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Sanctioned Russian steel tycoon’s $100 million superyacht Titan comes back to Dubai after it left the City of Gold for the safe waters of Turkey

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The latest on the Titan submersible tragedy and what’s next in the investigation

The Titan submersible was touted for its unconventional design. After its catastrophic underwater implosion that killed five people, the question remains, was the design destined for disaster? (June 23) (AP Video/Production: Rodrique Ngowi)

FILE - This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company’s Titan submersible. Rescuers are racing against time to find the missing submersible carrying five people, who were reported overdue Sunday night. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)

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U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, talks to the media, Thursday, June 22, 2023, at Coast Guard Base Boston, in Boston. The missing submersible Titan imploded near the wreckage of the Titanic, killing all five people on board, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

In this satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies, from top to bottom, the vessels Horizon Arctic, Deep Energy and Skandi Vinland search for the missing submersible Titan, Thursday, June 22, 2023 in the Atlantic Ocean. (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies via AP)

FILE - This 2004 photo provided by the Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, shows the remains of a coat and boots in the mud on the sea bed near the Titanic’s stern. Rescuers are racing against time to find the missing submersible carrying five people, who were reported overdue Sunday night, June 18, 2023. (Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, File)

CORRECTS SPELLING OF THE NAME TO HENRI, INSTEAD OF HENRY This photo combo shows from left, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, and Hamish Harding are facing critical danger aboard a small submersible that went missing in the Atlantic Ocean. The missing submersible Titan imploded near the wreckage of the Titanic, killing all five people on board, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday, June 22, 2023. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this image released by Action Aviation, company chairman and billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding looks out to sea before boarding the submersible Titan for a dive into the Atlantic Ocean on an expedition to the Titanic on Sunday, June 18, 2023. The missing submersible Titan imploded near the wreckage of the Titanic, killing all five people, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henry Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, and Hamish Harding, the U.S. Coast Guard announced, Thursday, June 22, 2023. (Action Aviation via AP)

This undated photo provided by SETI Institute shows Shahzada Dawood, SETI Institute Trustee. Father-and-son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood are facing critical danger aboard a small submersible that went missing in the Atlantic Ocean. The race is on to find the Titan, which has an oxygen supply that is expected to run out early Thursday, June 22, 2023. The people on board include British businessman and world-record holding adventurer Hamish Harding; Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, and OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush. (SETI Institute via AP)

FILE - Director James Cameron walks in Purmamarca, Jujuy province, Argentina, on June 8, 2023. Cameron says the search operation for a deep-sea tourist sub turned into a “nightmarish charade” that prolonged the agony of the families of the passengers. Cameron told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Friday June 23, 2023 that he “felt in my bones” that the Titan submersible had been lost soon after he heard it had lost contact with the surface during its descent to the wreckage of the ocean liner at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. (AP Photo/Javier Corbalan, File)

The around-the-clock search for the missing Titan submersible engrossed the world for days, but after news of the catastrophic implosion that killed the pilot and his four passengers near the Titanic shipwreck, investigators are focusing on how it happened — and if it could have been prevented.

Deep-sea robots will continue searching the North Atlantic sea floor for clues. Investigators in Canada are looking at the Titan’s Canadian-flagged support ship. U.S. authorities are looking into other aspects of the tragedy.

The Titan , owned by undersea exploration company OceanGate Expeditions, had been chronicling the Titanic’s decay and the underwater ecosystem around the sunken ocean liner in yearly voyages since 2021.

Authorities and experts are seeking answers: Exactly when and why did the implosion occur? Will the victims’ bodies ever be found? What lessons are there for the future of undersea exploration?

Here’s what we know so far:

WHEN AND WHERE DID THE TITAN GO MISSING?

The craft submerged Sunday morning, and its support vessel lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later, according to the Coast Guard.

The vessel was reported overdue about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Titan was launched from an icebreaker that was hired by OceanGate and formerly operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship has ferried dozens of people and the submersible craft to the North Atlantic wreck site, where the Titan has made multiple dives.

WHAT HAPPENED ABOARD THE TITAN?

The vessel suffered a catastrophic implosion, killing all five aboard, sometime after it submerged Sunday morning. It’s not clear exactly when or where the implosion occurred, but a U.S. Navy acoustics system detected an “anomaly” Sunday that was likely the Titan’s fatal implosion.

The Coast Guard announced that debris from the submersible had been found and the end of rescue efforts Thursday, bringing a tragic close to a saga that included an urgent around-the-clock search and a worldwide vigil for the missing vessel.

A deep-sea robot discovered the debris, near the Titanic shipwreck, that authorities say came from the submersible.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OCCUPANTS WHEN THE TITAN IMPLODED?

Experts say the catastrophic implosion likely killed its pilot and four passengers instantly amid the intense water pressure in the deep North Atlantic .

Maritime researchers called an implosion the worst possible outcome of all the scenarios envisioned during the desperate round-the-clock search to find the missing vessel.

Experts had cautioned that under intense pressure at extreme depths the Titan’s hull could implode, which would result in instant death for anyone aboard.

While OceanGate Expeditions, which owned and operated the craft, touted the Titan’s roomier cylinder-shaped cabin made of a carbon-fiber , industry experts say it was a departure from the sphere-shaped cabins — considered ideal because water pressure is exerted equally on all areas — made of titanium used by most submersibles.

The 22-foot long (6.7-meter long), 23,000-pound (10,432-kilogram) Titan’s larger internal volume — while still cramped with a maximum of five seated people — meant it was subjected to more external pressure.

The water pressure at 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) below the surface at the site of the Titanic wreck is roughly 400 atmospheres or 6,000 pounds per square inch.

WHO WAS KILLED?

The Titan victims are : Oceangate chief executive and Titan pilot Stockton Rush; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Worldwide condolences have poured in, offering tributes to the men and support for their families.

“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” OceanGate said in a statement. “We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”

WHO REGULATES DEEP-SEA EXPEDITIONS?

The Titan’s voyage down into the North Atlantic highlights the murkily regulated waters of deep-sea exploration . It’s a space on the high seas where laws and conventions can be sidestepped by risk-taking entrepreneurs and the wealthy tourists who help fund their dreams. At least for now.

The Titan operated in international waters, far from the reach of many laws of the United States or other nations. It wasn’t registered as a U.S. vessel or with international agencies that regulate safety, nor was it classified by a maritime industry group that sets standards on matters such as hull construction.

Stockton Rush , the OceanGate Expeditions CEO and Titan pilot who was among the dead, had said he didn’t want to be bogged down by such standards.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Coast Guard will continue searching near the Titanic for more clues about what happened to the Titan.

Officials say there is not a timeframe for when they will call off the effort, and the prospect of finding or recovering remains is unknown.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Friday it’s launching an investigation involving the loss of the Titan that will focus on the cargo vessel Polar Prince.

Polar Prince is a Canadian-flagged ship that served as mothership to the Titan submersible. The Transportation Safety Board will investigate the Polar Prince in its role as a support vessel and will conduct a safety investigation into the circumstances of the operation, the agency said.

Experts say wrongful death and negligence lawsuits are also likely next in the Titan case — and they could be successful. But legal actions will face various challenges, including waivers likely signed by the Titan passengers that warned of the myriad ways they could die.

HOW MUCH DID THE SEARCH COST?

The cost of the search will easily stretch into the millions of dollars for the U.S. Coast Guard alone. The Canadian Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and other agencies and private entities also rushed to provide resources and expertise.

There’s no other comparable ocean search, especially with so many countries and even commercial enterprises being involved, said Norman Polmar, a naval historian, analyst and author based in Virginia.

The aircraft, alone, are expensive to operate.

The Pentagon has put the hourly cost at tens of thousands of dollars for turboprop P-3 Orion and jet-powered P-8 Poseidon sub hunters, along with C-130 Hercules, all utilized in the search.

Some agencies can seek reimbursements. But the U.S. Coast Guard is generally prohibited by federal law from collecting reimbursement pertaining to any search or rescue service, said Stephen Koerting, a U.S. attorney in Maine who specializes in maritime law.

Tycoon Abramov’s $100 Million Megayacht Likely Racing to Turkey’s Safe Waters

• Russian tycoons are moving their yachts to thwart sanctions
• U.S., allies seizing oligarchs’ boats and other luxury assets

The $100 million megayacht Titan tied to steel billionaire Alexander Abramov is racing near top speed to reach the Suez Canal, likely bound for the safe waters of Turkey favored by other sanctioned Russian moguls.

The Titan, a $100 million yacht that can accommodate 14 guests and 19 crew, is headed toward the Suez Canal after long stays in Dubai and the Maldives, two destinations that are considered safe havens from sanctions and the seizure of Russian assets. Abramov, who is worth about $7.3 billion and co-founded Russia’s second-biggest steelmaker Evraz Plc, is on Australia’s sanctions list.

Sanctioned superyacht Titan returns to dubai after leaving the safe waters of Turkey

Photo: Luxury Launches

Titan, the $100 million yacht owned by Evraz billionaire Alexander Abramov, has taken new paths.

The luxury yacht quickly left the Suez Canal to find refuge in Turkish waters at the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Abramov took a trick out of the playbook of friend Roman Abramovich, who around the same time took the $600 million superyacht Solaris from Turkey to international waters.

News surrounding the superyacht Titan, which is believed to be stationed in Turkey, have died down since May, however, Abramov has now steered his yacht to the unofficial superyacht haven of Dubai, like fellow Russian billionaires. This trip again took the Titan yacht through the Suez Canal with armed guards and came full circle. Titan left the port of Dubai on April 22nd off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, and the yacht's destination was later listed as the Suez Canal, Egypt.

Titan is the 6th largest yacht built by Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard. Reymond Langton Design Ltd is responsible for the luxurious interiors of the yacht, while it has a robust structure with a steel hull and aluminum superstructure. It is a spacious yacht that can easily accommodate 14 guests and 19 crew, while leaving enough room for luxuries such as a personal gym, beach club, on-deck jacuzzi and cinema. The yacht is powered by two Caterpillar engines of over 2,000 hp each, giving her a top speed of 16 knots and a cruising speed of 14 knots.

The owner of the yacht Titan, Alexander Abramov is the chairman of Evraz and his fortune is estimated at almost 6.6 billion dollars. Abramov began his career as the head of a research laboratory before the collapse of the Soviet Union and made his fortune exporting metals and coal from the Urals and Siberia. By 1998, the oligarch had acquired the largest steel and iron empire in Russia, employing 125,000 people and controlling a whopping 22 percent of the country's total steel production with an annual turnover of $20 billion.

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TITAN Yacht – Extravagant $100M Superyacht

Reymond Langton Design penned both the interior and exterior features of the fantastic superyacht and Abeking & Rasmussen built her.

She was delivered from their Lemwerder shipyard in 2010, along with two sister ships, Eminence and C2, which are privately owned pleasure yachts. TITAN is used personally by the owner.

TITAN yacht interior

The TITAN yacht features interior design from British yacht designer Reymond Langton Design .

The interior details of the TITAN yacht remain private, but Reymond Langton Design is known for its beautiful and functional designs.

She has accommodation for 14 guests on board in 7 suites. There is also accommodation for 19 crew members on board the 80m superyacht.

She has a beach club for a perfect indoor/outdoor for guests to enjoy on the water level.

There is an on-deck Jacuzzi for relaxation and a gym for guests to use. There is also a movie theater that guests can relax in after a day on the water.

TITAN features a unique Abeking & Rasmussen feature with a large transom hatch to load and launch the tenders from the large interior garage.

The exterior of the TITAN yacht was also designed by Reymond Langton Design and built by the German shipyard Abeking & Rasmussen.

The shipyard’s in-house design team penned the naval architecture. She was delivered from the Lemwerder shipyard in 2010 and refitted in 2021.

The hull of the TITAN yacht is grey with a white aluminum superstructure. TITAN has a modern and powerful exterior on the water.

Specifications

The TITAN yacht is a 78.43m yacht with a 12.6m beam and a 3.4m draft. She has a displacement of 2115 gross tons and a top speed of 17 knots.

Her two Caterpillar engines give her a cruising speed of 13 knots and a range of 6000 nautical miles.

She has at-anchor stabilizers to provide exceptional comfort levels for guests. The $100 million vessel has an annual running cost of $5 – $10 million. She was built to Lloyd’s Society Rules and MCA standards.

The TITAN yacht is a privately owned yacht that is not available for charter. However, her sister ship Eminence is a charter yacht.

The owner was born in Krasnodar, Russia, USSR, and is of Jewish descent. He attended The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, graduating with a degree in physics and mathematics in 1982.

Before beginning his business ventures, he first worked for Russia’s space and defense program as a scientist.

Government funding declined for the space program, and so he became a major businessman in Russia. 

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he ran a laboratory at the Joint Institute of High-Pressure Temperatures, studying high energy densities and shock wave physics and applied electrodynamics.

Abramov leaped into business when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and founded his first firm in 1992 that imported and sold fitness equipment.

Later, he joined former classmates to create EvrazMetall, an exporter of Russian steel. This precursor enterprise of Evraz Holding made him a fortune by exporting metals and coals from the Urals and Siberia.

Between 2001 and 2003, Abramov and his partners acquired three steel plants Nizhny Tagil Iron and Steel Plant, West Siberian Iron and Steel Plant, and Novokuznetsk Iron and Steel Plant.

These three plants were the foundation for Evraz, which now has iron ore, coal mining, and steel manufacturing operations. The partners sold shares in Evraz on the London Stock Exchange in 2005 for $400 million.

A year later, the partners sold 41% of the company to billionaire Roman Abramovich, pocketing $3 billion.

There are ten partners in Evraz. Abramov has a 29% stake in the country and is a director alongside Alexander Frolov.

Abramov used the process to invest in gold, forestry, and mobile internet services. In 2013, Abramov and Abramovich teamed up again to buy a 5.9% stake in Norilsk Nickel, the world’s second-largest nickel producer.

Abramov and partners sold a 24.5% stake in Trans Container for $436 million. The company is Russia’s largest railway container operator.

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Customer who purchase one of our boats are entitled to a variety of benefits as:

– Boat delivered by Titan Yachts personnel and personalized training.

– Invitations to private events and boat shows.

– Assist during the search for a captain and personnel to handle the cleaning and maintenance.

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The Exclusive program allows you to design truly unique yachts, by choosing colors, textures, fabrics, leathers, and many other details.

From these expressions of creativity and character emerge incomparable yachts, destined to increase in value and prestige as time goes by.

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We develop complete projects. From turnkey solutions to high performance components for your boat:

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– Advanced composite materials.

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TITAN EXPERIENCE

Titan Experience is more than just a charter.  We offer you the opportunity to experience our boats in unique locations and to participate in special events.

We are fully available to provide you with everything you require onboard, either through the official service or through third-party companies; for more information, please contact us at:

+34 686 20 39 48 [email protected]

Titan Experience es mas que un simple charter de embarcaciones, disfruta de nuestras embarcaciones en lugares únicos y asiste a eventos en la zona.

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TITAN yacht NOT for charter*

78.43m  /  257'4 | abeking & rasmussen | 2010 / 2021.

Owner & Guests

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Special Features:

• Impressive 6,000nm range
• State-of-the-art cinema
• Lloyds Register ✠100A1 SSC YACHT(P) MONO G6 ✠ LMC, UMS classification
• Interior design from Reymond Langton Design
• Designed for waterfront living with beach club

The 78.43m/257'4" motor yacht 'Titan' was built by Abeking & Rasmussen in Germany at their Lemwerder shipyard. Her interior is styled by British designer design house Reymond Langton Design and she was completed in 2010. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Reymond Langton Design and she was last refitted in 2021.

Guest Accommodation

Titan has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 14 guests in 7 suites. She is also capable of carrying up to 19 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Onboard Comfort & Entertainment

Her features include a movie theatre, beach club, gym, deck jacuzzi, WiFi and air conditioning.

Range & Performance

Titan is built with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure, with teak decks. Powered by twin diesel Caterpillar (3516B-TA) 16-cylinder 2,029hp engines running at 1600rpm, she comfortably cruises at 15 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 16 knots with a range of up to 6,000 nautical miles from her 235,000 litre fuel tanks at 13 knots. Titan features at-anchor stabilizers providing exceptional comfort levels. Her water tanks store around 40,000 Litres of fresh water. She was built to Lloyds Register ✠100A1 SSC YACHT(P) MONO G6 ✠ LMC, UMS classification society rules.

*Charter Titan Motor Yacht

Motor yacht Titan is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

Titan Yacht Owner, Captain or marketing company

'Yacht Charter Fleet' is a free information service, if your yacht is available for charter please contact us with details and photos and we will update our records.

Titan Photos

NOTE to U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Specification

M/Y Titan

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Super yacht Titan is the third yacht in the 78m series, launched by Abeking & Rasmussen of Germany. With naval architecture by the yard's in-house team, the striking Titan yacht has her exterior styling created by Reymond Langton, who also designed the two other superyachts in the 78m series.

Superyacht TITAN has a grey hull, built from steel, with a white superstructure which was constructed in aluminium. Unlike her sister-ships luxury yacht Titan has some minor customisation in the profile look of her sundeck and radar mast areas. Titan can also be distinguished with her large doors which have been positioned on the side part of the forward full beam area. These doors are likely to be for water toy and tender side garages. Abeking are known for designing and building very large transom hatches on their modern motor yachts as they operate two well proven tender launching systems actually developed by A&R. This allows the yacht to employ smooth launching and recovering of the ship tender even whilst under way, or when approaching a anchorage or harbour.

TITAN Specifications

The outstanding 78,43 metre motor yacht Titan can accommodate 14 guests in 7 staterooms, as well as provide accommodation for an impeccable crew of 19 members.

The 2010-launched yacht Titan was built according to Lloyds Register of Shipping and MCA standards.

Yacht Accommodation

Titan superyacht offers deluxe accommodation to a total number 14 guests in 7 beautifully appointed staterooms. Guests are pampered by a numerous crew of 19 professionals.

Amenities and Extras

We do have available further amenity, owner and price information for the 78.4m (257') yacht TITAN, so please enquire for more information.

TITAN Disclaimer:

The luxury yacht TITAN displayed on this page is merely informational and she is not necessarily available for yacht charter or for sale, nor is she represented or marketed in anyway by CharterWorld. This web page and the superyacht information contained herein is not contractual. All yacht specifications and informations are displayed in good faith but CharterWorld does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the current accuracy, completeness, validity, or usefulness of any superyacht information and/or images displayed. All boat information is subject to change without prior notice and may not be current.

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Dear Amanda, We have had an absolutely fabulous time on Titan and all is working out ideally. In all of the kids words "best vacation ever". Thank you so very much for all of your help and we hope to enjoy Titan again in the future. Charter on TITAN in Italy, June

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The superyacht world is speculating that Mark Zuckerberg just bought this 118-meter boat

• The 118-meter superyacht Launchpad made her maiden voyage last week.
• The yacht world is speculating that her owner is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
• Here's what we know about the luxury vessel.

In the world of superyachts , privacy is the most valuable asset. It can be next to impossible to discern the details of a superyacht transaction — and that's particularly true if the vessel in question is worth nine figures.

Yet some in the boat blogging world are speculating that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the new owner of Launchpad, a megayacht currently moored in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after she made her maiden voyage from Gibraltar to St Maarten last week. Launchpad clocks in at 118 meters long, about nine meters shorter than Jeff Bezos' superyacht Koru .

The transaction could not be confirmed, with yacht world insiders declining to share what they know and representatives for Zuckerberg not responding to a request for comment from Business Insider. In the past, reports about Zuckerberg owning superyacht Ulysses have proven false.

Related stories

"It is Feadship's standard policy to never divulge any information about our yachts with reference to ownership, costs, or delivery, etc," Feadship, the ship's builder, wrote to BI. "Whether it is an 18-meter Feadship from the 1960s or a 118-meter Feadship from the 21st century, we do not share private information."

But Zuckerberg's name has been connected to Launchpad for a few months now, beginning in December when reports swirled that he visited Feadship's shipyard in the Netherlands.

Then, earlier in March, yachting bloggers like eSysman SuperYachts and Autoevolution started speculating that he officially snagged the boat, originally built for a sanctioned Russian businessman, at a $300 million price tag. (While that's a seemingly huge amount, it's still less than 0.2% of Zuckerberg's $177 billion net worth.)

Another clue that might point to US ownership is that the yacht bears the flag of the Marshall Islands, a US territory and commonplace for American buyers to register their ships, according to public marine tracking.

If Zuckerberg were to have bought Launchpad, he would join a cohort of superyacht-owning tech billionaires . Along with Bezos, the likes of Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison and Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have purchased impressive boats with even more impressive amenities.

SuperYacht Times , an industry publication and intelligence platform, has some of the best images of the yacht. Photos show a swimming pool on her main deck and a large helipad.

While less is known of the interior, a vessel of her size can likely sleep dozens of guests and crew and may have amenities like an expansive gym where Zuckerberg could practice his jiu-jitsu or a spa with a massage area. We suspect there's also space for plenty of toys — which could include his viral hydrofoil foil .

Do you have any details about Launchpad or any other superyachts? Email reporter Madeline Berg at [email protected].

Watch: Walmart heiress' superyacht vandalized by activists in Ibiza

• Main content

Press Releases

Titan announces merger agreement with conavi, - merger to create publicly-listed, commercial-stage leader in hybrid intravascular imaging -.

TORONTO, Ontario, March 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Titan Medical Inc. (“ Titan ”) (TSX: TMD; OTC: TMDIF) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive amalgamation agreement (the “ Amalgamation Agreement ”) dated March 17, 2024 with Conavi Medical Inc. (“ Conavi ”) to combine the companies in an all-stock transaction. The combined company will focus on continuing to commercialize Conavi’s Novasight Hybrid™ System designed to guide common minimally invasive coronary procedures.

Under the terms of the Agreement, Titan will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Conavi (the “ Conavi Shares ”) and in exchange Conavi shareholders will be issued common shares of Titan (the “ Combined Entity Shares ”). This transaction (the “ Transaction ”) will constitute a reverse takeover of Titan and will be carried out subject to the terms and conditions outlined below.

In connection with the Transaction, Titan expects to delist its common shares from the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “ TSX ”) and apply to have them listed instead on the TSX Venture Exchange (the “ TSXV ”). The Transaction is anticipated to close on or around July 15, 2024.

Conavi (www.conavi.com) is focused on designing, manufacturing, and marketing imaging technologies to guide common minimally invasive cardiovascular procedures. Its patented Novasight Hybrid™ System is the first system to combine both intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) to enable simultaneous and co-registered imaging of coronary arteries (www.novasighthybrid.com). The Novasight Hybrid™ System has 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and regulatory approval for clinical use from Health Canada, China’s National Medical Products Administration, and Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Conavi is organized under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.

“This planned merger comes at a pivotal moment in the evolution of our company as we continue to advance the Novasight Hybrid System, which provides simultaneous and complementary data with which to better inform patient care, while offering providers a more cost- and space-effective option when purchasing intravascular imaging equipment,” said Conavi’s Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Looby. “Gaining access to the public capital markets will enhance our financial strength and fuel our growth strategy, enabling us to unlock the full potential of our hybrid imaging technology in the United States and globally.”

“This merger is the result of a thoughtful and careful review of strategic options and reflects the continued commitment of our management team and Board of Directors to deliver value to shareholders,” commented Paul Cataford, Titan’s Interim CEO and Board Chair. “Conavi is an exciting commercial-stage company with groundbreaking technology and an accomplished management team. We are confident in their ability to continue to drive adoption of the Novasight Hybrid System. ”

Transaction Highlights

Provided the Transaction is completed in accordance with the provisions of the Amalgamation Agreement (see “Conditions to Completion of the Transaction Below”), the following benefits are anticipated for the combined entity (the “Combined Entity” ):

• Strong Balance Sheet (as a result of a concurrent financing) with institutional investor support;
• Established product development and manufacturing capability;
• Proven product being commercialized in the coronary imaging space;
• A large and diverse market opportunity addressed with a proprietary product offering which provides patient benefit and a sustainable economic value proposition to users; and
• Increasing market traction and key opinion leader engagement.

Amalgamation Agreement Background

The journey to this announcement started over 15 months ago, when Titan announced the commencement of a strategic review process and the engagement of Raymond James Ltd. (“ Raymond James ”) as financial advisor. With limited cash resources and limited access to new capital, Titan announced a series of cost-cutting measures to extend the runway for the strategic review process. After outreach to over 40 potential counterparties and concerns expressed by potential counterparties on Titan’s stage of development, financial circumstances, and time to commercialization, Titan announced a further cost reduction and a halt to all expenditures related to the development of its ENOS single access robotic-assisted surgery (“RAS”) system in February of 2023. To generate cash and avert the possibility of insolvency, Titan also announced a strategic pivot to asset sales and licensing of its IP. This pivot has proven successful as Titan announced non-exclusive licensing and intellectual property sales agreements with established players in the RAS industry in May, June and August of 2023. Throughout 2023, it was made clear to Titan that a merger with another RAS company was not a viable option and Titan broadened its search for a merger partner beyond RAS. This expanded search resulted in a number of proposals and after careful evaluation, Titan’s management and board of directors (the “ Titan Board ”) decided on a merger with Conavi.   The Titan Board is unanimous in its decision to execute the Amalgamation Agreement and to recommend this Transaction to its shareholders (the “ Titan Shareholders ”).

Transaction Terms

Under the terms of the Agreement, Titan will effect a consolidation of the Titan Shares based on a ratio of pre-consolidation shares to post-consolidation shares to be mutually agreed upon (the “ Consolidation ”).

As a condition to the completion of the Transaction, Conavi will complete a concurrent financing of subscription receipts, the terms of which will be announced at a later date (the “ Concurrent Financing ”), for minimum gross proceeds of US$15 million up to a maximum of US$20 million. The subscription receipts are expected to convert into Conavi Shares (“ Subscription Receipts Shares ”) immediately prior to completion of the Transaction.

Following the Consolidation and the Concurrent Financing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Titan will amalgamate with Conavi, pursuant to which issued and outstanding post-Consolidation Titan Shares will be issued to holders of Conavi Shares (including the Subscription Receipts Shares) on the basis of an exchange ratio to be determined using the pre-money valuation of Conavi of US$69,840,000 (minus the amounts of certain trade payables and Conavi’s transaction expenses) and a pre-transaction valuation of Titan including an allocation of US$5,000,000 plus the amount of cash held in Titan at the closing of the Transaction less certain liabilities of Titan. However, the exchange ratio will be adjusted, if necessary, strictly to the extent required to result in the holders of Titan Shares prior to the closing of the Transaction holding at least 10% of the Combined Entity Shares following completion of the Transaction (including Combined Entity Shares underlying certain options, warrants and RSUs, Subscription Receipts Shares, and Combined Entity Shares issued in exchange for Conavi Shares issued in any bridge financing completed by Conavi prior to the completion of the Transaction).

In addition, the Combined Entity will establish a new equity incentive plan for key employees, directors and officers of the Combined Entity and will issue stock options in exchange for the outstanding Conavi outstanding stock options under the plan.

The parties to the Transaction are at arm’s length.

Transaction Timetable

Titan intends to hold a special and annual meeting of shareholders (the “ Titan Shareholder Meeting ”), at which, among other things, the Titan Shareholders will be asked to approve: (i) the change of name from Titan Medical Inc. to Conavi Medical Inc., or such other name as Conavi may determine and the Titan Board may approve, (ii) the Consolidation, (iii) a new equity incentive plan for the Combined Entity, and (iv) the Transaction. Copies of the management information circular of Titan (the “ Titan Circular ”), and certain related documents and agreements, will be filed with the Canadian securities regulators and will be available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com under Titan’s profile at least 21 days prior to the date of the Titan Shareholder Meeting.

Recommendation by the Board of Directors and Fairness Opinion

After consultation with its financial and legal advisors, the Titan Board unanimously approved the entering into of the Agreement and will recommend that Titan Shareholders vote in favour of the Transaction at the Titan Shareholder Meeting. Raymond James provided a fairness opinion to the board of directors of Titan, stating that, as of the date of such opinion and based upon and subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications stated in such opinion, the consideration payable pursuant to the Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view, to the Titan Shareholders.

Conditions to Completion of the Transaction

The completion of the Transaction is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions as are standard for a transaction of this nature, including, but not limited to: (i) receipt of all requisite regulatory, TSX, and TSXV approvals and all government approvals, authorizations or consents; (ii) the absence of any material change or change in a material fact or a new material fact affecting Titan or Conavi; (iii) the approvals of both the Titan Shareholders and the Conavi shareholders; (iv) the completion of the Concurrent Financing for aggregate gross proceeds of at least $15,000,000; (v) Titan having the net cash balance set forth in the Agreement immediately prior to closing the Transaction; and (vi) certain other conditions set forth in the Agreement. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed on the terms proposed above or at all.

Concurrently with signing the Agreement, the directors and officers of Conavi have agreed to support the proposed Transaction and have either entered into or are expected to enter into lock-up agreements with Titan to vote in favour of the Transaction at the special meeting of Conavi shareholders.   All of the directors and officers of Titan have agreed to support the proposed Transaction and have each entered into lock-up agreements with Conavi to vote in favour of the Transaction at the Titan Shareholder Meeting.

The Combined Entity

         TSXV Listing

The Combined Entity is expected to be a Tier 1 technology issuer under the policies of the TSXV. In connection with the application to list the Combined Entity Shares on the TSXV, the Titan Circular will be prepared using the Form 3D1 Information Required in an Information Circular for a Reverse Take-Over and will be available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com under Titan’s profile once finalized.

         10% Shareholder

It is anticipated that immediately following the Transaction, the only shareholder that will hold greater than 10% of the issued and outstanding Combined Entity shares will be Carlyle Services Limited Liability Company.

Officers and Directors of the Combined Entity

Concurrent with the completion of the Transaction, all officers and certain directors of Titan will resign and be replaced by nominees and appointees put forth by Conavi.

Advisors and Counsel

In connection with the Transaction, Raymond James Ltd. is acting as financial advisor to Titan and Borden Ladner Gervais LLP is acting as legal counsel to Titan.

Mintz LLP is acting as legal counsel to Conavi.

About Titan Medical

Titan Medical Inc. (TSX: TMD; OTC: TMDIF), a medical technology company incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, has developed an expansive patent portfolio related to the enhancement of robotic assisted surgery (RAS), including through a single access point, and is currently focused on evaluating new opportunities to further develop and license its intellectual property.

Cautionary Note

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSXV acceptance and shareholder approval of both Conavi and Titan. The Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approvals are obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of Titan should be considered highly speculative.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws, which reflect the current expectations of management of Titan’s future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “potential for” and similar expressions, although these words may not be present in all forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements that appear in this release may include, without limitation, references to: Titan evaluating new opportunities to further develop and license its intellectual property, the anticipated closing date and completion of the Transaction on the terms as announced or at all, the execution of lock-up agreements by certain directors and officers of Conavi, the expected timing and matters to be considered at the Titan Shareholder Meeting, the anticipated benefits of the Transaction, completion of the Concurrent Financing, matters related to the expected business of the Combined Entity, and the delisting of the Titan Shares from the TSX and the listing of the Combined Entity on the TSXV.

These forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs with respect to future events, and are based on information currently available to management that, while considered reasonable by management as of the date on which the statements are made, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies which could result in actions, events, conditions, results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions and many factors could cause Titan’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and assumptions include, but are not limited to, Titan’s ability to retain key personnel; its ability to execute on its business plans and strategies; its ability to continue to license some or all its intellectual property to third parties and receive any material consideration and other factors listed in the “Risk Factors” section of Titan’s Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 (which may be viewed at www.sedarplus.com). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance, or achievements may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors should be considered carefully, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in the news release are based upon what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions and Titan has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, conditions, results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, Titan cannot assure prospective investors that actual results, performance or achievements will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Titan expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All the forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements.

Contact Titan Medical Inc.                                                Conavi Medical Inc. Chien Huang                                                        Stephen Kilmer Chief Financial Officer                                          Investor Relations [email protected]                            [email protected]

Released March 18, 2024

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Science News

Titan’s dark dunes could be made from comets.

The origin of the rippling sands has long been a mystery

Titan’s dunes (dark regions) can be observed in this infrared composite of the largest of Saturn’s moons, which was taken in 2015 by NASA’s now-defunct Cassini spacecraft.

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By Nikk Ogasa

March 14, 2024 at 9:30 am

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — The dark dunes of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, could have fallen from space.

More than enough cometary material may have struck Titan to have formed its vast dune fields , planetary scientist William Bottke reported March 12 at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Computer simulations suggest that the enigmatic drifts formed from objects hailing from the primordial Kuiper Belt, a modern source of comets beyond the orbit of Neptune. The proposed scenario could also explain the presence of similar material observed on other worlds, said Bottke, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo.

The nature of Titan’s sand has long been pondered. Beneath the moon’s tangerine skies drift some 15 million square kilometers of dusky dunes ( SN: 5/23/06 ). These waves of sand are about as big as the massive dunes found in the United Arab Emirates, says planetary geologist Jani Radebaugh of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Those earthbound mounds are also where the recent Dune films were shot ( SN: 3/1/24 ).

The popular hypothesis contends that Titan’s undulating sands consist of organic particles produced by solar irradiation of its hazy atmosphere ( SN: 2/1/19 ). After these micron-sized particles fall to the surface, they somehow grow larger into sand-sized grains that can form dunes. But it’s not clear how exactly that growth occurs. What’s more, laboratory tests show that the organic particles may break apart too easily to endure being buffeted into dunes, Bottke said.

He and his colleagues propose another scenario, one that begins early in the history of the solar system, roughly 4 billion years ago.

One of the most popular theories for the solar system’s evolution says that the giant planets migrated from where they formed to their current positions ( SN: 10/20/23 ). During this time, those planets are thought to have passed through the Kuiper Belt. That grand reshuffling would have led to the bombardment of Titan and other moons by comets. But many comets would have also smashed together, pulverizing them into tiny particles.

We know a surprising amount about these particles, Bottke said, because many have struck spacecraft and Earth. They’re resilient enough to survive passing through our atmosphere. And they’re dark and often around 200 microns wide, just the right size to build dark dunes on Titan.

Bottke and his colleagues ran computer simulations on how Saturn, Jupiter and their moons evolved during this chaotic period, tracking how much pulverized comet dust and how many large impactors fell on Titan and other moons of Saturn and Jupiter.

Both the dust and the impactors could have delivered more than enough material to account for Titan’s dunes, the team found. “We have two sources that can potentially do this,” Bottke said.

What’s more, the simulations showed that much of the material also struck Jupiter’s moons Callisto and Ganymede and the Saturnian moon Iapetus, all of which are known to have large patches of dark material.

The dark material on Iapetus is thought to have hailed from elsewhere , notes Radebaugh, who was not involved in the research. So it’s plausible that Titan’s sands could have otherworldly origins too, she says.

Nonetheless, it’s unclear whether the material would remain on Titan’s surface after falling. Ice volcanoes may be erupting, or have erupted, on Titan, Radebaugh says. “If you’re resurfacing through volcanism, that would create a problem for this [story].” Eruptions would subsume and bury the old, fallen debris over time.

NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Titan , slated for launch in 2028, could solve the mystery ( SN: 6/27/19 ). “It’s a testable hypothesis,” says Melissa Trainer, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., who works on the mission. Instruments onboard the rotorcraft will be able to take measurements of the compositions of the dune particles, she says.

And so one day, perhaps, a flying machine will confirm that seas of shattered comets ripple on a distant moon.

More Stories from Science News on Planetary Science

The desert planet in ‘Dune’ is plausible, according to science

Odysseus’ historic moon mission comes to an end, for now

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx nabbed over 120 grams of space rocks from asteroid Bennu

How ‘Our Moon’ shaped life on Earth and human history

Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon might contain a hidden ocean

An asteroid may have exploded over Antarctica about 2.5 million years ago

Bacteria that can make humans sick could survive on Mars

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter officially ends its mission on Mars

From the nature index.

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Economy | Nvidia, San Jose mayor embrace startups at tech…

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Economy | measles exposure may have occurred at san leandro restaurant, subscriber only, economy | nvidia, san jose mayor embrace startups at tech titan’s ai gathering, san jose aims to become magnet for artificial intelligence startups, jobs.

SAN JOSE — An Nvidia executive and San Jose’s mayor touted Silicon Valley’s artificial intelligence and innovation boom at a packed event for startups and entrepreneurs during the tech titan’s GTC 2024 gathering.

Tech innovators crammed into the grand ballroom of a downtown San Jose hotel Monday evening to network with each other during the Nvidia Inception Reception, hoping to pitch — and find — the next game-changer of an idea.

“The inception program is one of the most important initiatives at Nvidia,” Greg Estes, vice president of developer programs at Nvidia, said during a speech to kick off the key meeting.

Nvidia executives and founders were present at the event to provide ideas and insights for startup executives and entrepreneurs. The Nvidia leaders mingled with the heads of fledgling and infant companies who hoped to ensure their products and services would be on the tech titan’s radar.

“I hope the next trillion-dollar company is in this room,” Estes told attendees. “It’s very likely.”

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan made it clear during his speech that San Jose hopes to capitalize on the advantages and cutting-edge technologies being generated by artificial intelligence.

“As a former startup founder myself turned elected official I would be remiss if I didn’t pitch you on my latest startup idea,” Mayor Mahan told the assembled entrepreneurs.

Artificial intelligence can help the Bay Area’s largest city solve everyday challenges and become more efficient in delivering services, the mayor declared during his presentation.

San Jose has already launched artificial intelligence to determine whether AI can help the city detect, prioritize and repair potholes. That’s just scratching the surface, in the mayor’s view.

“We are working to embrace and facilitate innovation,” the mayor said. “We lead the country in patents per capita, including A.I. and machine learning patents. The San Jose metro (in 2022) had 10,000 AI patents, twice as many as our smaller neighbor to the north, San Francisco.”

In 2023, the city of San Jose led the launch of the GovAI coalition to help shape the future of artificial intelligence in government agencies and services.

During an interview with this news organization following his speech, Mahan said multiple efforts were underway to find a home for a potential artificial intelligence incubator in downtown San Jose.

“We have to create the environment to support AI startups in San Jose,” Mahan said. “The private sector has to be the primary sponsor of any AI incubators in San Jose.”

One key strategy to create a vibrant artificial intelligence ecosystem in San Jose, the mayor suggested, is for the city to intensify its already strong ties and cooperative efforts with San Jose State University.

SJSU’s Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering is one of the nation’s top schools for computer, electronics, electrical and mechanical engineering, according to multiple closely followed surveys.

“We can go deeper with San Jose State University,” Mahan said. “The talent pool at SJSU is unparalleled. We can do much more to upskill San Jose State students.”

Dubbed an “AI Woodstock” by Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya, the Nvidia conference was expected to draw 300,000 participants this week.

An estimated 11,000 people packed into the SAP Center on Monday to hear the conference keynote address delivered by Jensen Huang, chief executive officer and co-founder of Santa Clara-based Nvidia.

Huang used his keynote to unveil powerful new AI chips, and during the address, he described the widening influence of artificial intelligence.

“The computer is the single most important instrument in society today,” Huang said. “Fundamental changes in computing affect every industry.”

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Russia-Ukraine War Ukrainian Drones Hit 2 Bases Deep in Russia

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• Saratov Oblast, Russia Explosion rocks Russian military base. EYEPRESS via Reuters
• Kyiv Residents take shelter in the Metro. Laura Boushnak for The New York Times
• Irpin Winter in Ukraine. David Guttenfelder for The New York Times
• Kherson region Salvaging a refrigerator from the ruins of a home. Finbarr O'Reilly for The New York Times
• Borodyanka A makeshift center for those whose homes have been destroyed. Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• Kharkiv Police officers look at collected fragments of Russian rockets. Libkos/Associated Press
• Bakhmut Chopping wood in a basement shelter. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
• Donetsk An office building destroyed in shelling. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
• Eastern Ukraine Soldiers on the front line. Yevhen Titov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Follow live news updates on the Russia-Ukraine war .

Ukraine attacks military bases hundreds of miles inside Russia.

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine executed its most brazen attack into Russian territory in the nine-month-old war on Monday, targeting two military bases hundreds of miles inside the country, using drones, according to the Russian Defense Ministry and a senior Ukrainian official.

The drones were launched from Ukrainian territory, and at least one of the strikes was made with the help of special forces close to the base who helped guide the drones to the target, said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to convey sensitive information.

The strikes signaled a new willingness by Kyiv to take the fight to bases in the heart of Russia, raising the stakes in the war, and demonstrated for the first time Ukraine’s ability to attack at such long distances. Shortly after the attacks on the bases, Russia sent a barrage of missiles streaking toward Ukrainian cities.

The Kremlin said that the weapons launched by Ukraine were Soviet-era jet drones and were aimed at bases in Ryazan and Engels, about 300 miles from the Ukrainian border. It said that its forces had intercepted the drones, and that “the fall and explosion of the wreckage” had “slightly damaged” two planes, killing three servicemen and wounding four others.

The Engels airfield, on the Volga River in southern Russia, is a base for some of Russia’s long-range, nuclear-capable bombers, including the Tupolev-160 and Tupolev-95. Ukrainian officials say it is also a staging ground for Russia’s unrelenting campaign of missile attacks on infrastructure, which have left millions of Ukrainians with intermittent light, heat or water — or none at all — at the onset of winter. Security footage from an apartment complex near the base showed a fireball lighting up the sky.

The other explosion occurred at the Dyagilevo military base in the central city of Ryazan, only about 100 miles from Moscow, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. It was there that the fatalities and injuries occurred, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Ukraine’s government declined to publicly acknowledge the strikes, in keeping with its practice with other attacks on Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea.

The Engels air base and the Ryazan military installation are between 300 and 450 miles from the Ukrainian border, which is beyond the range of any known missile in Ukraine’s arsenal.

Even before Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of sending drones to attack, the blast at the Engels airfield had prompted some of Russia’s influential pro-invasion bloggers to call for more strikes against Ukraine, and to renew criticism of the Russian armed forces. “Sometimes we feel that even if you put a bomb into these people’s pockets — they wouldn’t notice anyway,” Voenniy Osvedomitel, a popular commentator, wrote on the messaging app Telegram.

After the explosions, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, appeared to note the strikes obliquely, as Ukrainian officials have often done after unexplained explosions inside Russia.

“The Earth is round — discovery made by Galileo,” he wrote on Twitter . “If something is launched into other countries’ airspace, sooner or later unknown flying objects will return to departure point.”

Only a few hours after the explosions, Ukrainian officials said that more than a dozen Russian bombers had taken off from the Engels air base.

Ivan Nechepurenko and Helene Cooper contributed reporting.

— Andrew E. Kramer ,  Michael Schwirtz and Marc Santora

Russia fired a barrage of missiles across Ukraine on Monday.

Russia launched a volley of missiles at Ukraine’s energy grid on Monday, knocking out power in several regions, officials said, the latest in a monthslong campaign of strikes by Moscow targeting civilian infrastructure.

Ukrainian air defense systems fired into the sky in multiple areas of the country but not all missiles were intercepted. Four people were killed by the Russian strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, and officials reported damage to energy infrastructure.

When air-raid warnings were issued for most of the country, Ukrainians followed a grim routine and headed for bomb shelters in Kyiv and other cities. Shortly after the all-clear was given, Mr. Zelensky addressed the nation to praise both the military and utility workers fighting to keep the lights on.

“Air defenses shot down most of the rockets, energy workers have already started to restore electricity,” he said. Ukraine’s Air Force later said that it had shot down more than 60 missiles out of more than 70 fired.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that it had targeted power plants and other sites in Ukraine. Ukraine’s prime minister said energy facilities were hit in the Kyiv, Vinnytsia and Odesa regions, according to the Ukrinform news agency.

The strikes occurred hours after explosions were reported at two military bases deep inside Russia, including one that Ukraine said has been used as a staging ground for aircraft in previous attacks against Ukraine’s energy grid. Russia’s Ministry of Defense later accused Ukraine of using drones to attack the bases.

By midafternoon in Ukraine, multiple reports had surfaced of inbound missiles. A New York Times reporter south of Kyiv saw a cruise missile in flight traveling toward the capital. Another New York Times reporter observed what appeared to be a surface-to-air-missile launched outside of Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine. The extent of damage, and of casualties, was not immediately clear.

The governor of the Kyiv region, the administrative district around the capital, said that air defense systems had fired at incoming missiles. “Stay in shelters and safe places,” the governor, Oleksiy Kuleba, wrote in a statement on Telegram.

Ukraine’s national energy company, Ukrenergo, said that the “mass missile attack” had damaged electrical facilities. In a statement posted on Facebook , it said emergency energy shutdowns would be imposed to help balance the grid.

Blackouts were reported in several regions, from Sumy in the north along the border with Russia to Odesa in the south on the Black Sea coast.

The Russian military typically launches missiles from multiple directions and in successive waves, a tactic intended to overwhelm or avoid Ukraine’s air defenses, Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, told a Ukrainian television news show.

Russia began firing missiles at Ukraine’s energy grid in October after its forces lost ground on the battlefield in two Ukrainian counteroffensive operations in the south and northeast.

Ukrainians have responded to the wave of strikes on infrastructure by building emergency heating shelters in towns, dispatching linemen to repair the grid as swiftly as possible and powering restaurants, stores and hospitals with generators . In hard-hit areas, residents stockpile water in bottles in their homes.

And Ukrainians have adapted. In Kryvyi Rih, a central city that is a hub of the iron-mining industry, miners evacuated to the surface on Monday, lest electricity for their elevators be lost, the city’s mayor said. After past strikes, miners had been trapped underground.

Ukraine has greatly increased its capacity to shoot down incoming missiles, aided by air defense systems supplied by the United States and some European countries..

Carlotta Gall and Thomas Gibbons-Neff contributed reporting.

— Andrew E. Kramer and Matthew Mpoke Bigg

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When the air raid sirens ring out, residents of Kyiv head underground.

KYIV, Ukraine — In a city where daily routines have been wrecked by unrelenting Russian missile strikes, unpredictable power cuts and unreliable water supplies, residents of Kyiv know that, at any time, they might have to spend a few hours in an air raid shelter.

It had been 13 days since the last large-scale barrage of Russian missiles fired at targets across Ukraine, the longest stretch without blasts in and around the capital since Moscow began its assault on the nation’s energy infrastructure in early October. For days, Ukrainian officials had been warning that another attack was imminent.

So when the air raid alarms sounded across Kyiv early on Monday afternoon, many people were not surprised. The sirens were followed by warnings that missiles were inbound, and soon after the thunder of air defense systems could be heard over the capital.

“To be honest I feel relief this time,” said Olha Kotrus, 34. “For two weeks there were reports that it might happen and then you live in constant tension.”

Ms. Kotrus was sitting on the floor of a Kyiv metro station with her mom, a cat in a cage and her dog. The dog, dressed in a blue outfit to keep it warm in the winter chill, was visibly stressed. Ms. Kotrus was angry and fed up.

She joined a crowd of hundreds people deep underground at the metro station Golden Gate, named after the main fortification that served as the entrance to the city 1,000 years ago.

By evening, however, the famed gate was not illuminated, forced into darkness like much of the city. Monday’s barrage of rockets targeting sites around the country was the eighth such wave of attacks on key energy infrastructure targets, according to the national utility operator, Ukrenergo.

“Unfortunately, energy infrastructure facilities have already been hit and there have been emergency power outages related to this,” Ukrenergo said in a statement.

At least ten rockets were aimed at Kyiv on Monday, according to local officials. Nine were shot down above the capital, the officials said.

Like everyone interviewed in Kyiv, Ms. Kotrus’s anger was directed at Russia and her frustration was the result of many days filled with anxiety and long, dark nights with no power.

Anna Sokolova, 21, said she had endured cuts in power and water supplies for two weeks, ever since the last wave of missiles. Ms. Sokolova lives near a local utility headquarters that has been targeted in recent Russian strikes and said she always takes shelter when the alarms sound.

But she did not want to complain about her own hardships, saying it is nothing compared to what her friends, soldiers fighting on the front lines, are experiencing.

Lyumyla Vonifatova, 66, agreed.

“We all understand that without electricity, life becomes impossible,” she said. “Yet, we will just have to find a way to get through it.”

She was passing the time in the subway shelter by looking at a small display of photos of this war and others that came before it.

“Despite all the loss of human life and economic hardship, we will stand until the end,” she said. “Because this is a fight for our freedom.”

But Tetyana Tkachenko’s six-year-old son is too small to understand that. She said he is terrified every time the alarms sound.

“He was crying, running around,” when the alarms began to sound, Ms. Tkachenko said. He quickly put on warm clothes and begged to “go to the subway,” she said.

She grabbed two foldable chairs, previously used for the park or beach. But now they were part of the family’s new routine, for when the sirens sound and they head deep underground.

— Marc Santora and Maria Varenikova

Putin inspects a bridge linking Russia and Crimea, two months after a damaging explosion.

President Vladimir V. Putin inspected repairs to a bridge that links the country with the Crimean Peninsula on Monday, two months after an explosion partly destroyed it in an embarrassing blow to the Russian leader and Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.

The October attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge, a pet project of Mr. Putin’s that became a key supply route for Moscow’s forces in southern Ukraine, was a critical moment in the war. The Kremlin accused Ukraine of orchestrating the blast, which underscored Russia’s inability to protect a key strategic asset and prompted Moscow to unleash a wave of airstrikes on Ukraine.

Video published by the Kremlin showed Mr. Putin driving a Mercedes car over the bridge. Accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, who is in charge of the repair, Mr. Putin inquired about the progress of the work and said he hoped the road and rail bridge would be fully restored by the middle of the summer vacation season.

Pointing at the still-charred railway section of the bridge, he said that “this was a big explosion.”

When the bridge opened in 2018, it was a powerful symbol of the connection the Kremlin was attempting to forge between Russia and Crimea, a Ukrainian region illegally annexed by Moscow four years earlier. Mr. Putin took personal credit for its construction, driving a truck along its 12-mile span at the head of a convoy.

On Monday, he also took credit for building two railway tracks and two traffic lanes each way, as the redundancy allowed traffic to be partially restored soon after the explosion hit in October.

While Ukraine’s government did not claim responsibility for the blast, which sent part of the bridge crashing into the sea on Oct. 8, a senior Ukrainian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of a government ban on discussing the blast, confirmed that Ukraine’s intelligence services were behind it .

The Kerch attack came during a period of setbacks for Russian forces in Ukraine, including the loss of territory it had captured in the northeast of the country. Two days after the attack on the bridge, Russia escalated a strategy of pounding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with waves of missiles launched at power stations and other facilities.

— Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Ivan Nechepurenko

A woman is shot and killed trying to cross into Ukrainian-held territory in Kherson.

KHERSON, Ukraine — A 65-year-old woman was shot to death on Sunday evening as she tried to escape in a boat from Russian-occupied territory in Kherson, Ukrainian officials said, illustrating the perils of Ukraine’s call for civilians to evacuate Russian-held areas in the heavily contested southern region.

Ukrainian officials blamed Russian soldiers in the killing; there was no immediate comment from the Russian side. The woman was crossing the Dnipro River, attempting to thread a gantlet of Russian and Ukrainian troops dug in on opposite banks near the city of Kherson, when she was killed in a hail of automatic gunfire, according to a statement from the City Council.

Both armies have been heavily shelling each other across the river, which has become a front line three weeks after Ukraine reclaimed Kherson city on the west bank and Russian forces withdrew to defensive positions on the eastern side. On Saturday, Ukrainian officials encouraged people to flee Russian-occupied areas on the eastern bank, warning of a “possible intensification of hostilities.”

But even before the woman was killed, many Ukrainians had complained on social media channels that the evacuation plan, which required individuals to use private boats to cross a dangerous river, was poorly organized. The announcement on Saturday did not specify the areas people should flee from or whether the advice applied in towns still occupied by Russian troops.

One of those towns, Hola Prystan, which lies several miles downriver from Kherson, was the area that the woman who was killed tried to escape, according to a statement released by the Kherson City Council on Sunday night.

“A 65-year-old woman who was crossing the Dnipro River with her husband on a boat, leaving a country house in the Hola Prystan district, was wounded by automatic fire. Unfortunately, the woman did not survive,” the statement read.

On Monday, Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, a spokesman for the Kherson regional military administration, said that the area was not covered by the evacuation plan.

“Navigation there is not open,” he said. “It is still banned to cross river there by boats. People can move there at their own risk.”

The area around Kherson and Hola Prystan is a watery landscape of river channels and small marshy islands, some with summer homes on them. The Kherson authorities’ plan was to have evacuees come to Kherson’s main river port, which itself has come under heavy shelling in the past week. Until the evacuation was announced, the Ukrainian military had prohibited people from traveling by boat on the river. The plan was to allow daylight river crossings for three days, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The mood in Kherson has turned grim in the three weeks since Ukrainian forces swept in, when the city throbbed with jubilation as people poured into the streets, hugged soldiers, waved flags and snapped selfies. As Russian forces continue to shell the city relentlessly, more than 18 people have been killed in the past two weeks and dozens more wounded, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian forces have been eager to push the Russians farther away and get Kherson out of artillery range. Over the weekend, a Ukrainian military unit released a video purporting to show the raising of a Ukrainian flag on the eastern bank of the Dnipro. Although there was no indication that Ukraine had established a permanent military presence at the site, the video was an apparent sign of Kyiv’s intent to continue its counteroffensive in the south.

Oleksandra Mykolyshyn contributed reporting.

— Jeffrey Gettleman

An E.U. embargo of Russian oil and the G7’s price cap take effect.

Europe and the United States started enforcing on Monday two of the toughest measures aimed at curbing Russia’s income from oil, the principal source of cash used to fund its nearly 10-month-old war in Ukraine.

The first, a price cap initiative led by the United States, aims to increase economic pressure on the Kremlin while avoiding a global oil shock . The limit was set at $60 per barrel, and was endorsed by the Group of 7 countries, Australia, and members of the European Union.

The second is an embargo under which European nations will no longer be able to buy most Russian crude as of Monday. It was a step that the European Union had agreed to months ago but that was phased in with exceptions to prepare member nations.

Prices gyrated in the oil markets on Monday, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, up by about 2.5 percent, to $87.75 a barrel, at midday in Europe. West Texas Intermediate future were selling at $82 a barrel.

An immediate impact on oil supplies in Europe was not expected, partly because the embargo has been in the works for months, and energy companies have already begun buying more oil from the United States, Brazil, Guyana and the Middle East.

Although analysts and traders say the price cap may prove a nightmare to administer, one expert on sanctions said the lengthy negotiations had produced a deal with the potential to work.

“I suspect the compromise that was reached gives the policy the best chance it could have to succeed,” said Edward Fishman, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.

Mr. Fishman, who previously led planning and implementation of sanctions on Russia at the Department of State, said there were several reasons to be optimistic. One is the recent softness of oil markets, which he interpreted as meaning that Russian oil was no longer as critical to the markets as it was a few months ago. He also said the agreed $60 price was a “Goldilocks” level, not so high as to give Russia even more revenue than it is currently receiving or so low as to discourage Moscow from producing oil.

He also said that the cap’s provision to review the price level every two months, or more frequently if needed, provided the “flexibility” that historically has helped make sanctions, like those targeting Iran’s oil sales, effective.

Still, skepticism about the likely efficacy of the measures stems in part from the United States and European countries mandating European shippers and insurers to enforce it by declining to handle cargoes priced above the $60-a-barrel level.

— Stanley Reed

Ukraine will auction a yacht seized from a Putin ally.

As Ukraine scrambles to fund its fight against Russia’s invasion, a potential new source of tens of millions of dollars has materialized — the planned sale of a superyacht seized from one of Ukraine’s most famous pro-Russian oligarchs.

Soon after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, Ukrainian authorities announced they had taken possession of properties belonging to Viktor Medvedchuk , a prominent pro-Russian politician and a close friend of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

For years, Mr. Medvedchuk was seen as the Kremlin’s primary agent of influence in Ukraine. Mr. Putin is the godfather of Mr. Medvedchuk’s daughter.

The confiscated assets included the Royal Romance, a 300-foot yacht docked in a Croatian port that is linked to Mr. Medvedchuk. According to its Dutch manufacturer, Feadship, the ship has a 40-foot swimming pool, a gym, a waterfall feature, and an estimated value of more than $200 million. The yacht and other assets were confiscated as part of a criminal investigation in which Mr. Medvedchuk is suspected of treason, according to Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation .

Last week, ARMA, Ukraine’s government agency for asset recovery and management, said that a district court in Split, Croatia, had entrusted the city’s port administration with implementing the transfer of the yacht to the agency. ARMA described the Royal Romance, which has 50 rooms, as “one of the largest yachts in the world” and said that it plans to auction the vessel to “preserve its economic value.”

Ukrainians welcomed the proposed sale, with some celebrating on social media and joking that Mr. Medvedchuk would be making a large donation to Ukraine’s armed forces.

ARMA was created in Ukraine in 2016 to seize the assets of officials in corruption cases, but since the invasion it has also turned its attention to the property of Russians and of Ukrainians who are accused of collaborating with Russia.

Mr. Medvedchuk, a prominent figure in the pro-Russian wing of Ukrainian politics and a former deputy speaker of Ukraine’s Parliament, had been under criminal investigation in Ukraine before the invasion. Ukrainian security forces captured him in April, after he fled house arrest while awaiting trial on treason charges. Ukrainian authorities handed him over to Russia in September in a prisoner exchange.

Mr. Medvedchuk was also mentioned in U.S. investigations into Russian electoral meddling, as a client of the Republican political consultant Paul Manafort. He denied wrongdoing and said Mr. Manafort had merely advised his party on electoral strategy.

The Royal Romance officially belongs to a company called Lanelia Holdings, based in the Marshall Islands, according to Equasis , a major shipping information database. The ship changed ownership in 2021, when Ukraine imposed sanctions on Mr. Medvedchuk.

Last summer, a superyacht linked to a Russian businessman under sanctions was auctioned in Gibraltar, but the profits were set to repay his creditors rather than replenish Ukraine’s accounts. In general, the process through which seized assets can be permanently confiscated and sold to benefit Ukraine is cumbersome and can take years .

— Emma Bubola and Anastasia Kuznietsova

To help Ukraine, a widow parts with a rare emerald from a 1622 shipwreck.

For years, Mitzi Perdue looked down at her hand and saw history.

The emerald stone on her ring finger told a story stretching back nearly four centuries, to the sinking of a Spanish galleon near the Florida Keys in 1622 and a decades-long effort of a colorful undersea treasure hunter named Mel Fisher to retrieve its payload of gold and silver coins, gold nuggets and jewelry.

It reminded her, too, of her late husband, the chicken magnate Frank Perdue, who received a share of the bounty in return for his investment in Mr. Fisher’s search. He donated most of it, but kept the emerald and presented it to her when he proposed marriage in 1988. She wore it until his death in 2005 , when she put it away for safekeeping.

Now, 400 years after the Nuestra Señora de Atocha sank in a hurricane, Ms. Perdue, 81, is putting the emerald up for auction on Wednesday at Sotheby’s in New York City. All proceeds from the sale of the ring, which Sotheby’s says has an estimated value of $50,000 to $70,000, will be donated to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, prompted by Ms. Perdue’s visit there this year after the Russian invasion .

“What must it be like for the people who have been there enduring, continuously with no respite, for at least half a year?” she said. “After five days, I wanted to do more. And then I started thinking, ‘What can I do to be most helpful?’ And then I thought, ‘I own something that’s of historic significance.’”

— April Rubin

Russia continues to manufacture cruise missiles despite Western sanctions, experts say.

Some of the cruise missiles that Russia launched at Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure in late November were manufactured months after the West imposed sanctions intended to deprive Moscow of the components needed to make those munitions, according to a weapons research group.

Experts examined remnants of Kh-101 cruise missiles found in Kyiv, the capital, after an attack on Nov. 23 that knocked out electricity and shut down water systems in large areas of the country. One of the missiles was made this summer, and another was completed after September, markings on the weapons show, according to a report released by the investigators on Monday .

That Russia has continued to make advanced guided missiles like the Kh-101 suggests that it has found ways to acquire semiconductors and other matériel despite the sanctions or that it had significant stockpiles of the components before the war began, one of the researchers said.

The findings are among the most recent by Conflict Armament Research , an independent group based in Britain that identifies and tracks weapons and ammunition used in wars. A small team of its researchers arrived in Kyiv just before the attack at the invitation of the Ukrainian security service.

— John Ismay