More than a decade after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished, a new search effort has begun. The Malaysian government has given approval for a renewed mission to find the missing aircraft’s wreckage.
Ocean Infinity, a seabed exploration company, previously conducted a search in 2018 without success. In December 2024, Malaysia agreed in principle to the company’s new proposal. Ocean Infinity is now back in the southern Indian Ocean, around 1,500 kilometres west of Perth, equipped with advanced robotic tools designed for deep-sea discovery.
A Mystery Reopened After 11 Years
The renewed effort comes 11 years after the plane disappeared with 239 people on board. Ocean Infinity has returned to the site with a new vessel and upgraded technology, hoping to succeed where past missions have failed.
The company is well known for underwater searches and has found other lost vessels successfully. In 2018, it located a missing Argentinian navy submarine nearly 1,000 metres below the Atlantic. More recently, in October 2024, it found the wreck of a US Navy ship that had been lost underwater for 78 years.
Scanning An Ocean-Sized Puzzle Piece
The new MH370 search zone is roughly the size of metropolitan Sydney. It was determined using updated data, including weather patterns, satellite signals, and the locations where debris from the aircraft washed up on African shores and nearby islands.
Ocean Infinity specialises in ocean mapping for oil, gas, and renewable energy projects. But it’s their proven record in locating wrecks that positions them well for this renewed search.
Robots, Sonar, And The Tech Behind The Search
At the centre of the operation is the Armada 7806, a 78-metre offshore support vessel built in 2023 by Norwegian shipbuilder Vard. Onboard are autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), each 6.2 metres long and made by Kongsberg, a Norwegian technology company.
These AUVs can operate independently for up to 100 hours at a time and dive as deep as 6,000 metres. They are fitted with multiple sonar systems, including:
- Sidescan sonar, which sends out acoustic pulses and detects objects by capturing the echoes.
- Synthetic aperture sonar, which combines multiple signals to create highly detailed images.
- Multi-beam sonar, which maps the shape of the seafloor with fan-shaped sonar beams.
- Sub-bottom profiling sonar, which penetrates the seafloor to detect buried structures or objects.
If sonar systems identify a potential target, the AUVs will be reprogrammed to return and fly closer to the seafloor. There, onboard cameras and lights will be used to gather images that could confirm the presence of wreckage. Notably, these closer surveys are only done when something of interest is found, as sonar covers much more ground than imaging systems.
The New Era Of Seafloor Scanning
Ocean Infinity has made major advances in marine robotics since 2018. It now has the ability to deploy multiple AUVs at once. Each one scans its own section of the ocean floor, greatly expanding how much ground can be covered in a single mission.
Once the AUVs are recovered by the vessel, the data they’ve gathered is downloaded and merged to create detailed maps of the seafloor. These maps will help pinpoint any possible wreckage of MH370.
Rough Seas And A Race Against Time
The search zone presents serious challenges. The sea surface can be rough, making it difficult for the ship and crew. Below the surface, the terrain is steep and uneven, complicating the AUVs’ work on the seafloor.
Expectedly, the mission could last up to 18 months. The most favourable weather conditions are expected between January and April.
If Ocean Infinity succeeds in locating the wreckage, the Malaysian government will pay the company US$70 million. The next step would involve recovering the plane’s black boxes. These could offer critical information about what happened in the final moments before the crash.
The Armada 7806 is likely to carry remotely operated vehicles equipped with cameras and robotic arms for verifying the wreck and assisting in recovery efforts.
However, if the mission fails, Ocean Infinity will receive no payment. And the search for MH370 will once again return to square one.