Robotic ships to embark on search for MH370 in 2023

Eight years after MH370 disappeared with 238 people on board, there is new hope the aircraft may finally be found.

Robotic vessels that require no crew are being built in Vietnam for Ocean Infinity, which plans to use them in a new search of the Southern Indian Ocean next year. Picture: Ocean Infinity

On the eve of the eighth anniversary of flight MH370’s disappearance, marine search specialist Ocean Infinity has offered to mount a new hunt for the missing aircraft on a “no find, no fee” basis.

The US company announced its commitment to a further search of the southern Indian Ocean using a fleet of new robotic ships to scour more of the vast seabed, thought to be the Boeing 777’s final resting place.

Addressing friends and families of the 238 people on board the Malaysia Airlines’ flight, Ocean Infinity chief executive Oliver Plunkett said he hoped to go back in early 2023.

“There’s a lot of work for us to do to get the ships ready, to talk to the Malaysian government, to get ourselves organised,” Mr Plunkett said.

“Hopefully we’ll enjoy the same support from the Australian authorities as we did last time. The regulatory framework for a ship that can be driven without a person on board doesn’t exist so we’d need the support of the Australian government to operate those too.”

Ocean Infinity last searched for MH370 in 2018, after the suspension of the official Australian Transport Safety Bureau search on January 17, 2017, more than two-years after it began.

Altogether a total of 230,000 square kilometres of seabed was scoured, and former ATSB program director Peter Foley said less than 100,000 sqkm was left to be examined “where MH370 could possibly be”.

The now retired marine engineer told MH370 next of kin it could take as little as 100 days to cover that area with Ocean Infinity’s technology.

“I’ve said for quite some time that I believed the official search ended prematurely,” Mr Foley said.

“We were still very eager to continue. We knew there were some highly prospective areas that needed to be searched and there was some crucial analysis that was still being undertaken at the time the search was wound up.”

Mr Foley said until the aircraft was found, no-one could be certain of what happened on the flight that left Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014 and vanished from radar screens shortly afterwards.

“Everyone who boards an aircraft has an interest in this and everyone in commercial aviation has followed MH370 and the loss of the aircraft and the subsequent search very closely. It’s something that impinges on the conscience of everyone who boards an aircraft today and this is why we can’t leave the mystery unexplained,” he said.

“The only evidence we have of what occurred on that aircraft is somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean.”

The ATSB under new chief commissioner Angus Mitchell, recently embarked on a review of data collected in the sea search in partnership with Geoscience Australia. A report is expected to be finalised this week.

Mr Mitchell also welcomed Ocean Infinity’s commitment to renew its search next year.

“If there is movement from an external party that is very encouraging,” he said.

“We haven’t been asked to do more than what we’re doing at this stage.”

The Malaysian Government reiterated its position that it would not renew a search for MH370 unless there was specific evidence pinpointing the aircraft’s location.

Offering his condolences to next of kin, Minister for Transport Wee Ka Siong said his government’s “aspiration to locate MH370 had not been abandoned”.

“We just need credible and actionable new evidence to act on before we can mount an expedition which we are certain could yield results,” said Dr Wee.