THE latest hunt for the missing plane MH370 could begin in days as robotic vessels have reportedly begun making their way to the new search area.
Ships from Ocean Infinity, a company specializing in underwater robotics, have been sent to a location in the Southern Indian Ocean, as indicated by marine tracking data. This area is thought to be where the jet was last located.
Last December, the Malaysian Government surprised many by declaring that a new search effort would be initiated for the plane that disappeared over ten years ago with 239 people on board.
The biggest search in aviation history was launched after its disappearance as well as other smaller sweeps but all were unsuccessful.
Families and loved ones were beginning to lose hope that they might one day finally know what happened to those onboard.
Malaysian authorities disclosed that a fresh search amounting to £55 million, utilizing underwater exploration teams from Ocean Infinity, had been approved for this year.
The proposal is said to be based on new “credible” evidence but was agreed with the marine company on a no-find no-fee basis.
The search is expected to resume in a 15,000sqkm area off the coast of Western Australia, near the last known location of the aircraft.
While no official confirmation has been given for the latest MH370 search spot it’s thought that boats will sweep an area mostly covered in a previous Ocean Infinity hunt in 2018.
It will also cover crash sites proposed by three separate expert groups – The Independent Group, MH370 Caption Group and Richard Godfrey’s WSPR analysis team.
The Sun also previously explored three possible areas that could be covered by Ocean Infinity as part of the search.
Months have passed since the announcement from Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke, but marine tracking data suggests the hugely-anticipated hunt could be just days away.
It shows that Ocean Infinity’s Armada ship 78 06 has been dispatched to the Southern Indian Ocean meaning the search may be imminent.
Images shared online showed the vessel being tracked over the last few days.
The vessel was recently stationed in Mauritius, where experts and MH370 sleuths believed it was testing its search equipment.
If the Armada continues on its proposed route it will be heading straight towards the MH370 crash zone arriving on February 23.
The search was expected to take place between January and April 2025 when weather conditions are more favourable but the expedition appears to have suffered delays.
The area of the ocean being covered by search teams has previously been described as some of the most difficult terrain on Earth.
Former Naval officer Peter Waring, who was involved in the search for MH370 in 2014, told The Sun: “This is arguably the most rough area of ocean in terms of sea state in the world, ships are moving so slowly you could walk faster.
“…It’s really dangerous, we were very lucky no one got hurt and or killed and it annoyed me that we were so flippant with their [crew’s] safety.”
PLANE RIDDLE
The Malaysian Airlines flight disappeared from flight radar screens on March 8 2014 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people onboard.
The official MH370 narrative suggests the plane made a bizarre U-turn, flying across Malaysia, turning northwest at Penang Island and across the Andaman Sea.
Data from military radar and satellite data revealed that the plane flew on for hours towards the Southern Indian Ocean where it crashed in an unknown location.
It sparked the biggest search in aviation history and still the fate of the jet remains a mystery.
Countless theories have been touted in the years since it vanished, including a depressurised cabin sparking a ghost flight into oblivion and a suicidal pilot deliberately ditching the plane.
Now Ocean Infinity is set to reignite hope in the hunt for the doomed jet.
The company previously revealed to The Sun that it had submitted the new search proposal in June last year.
It told how three of its robot submarine vessels were on standby waiting for the green light from officials.
WSPR technology looks set to play a big part, with Professor Simon Maskell acting as an adviser to the Ocean Infinity team.
Professor Maskell’s team at Liverpool University are researching the use of WSPR tech to detect and track aircraft.
Some experts in the MH370 community however have cast doubt on the reliability of the technology.
Searchers could even use hydrophone data – sound picked up by underwater microphones to trace the plane’s final resting place.
Ocean Infinity will receive a whopping £55million from the Malaysian government – if it finds new wreckage of the jet.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a previous statement that the government has a “responsibility and obligation” to those who lost loved ones when the plane vanished in March 2014.
“Our responsibility and obligation and commitment is to the next of kin. We hope this time will be positive, that the wreckage will be found and give closure to the families,” he said.
Loke added: “The Cabinet has agreed in principle to accept Ocean Infinity’s proposal to resume the search for MH370’s wreckage in a new search area estimated at 15,000km (9,320 miles) per square based on the no-find-no-fee principle.
“This means the government will not have to pay unless the wreckage is found.”
Ocean Infinity first searched for the doomed jet in January 2018 with its Seabed Constructor robot but was unsuccessful.
The underwater machine instead discovered the wreck of the Argentine San Juan submarine after it vanished in 2017 killing all onboard.
Ocean Infinity has been involved in several high-profile projects such as the search for Ernest Shackleton’s ship and the hunt for the Stellar Daisy the largest ship ever to be lost at sea.
The Sun has reached out to Ocean Infinity for comment.
