Free Malaysia Today's latest MH370 news says the Malaysian government is negotiating with Ocean Infinity about the company's proposal to launch a search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that went missing 10 years ago.
Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke confirmed on November 5 that Kuala Lumpur is in talks with Ocean Infinity over a proposal the company made in June 2024 regarding the underwater search for MH370 in a 15,000-square-kilometer area off the coast of Western Australia.
“Based on the latest information and analysis from experts and researchers, Ocean Infinity’s search proposal is credible and can be considered by the Malaysian government,” Loke told the Malaysian House of Representatives after being asked for an update on the government’s efforts to locate MH370.
Ocean Infinity is seeking a $70 million fee — the same as the proposed fee in 2018 — if the wreckage is found, he added. The new search for MH370 is expected to follow a “no find, no fee” principle, meaning the Malaysian government will not have to pay if the missing plane is not found.
The Malaysian Transport Ministry will announce further details after negotiations are concluded and approved by the Cabinet.
Sources familiar with the matter told the Straits Times that the new MH370 search area would extend “to the left and right” of the area Ocean Infinity searched in 2018. “Also, the period from November to March is the best time to start the search, as the seas in the southern hemisphere summer are calmer than in the stormy winter. The longer we delay, the shorter the search time,” the source said.
The disappearance of MH370 remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries. The plane disappeared on March 8, 2014, while carrying 239 people en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Malaysia, China and Australia ended the search for MH370 in January 2017 after no significant findings on the Boeing 777's whereabouts. The subsequent search for MH370 by US-based exploration company Ocean Infinity ended in June 2018 with similar results.
Commenting on the news that Malaysia is about to reopen the search for MH370, Mr. Richard Godfrey - who completed the use of WSPR technology in the search for MH370 to lead to a new search location - shared with Airline Ratings: "Some media reports said that Malaysia has agreed in principle to a new search for MH370".
“Malaysia has concluded that the proposal from Ocean Infinity to resume the underwater search for MH370 is ‘credible’. However, negotiations with Ocean Infinity have not yet been finalised. The search will take place between November 2024 and March 2025. The search will be conducted on a ‘no find, no fee’ basis as planned. In the event that MH370 is found, the fee to be paid is US$70 million. We look forward to further details in due course,” he added.
WSPR stands for Weak Signal Propagation Reporter, or a weak signal radio transmission system used to detect and track aircraft. This is a new breakthrough technology that many technology experts, including American billionaire Elon Musk, believe can help find the wreckage of MH370, solving the 10-year-old mystery of world aviation.
