Malaysian government launches new search from MH370 with company Ocean Infinity

More than a decade after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a new round of searches for the aircraft has been launched. This air disaster remains one of the most perplexing mysteries in aviation history, and its resolution is still outstanding.

Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook announced on Tuesday that marine exploration company Ocean Infinity has restarted the search for the missing aircraft. Loke stated that details of the contract between Malaysia and the company are still being finalized, but he welcomed "Ocean Infinity's proactive deployment of vessels" to begin searching for the plane that disappeared in March 2014.

Loke added that the details of how long the search will last have not yet been agreed upon. He also did not provide the exact time when the British company started the search. The Malaysian government stated in December last year that it had agreed to launch a new search for MH370, which disappeared more than a decade ago.

The Boeing 777 aircraft, carrying 239 people, disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Despite the largest search in aviation history, the plane has never been found. Two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese, and the rest included Malaysians, Indonesians, and Australians, as well as Indian, American, Dutch, and French nationals.

"We are very relieved and happy that the search has resumed after such a long hiatus," Malaysian Grace Nathan, who lost her mother on the missing plane, told AFP. Loke stated in December last year that the new search would follow the same "no find, no fee" principle as Ocean Infinity's previous search, meaning the government would only pay if the plane is found. Loke previously stated that the contract is for 18 months, and Malaysia would pay the company $70 million if the plane is found.

Ocean Infinity, headquartered in the UK and the US, conducted an unsuccessful search in 2018. Prior to the company's first effort, Australia led a massive three-year search for the aircraft, which was suspended in January 2017. The Australian-led search covered 120,000 square kilometers of the Indian Ocean, but found little trace of the aircraft, with only a few pieces of debris recovered.

Loke stated in December last year that a new 15,000 square kilometer area in the southern Indian Ocean would be searched by Ocean Infinity. "They have integrated all the data, and they believe that the current search area is more credible," Loke said on Tuesday. "They (Ocean Infinity) have convinced us that they are ready."

The disappearance of the aircraft has long been the subject of various theories—ranging from credible to bizarre—including a mutiny by veteran pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah. A final report on the tragedy released in 2018 pointed to errors in air traffic control and stated that the plane's route was manually changed.