The search for the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, that went missing over a decade ago over Indian Ocean, will resume this month. Malaysia’s Transport Ministry announced today that the search for the wreckage of the Boeing 777 plane will resume on December 30, 2025. The effort to be led by U.S.-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity marks the latest chapter in the decade-plus quest to locate the aeroplane that vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members.
The ministry confirmed in a statement that Ocean Infinity will conduct intermittent seabed operations over a total of 55 days, targeting a 15,000-square-kilometer (5,800-square-mile) area in the southern Indian Ocean assessed as having the “highest probability” of finding the aircraft. This zone, near the Broken Ridge fault, was identified through recent analyses incorporating advanced data like WSPR radio signal tracking to refine the plane’s suspected final trajectory along the “7th arc”, the last known satellite handshake point.
Under a “no find, no fee” agreement signed on March 25, 2025, Ocean Infinity will bear the operational costs and receive a $70 million reward only if substantive wreckage is discovered. If they can’t find the plane, Malaysia government will not pay anything to the American company.
The announcement comes after a brief, weather-disrupted search operation earlier this year. Ocean Infinity initiated operations in February 2025 but suspended them in April due to extreme conditions, including winds and waves over 10 meters that forced their vessels back to Perth, Australia. The firm, known for its autonomous underwater vehicles equipped with cutting-edge sonar and AI-driven anomaly detection, previously led an unsuccessful search covering 112,000 square kilometers in 2018.
Flight MH370’s disappearance remains shrouded in speculation, from deliberate deviation by the pilot to mechanical failure or hijacking. Radar data showed the plane turning west over the Malay Peninsula before heading south into the remote Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed after running out of fuel. Debris fragments confirmed as belonging to the Boeing 777 aircraft have washed up on African and Indian Ocean shores since 2015, confirming that that plane crashed into the ocean and it broke up on impact.
But the main fuselage including the black boxes have not been found despite massive multinational efforts, including a three-year Australian-led operation that scanned 120,000 square kilometers. Several countries including India had joined the search operations after the flight went missing.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke, who has vowed not to “close the book” on MH370, emphasized the government’s resolve last year, stating it would pursue future searches based on “new and credible information.” In its statement, the Malaysian transport ministry said, “The latest development underscores the government of Malaysia’s commitment in providing closure to the families affected by this tragedy.”
Ocean Infinity’s CEO Oliver said that the company has now improved and upgraded its technology, including machine learning algorithms that analyse sonar data in under 20 minutes to prioritise promising targets.
