Malaysia extends search for MH370 for another year, keeping families’ hopes alive

Malaysia has extended its contract with Ocean Infinity for another year to search for wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared 12 years ago.

The extension, approved by the Malaysian Cabinet, keeps in place a “no-find, no-fee” arrangement through June 30 next year, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said. Loke said the government’s decision reflects its continued commitment to provide closure for the passengers’ families.

The search extension allows Ocean Infinity to continue work in the remaining portion of the designated underwater search zone, totaling 7,428.54 square kilometers. The company’s main search assets had been temporarily redeployed to fulfill other commercial contracts, with Ocean Infinity expected to return to the MH370 mission when conditions improve.

The MH370 aircraft vanished from radar on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Malaysia says satellite data indicated the plane turned from its planned route and traveled south toward the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.

Earlier searches, including efforts by Ocean Infinity in subsequent years, did not locate definitive wreckage, though some debris washed ashore on the East African coast and in nearby Indian Ocean islands. Malaysia previously expanded the underwater search area when it renewed Ocean Infinity’s work in 2025, moving to a larger site in the southern Indian Ocean.

Loke said Ocean Infinity vessels are expected to be redeployed to the MH370 search between November and April next year, a window chosen because calmer sea conditions are viewed as safer and more effective for deep-sea operations.

Ocean Infinity is headquartered in both the United States and Britain and was contracted to be paid only if wreckage is found, with the agreement tied to the discovery of identifiable evidence.