Malaysia will resume the underwater search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on 30 December 2025, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced Wednesday, more than 11 years after the Boeing 777 vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard.
New contract details
The “no find, no fee” deal with US robotics firm Ocean Infinity covers 55 intermittent days of seabed scanning over a 15,000 sq km priority area in the southern Indian Ocean. Ocean Infinity receives $70 million only if wreckage is found.
The search paused in April 2025 due to poor weather.
11 years of mystery
The last routine transmission from MH370 came automatically via ACARS at 01:06 MYT on 8 March 2014, reporting 43,800 kg of fuel remaining – enough for the full flight to Beijing plus reserves.
At 01:19:30, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah calmly signed off with Kuala Lumpur Radar:
Lumpur Radar: “Malaysian three seven zero, contact Ho Chi Minh one two zero decimal nine. Good night.” MH370: “Good night. Malaysian three seven zero.”
That was the final voice contact.
The crew never checked in with Ho Chi Minh City ATC as the plane crossed into Vietnamese airspace.
Shortly after 01:30, another aircraft tried to relay a message from Vietnamese controllers on the emergency frequency. The captain managed brief contact but heard only mumbling and heavy static.
Two later satellite phone calls to the cockpit – at 02:39 and 07:13 – rang unanswered, yet the aircraft’s satellite data unit automatically acknowledged both.
Then – silence.
The sightings that sparked hope
In the frantic weeks after MH370 vanished, dozens of reported sightings flooded newsrooms worldwide.
- 19 March 2014 – Fishermen off Kota Bharu spotted a huge, low-flying jet with red-and-blue stripes.
- An oil-rig worker 186 miles southeast of Vung Tau saw a “burning object” plummet from the sky – credible enough for Vietnam to launch a search mission.
- Residents on Kudahuvadhoo in the Maldives reported a massive aircraft roaring low overhead, engines screaming.
- Indonesian fishermen claimed they witnessed a plane crash into the Malacca Strait.
- A Malaysian woman told The Star she saw the jet “partly submerged” off the Andaman Islands on 8 March itself.
Three months later, a British woman sailing in the Indian Ocean told the Phuket Gazette she saw an aircraft on fire trailing black smoke.
Every lead triggered searches. Every search ended empty-handed.
Previous efforts failed
Multinational searches scoured vast swathes of the Indian Ocean without success. In 2017, Australian investigators ended a 120,000 sq km hunt, calling the lack of closure a “great tragedy” and “inconceivable” in modern aviation.
Malaysia’s 2018 report ruled out mechanical failure but suggested “unlawful interference by a third party” and manual mid-air turn. It dismissed pilot suicide theories.
Families campaigned relentlessly, with some searching Madagascar beaches in 2016 after debris washed up on Tanzanian and Mozambican shores.
Family relief
Danica Weeks, whose Australian husband Paul was aboard, welcomed the news: “I’m incredibly grateful and relieved. We’ve never stopped wishing for answers. This brings comfort, and I hope it gives us the clarity and peace we’ve longed for since 8 March 2014.”
The ministry stated: “This underscores Malaysia’s commitment to providing closure for the families affected by this tragedy.”
Source: The Guardian
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