Malaysia signals it may revive search for missing flight MH370, a decade later 

Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport said Sunday a Texas-based company could revive its search for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 (MH370), as the 10th anniversary of its mysterious disappearance approaches this week.

Ocean Infinity has proposed another “no find, no fee” search of the seabeds in the southern Indian Ocean, five years after the company ended its private search for the aircraft’s remains, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Sunday.

The Boeing 777 plane disappeared from the radar shortly after taking off from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, on March 8, 2014. The aircraft, which carried 239 people, was supposed to travel to Beijing. Satellite data indicated the plane veered off from its flight path, and it was believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

If credible evidence is presented to the Malaysian government, Loke said he will do “everything possible” to get the Cabinet’s approval for a new contract with Ocean Infinity. He said he invited the company to meet when they are “ready to come” to Malaysia.

“The government is steadfast in our resolve to locate MH370,” Loke told reporters during a remembrance event for the 10th anniversary of the plane’s disappearance. “I hope the families and friends of the victims will remain strong. You have our deepest sympathies, and you’ll always be in our thoughts and prayers.”

Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Plunkett confirmed to The Hill the company submitted its proposal to the Malaysian government and said the company is “in a position” to return to the search.

“Finding MH370 and bringing some resolution for all connected with the loss of the aircraft has been a constant in our minds since we left the southern Indian Ocean in 2018,” Plunkett wrote in a statement to The Hill. “Since then, we have focused on driving the transformation of operations at sea; innovating with technology and robotics to further advance our ocean search capabilities.”

He said the search is “arguably most challenging,” but the company is working with several experts, including some outside of Ocean Infinity, to hopefully narrow the search down to one area.

The Malaysian and Chinese governments ended the official search for the aircraft remains in 2017, after they failed to find any leads, though some debris washed ashore on the east African coast and Indian Ocean islands, The Associated Press (AP) reported. Ocean Infinity’s private search of the Indian Ocean also did not turn up any results.

Loke did not reveal how much the fee would be to Ocean Infinity if the proposed search yields results, though their 2018 agreement involved a $70 million fee if remains were found.

KS Nathan, a member of the Voice MH370 group that includes next of kin, told the AP Ocean Infinity originally planned a new search last year, but it was delayed by the delivery of its new fleet of ships and assets. He said the Texas-based company is now in a position to revive the search.

This story was updated at 12:45 p.m.