Why Is The Search For Missing MH370 Resuming After 11 Years?

Last Updated:December 03, 2025, 23:43 IST

Ocean Infinity will deploy a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) capable of operating at depths greater than 6,000 metres and covering large areas quickly.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (March 8, 2014): The Boeing 777 was carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, China, before it disappeared without a trace. Despite the most expensive seacrh in aviation history, no conclusive evidence has been found to date. (File photo)

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370’s disappearance has been one of the most frustrating disasters in the aviation history. The search for the missing aircraft that disappeared on March 8, 2014 was suspended back in 2017 only to be reopened this year. The Boeing 777 plane was originally scheduled from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur Airport to Beijing Capital Airport in China before it vanished from radar shortly after taking off. There were 239 souls onboard.

Malaysia on Wednesday announced that the search for the missing plane would begin this month.

Associated Press quoted the transport ministry stating that US-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity will search intermittently from December 30 for a total of 55 days, in targeted areas believed to have the highest likelihood of finding the missing aircraft.

“The latest development underscores the government of Malaysia’s commitment in providing closure to the families affected by this tragedy," it said.

In March this year, the government had approved for a “no-find, no-fee" contract with Ocean Infinity to resume the seabed search operation at a new 15,000-sq-km site in the ocean. The search was halted in April due to bad weather.

Why Does Malaysia Want To Resume Search?

The government wants to bring closure to the families of the 239 people who were onboard the flight. From 2014-2017, Malaysia, Australia, and China jointly searched a 1,20,000-sq-km rectangle in the southern Indian Ocean but could not find anything.

In 2018, Ocean Infinity took over and scanned a smaller 25,000-sq-km area, which the experts believed probably had wreckage. However, this operation also failed.

The families of those missing have repeatedly urged Malaysia not to abandon the search.

This time the search will be focused on a more focused area. “The search will be carried out in a targeted area assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft," the ministry said.

According to India Today, Ocean Infinity will deploy a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) capable of operating at depths greater than 6,000 metres and covering large areas quickly.

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