A new search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could resume off the coast of Western Australia after the country’s transport minister revealed they were in final negotiations with an ocean exploration company.
Flight MH370 went missing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014 at approximately 12:45 p.m. The plane was on its way to Beijing, but disappeared in the airspace above the South China Sea with 239 people on board.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke told the Malaysian parliament this week that the government was reviewing a proposal from US exploration company Ocean Infinity.
Mr Loke said based on the latest information and analysis from experts and researchers, Ocean Infinity’s search proposal was credible and was being considered by the government.
“The government is currently in negotiations with the US company Ocean Infinity, which in June proposed resuming undersea search operations for the aircraft,” he said.
“This would target a new 15,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean under a ‘no find, no fee’ arrangement.”
The search mission is expected to cost $104 million, but under the ‘no find, no fee’ principle, the Malaysian government would not have to pay the company if no plane wreckage was found.
“The requested terms and costs are contained in the same draft agreement currently being negotiated between the government and Ocean Infinity,” Mr Loke said.
Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke (pictured) said the government is reviewing a proposal from US exploration company Ocean Infinity to launch a new search for MH370.
A three-year search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 off the coast of Western Australia failed to locate the missing plane and was called off in January 2017
Should it be finalized, Cabinet approval will be required and I will make a public announcement.”
Memorial services were held earlier this year to mark the tenth anniversary of the plane’s disappearance.