Cabinet Grants Approval For MH370 Wreckage Search Agreement With Ocean Infinity

PUTRAJAYA, March 19 — The Cabinet today has officially granted approval to the terms and conditions of the service agreement with Ocean Infinity (United Kingdom) for the search of the MH370 wreckage, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

Loke said with this final approval, the ministry is set to sign the agreement with the marine robotics company on behalf of the government.

“This paves the ways for Ocean Infinity to proceed with seabed search operations to locate the wreckage of flight MH370 in a new area estimated at 15,000 square kilometres in the southern Indian Ocean,” he said in a statement today.

The search will follow the ‘no find, no fee’ principle, meaning the Malaysian government will only be required to pay Ocean Infinity if the wreckage is discovered, with a success fee amounting to USD70 million.

“The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of MH370 passengers," he added.

Previously, Ocean Infinity conducted a search for the missing aircraft from January 2018, covering more than 112,000 square kilometres of the southern Indian Ocean seabed before ending the mission on May 29, 2018.

On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 departed Kuala Lumpur for Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. However, the aircraft vanished and remains missing to this day.

— BERNAMA