder. However, the Company and its directors and executive officers and certain other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies for the Annual Meeting. The notice of the Annual Meeting, proxy statement, and certain other materials (the “Proxy Materials”) were furnished to all shareholders of record on or about October 25, 2022, and additionally were furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) and available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. Shareholders of the Company and other interested persons are advised to read the Company’s Proxy Materials, including any amendments and supplements thereto, because they contain, or will contain, important information about the Annual Meeting and the solicitation of proxies.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease is a leading independent owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under fixed-rate charters to top tier container liner companies. It was listed on the New York stock Exchange in August 2008.

As at December 29, 2022, Global Ship Lease owned 65 containerships, ranging from 1,118 to 11,040 TEU, with an aggregate capacity of 342,348 TEU. 32 ships are wide-beam Post-Panamax.

Adjusted to include all charters agreed, up to December 29, 2022, the average remaining term of the Company’s charters as at September 30, 2022, to the mid-point of redelivery, including options under the Company’s control and other than if a redelivery notice has been received, was 2.9 years on a TEU-weighted basis. Contracted revenue on the same basis was $2.23 billion. Contracted revenue was $2.65 billion, including options under charterers’ control and with latest redelivery date, representing a weighted average remaining term of 3.7 years.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about the Company’s expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “will” or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and the Company cannot assure you that the events or expectations included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the factors described in “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and the factors and risks the Company describes in subsequent reports filed from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

2

Exhibit 99.2

Dear Fellow Global Ship Lease Shareholder:

Our annual shareholder meeting was re-convened on January 5, 2023 to allow more voting only on Proposal Three to amend our Articles of Incorporation to lower the quorum requirement for shareholder meetings to one-third (1/3) of the outstanding shares (the “Quorum Amendment”). Proposals One and Two, on the election of two directors and the engagement of our independent registered public accounting firm for 2022, respectively, were approved and adopted at the initially convened Annual Meeting held on December 7, 2022. The number of shares voting for Proposal Three at the re-convened Annual Meeting again represents less than a majority of the outstanding Class A Common shares and, accordingly, has been adjourned for a second time to Thursday, February 2, 2023, to allow our shareholders additional time to vote on Proposal Three.

The Quorum Amendment is currently supported by approximately 88% of the shares that have voted thus far, but we remain only approximately 2.3 million shares short of achieving the majority of the outstanding Class A common shares needed to pass the proposal.

We strongly urge all shareholders to support this proposal and vote “FOR” the Quorum Amendment. If you already voted “Against” or “Abstain” on this proposal, you can change your vote to “FOR” by using the enclosed voting instruction form, or via the internet or by telephone as explained in the enclosed proxy materials.

If you already voted “FOR”, thank you very much for your vote and no further action is needed.

Currently, our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation requires a quorum of the majority of our common stock outstanding. Due to the increased size and diversified nature of our shareholder base, it has become more difficult to obtain the current quorum at shareholder meetings. We already had to adjourn our Annual Meeting twice due to a lack of quorum, and have further adjourned our Annual Meeting twice due to insufficient votes on the Quorum Amendment.

Our Annual Meeting is now scheduled to re-convene, for a third time, on February 2, 2023 for the sole purpose on voting on Proposal Three (the Quorum Amendment).

Preparing proxy materials including printing and mailing such materials to shareholders, together with proxy solicitation, in order to reach the current quorum requirement, is costly. The Board of Directors believes that reducing the quorum requirement by adopting the Quorum Amendment will markedly improve the efficiency of our shareholders meetings, for example by reducing the possibility of having to adjourn future shareholder meetings due to the failure to obtain a quorum, and also lead to reduced costs.

Thank you in advance for your support, and for your investment in Global Ship Lease.