Malaysia has resumed the search for flight MH370, which went missing in 2014. American company Ocean Infinity will explore a new area on ‘no find, no fee’ basis. Its goal is to provide answers to the families of the 239 victims.
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia is relaunching the search to end the mystery of the disappearance without a trace of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing years ago. This shocking incident happened on March 8, 2014. Malaysia announced on Wednesday that the search for the missing plane would begin this month. The Malaysian Transport Ministry said US marine robotics company Ocean Infinity has been tasked with re-searching the seabed for the debris of the missing MH-370.
Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beijing carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members. It became one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history. The Malaysian government has said that this search, which will start again from December 30, will continue intermittently for 55 days. The government had signed a service contract with Ocean Infinity on March 25 this year.
Why is the search starting again after 10 years?
There are three main reasons for the Malaysian government to resume the search for MH370, which went missing almost 10 years ago.
1. To console the affected families
The Malaysian government wants to provide relief to the families of the 239 passengers and crew members of the plane who were victims of this accident by providing them with conclusive information. Between 2014 and 2017, Malaysia, Australia and China together searched an area of 120,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean, but found nothing. In 2018, Ocean Infinity took over the task and investigated a smaller area of 25,000 square kilometers where experts believed the plane’s debris was likely to be found. That effort, which lasted for three months, also failed.
Many family members, including relatives of the 153 Chinese nationals aboard the plane, have repeatedly urged Malaysia not to end the search.
2. No Risk (No Find, No Fee)
The search contract is such that if the plane is not found, Malaysia will not suffer any loss. Transport Minister Antony Locke had confirmed last December that Ocean Infinity would operate on a ‘no find, no fee’ basis. The same contract was given in 2018 also. The Malaysian government will pay only when credible wreckage of the plane is found. If MH370 debris is found, Malaysia will pay Ocean Infinity $70 million.
3. Focus on areas with greater potential for success
This time the search will focus on areas with greater chances of success. The ministry said the search would be conducted in a specific targeted area where the probability of finding the plane was considered highest. Since 2018, Ocean Infinity has continued to analyze satellite data, ocean currents and drift modelling. This has helped the company further narrow down its priority areas.
Ocean Infinity will deploy Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) capable of operating at depths of more than 6,000 metres. It’s not certain whether this new effort will provide answers to one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history, but the news is a huge relief to families who have been waiting for answers for more than a decade.