The Malaysian government has renewed the search for the wreckage of Flight MH370.
Anthony Loke, Malaysia’s transport minister, said last week the ministry is set to sign a new deal with Ocean Infinity on behalf of the government.
The agreement will resume the hunt for Flight MH370 after the plane vanished mid-flight in 2014.
Loke said the agreement “paves the way for Ocean Infinity to proceed with seabed search operations to locate the wreckage of Flight MH370 in a new area estimated at 15,000 sq km in the southern Indian Ocean”.
He added the search will follow a “no find, no fee” principle, meaning Ocean Infinity will only be paid the agreed sum of US$70mn if the wreckage is found.
2025 marks 11 years since the Boeing B777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew went missing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing – one of the greatest mysteries in aviation’s history.
Ocean Infinity had been involved in a previous search for the wreckage, following unsuccessful efforts from the Malaysian, Australian and Chinese governments.
Over 120,000 sq km of ocean floor was searched in the southern Indian Ocean.
Attempts were eventually called off in January 2017 after more than two years of inconclusive findings.
In January 2018 Ocean Infinity conducted its own search with a similar no find, no fee agreement with the Malaysian government.
The robotics firm’s efforts were eventually halted in May 2018 as it failed to locate the wreckage after scanning 112,000 sq km of seabed in a separate area.
The unusual flightpath calculated from Inmarsat data and the lack of conclusive findings has fuelled speculation and conspiracies regarding the probable causes of the aircraft’s disappearance.
The Malaysian government hopes searching a new area of seabed will shed some light and provide closure for the families of the victims involved.
“The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of MH370 passengers,” said Loke.
Talks of a new search agreement with the robotics firm had been in the works since last December, which Loke said would cover an 18-month period.
As of March 2025, Ocean Infinity has already dispatched a vessel to the new area to conduct its search.
