Ocean Infinity ready to resume MH370 search
Marine robotics company Ocean Infinity Ltd is prepared to resume the search for missing flight MH370 if called upon to do so, said Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong.
However, he reiterated there must be “new credible evidence” before another search can begin.
“I have instructed my officers at the Transport Ministry to
Marine robotics company Ocean Infinity Ltd is prepared to resume the search for missing flight MH370 if called upon to do so, said Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong.
However, he reiterated there must be “new credible evidence” before another search can begin.
“I have instructed my officers at the Transport Ministry to obtain further information from Ocean Infinity for deliberation before we consult on further decisions with the governments of Australia and the People’s Republic of China,” he said in a statement today.
Such a search operation would be conducted on a “no cure, no fee” basis, meaning Ocean Infinity Ltd would only be paid if it finds the aircraft’s wreckage.
Wee said this following a meeting at his office today with Ocean Infinity Ltd CEO Oliver Plunkett and representatives of the next-of-kin of MH370 victims.
Also present were officers from the ministry’s Aviation Division, Air Accident Investigation Bureau, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia.
During the meeting, Wee said Plunkett gave a presentation on the company’s advances in technology, human talent, and capabilities; compared to nearly five years ago when the company was first contracted by the Malaysian government to search for the wreckage.
Probable crash site
The meeting came after the British aerospace engineer Richard Godfrey claims to have deduced MH370’s probable crash site in the Indian Ocean, parts of it which had been searched before.
Australian authorities said they consider Godfrey a credible expert on MH370 but did not have the technical expertise to assess his claims, but nonetheless ordered a review of the existing data for previous search operations.
A report of the review in April said it failed to find any sign of the aircraft, but also noted significant gaps in the data – some reported earlier and some newly uncovered.
The report said the review did not include search data from Ocean Infinity because Geoscience Australia did not have access to data from the Malaysia-contracted operation.
“Review of the Ocean Infinity search data and additional data acquisition would be required in order to definitively ascertain if the aircraft rests in these areas,” the report said.
Wee’s statement today did not say whether these developments had been discussed at the meeting or whether Malaysia would facilitate a review of Ocean Infinity’s data.
When the review was first announced in February, the Transport Ministry said at the time it would be consulting the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) on the review.
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