Search for MH370 to recommence Dec 30 - Transport Ministry

The government has reaffirmed its commitment to tracking down the still-missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370, with search operations to commence Dec 30 onwards.

The Transport Ministry announced that the operation will span 55 days and will be carried out by a UK-based marine exploration company, Ocean Infinity, in areas where the aircraft is most likely to be located.

“Ocean Infinity has confirmed with the government that it will recommence seabed search operations for a total of 55 days, to be conducted intermittently.

“The search will be carried out in the targeted area assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft, in accordance with the service agreement entered into between the government and Ocean Infinity on March 25,” it said in a statement today.

A more thorough search

In April, the government signed an agreement with Ocean Infinity to recommence the search for MH370.

However, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said at the time that the search operation had been halted due to weather conditions and was expected to resume at the end of the year.

Loke had previously stated that the agreement would allow for a more thorough search for the aircraft, as deep-sea search operations to detect MH370 in a new location are estimated to cover approximately 15,000 sq km in the southern Indian Ocean.

The search will be based on a “no find, no fee” principle, where the government will not be required to pay if the aircraft’s wreckage is not found, he added.

Ocean Infinity previously carried out a search operation in the southern Indian Ocean, covering 25,000 sq km from January to June 2018, but no wreckage was found.

The Ocean Infinity ship Armada 78 06 has already been in the vicinity of the potential MH370 crash site since around Feb 24, according to various ship-tracking websites, performing what appeared to be a search even in the absence of a contract.

It had also made a brief stop in Perth, Australia, on March 6 before returning to the search area.

Missing for nearly 12 years

Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

Less than an hour into the flight, the aircraft lost contact with air traffic control and deviated sharply from its planned route. Military radar later showed it turning back across the Malaysian peninsula before heading south over the Indian Ocean.

Despite extensive multinational search efforts - the largest and most expensive in aviation history - the main wreckage has never been found. Only a number of confirmed and suspected debris pieces have washed up on beaches in the western Indian Ocean.

The exact cause of the disappearance remains unknown.

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