Malaysia’s government has agreed to accept a second “no find, no fee” proposal from a U.S corporation to restart the search for Flight MH370, which is thought to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean more than ten years ago, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced on Friday.
Mr. Loke stated that Cabinet ministers approved Ocean Infinity, a Texas-based marine robotics business, to continue the seabed search operation at a new 15,000-square-kilometer zone in the ocean during their meeting last week.
The Boeing 777 vanished from radar shortly after takeoff on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 passengers, the majority of whom were Chinese nationals, on a trip from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing.
Satellite data revealed that the plane strayed from its flight course, heading over the southern Indian Ocean, where it crashed.
An expensive global search yielded no results, despite wreckage washing up on the east African coast and Indian Ocean islands.
Ocean Infinity conducted a private search in 2018 and also discovered nothing.
The Minister said government will not be required to pay Ocean Infinity unless the plane’s wreckage is discovered, under the same “no find, no fee” deal.
He said his ministry hopes to finalise negotiations for terms and conditions of the agreement with Ocean Infinity in early 2025.
