KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has extended by one year its agreement with deep-sea exploration company Ocean Infinity to continue the search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines’ missing Flight MH370, as authorities renew efforts to solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.
The extension, announced by Transport Minister Anthony Loke on Monday, will keep the search operation in place from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
The decision allows Ocean Infinity additional time to complete its exploration of a remaining 7,428.54-square-kilometre search zone in the southern Indian Ocean.
Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, including 227 passengers and 12 crew members.
Despite years of multinational search operations, the aircraft has never been found, leaving families of those on board without definitive answers.
Ocean Infinity previously conducted a privately funded search that concluded in 2018 without locating the aircraft.
Last year, the Malaysian government entered into a fresh agreement with the company to resume the search across a 15,000-square-kilometre area under a “no find, no fee” arrangement. Under the deal, the company will receive US$70 million only if it successfully locates the wreckage.
In a statement, Loke said the extension reflected the government’s continued commitment to the families of those who were on board the aircraft.
“This decision is a manifestation of the government’s continuous and unwavering commitment to provide closure for the next of kin of the passengers aboard flight MH370,” he said.
The minister added that part of the extension was necessary because Ocean Infinity’s primary search vessels would be temporarily reassigned to other commercial commitments between November 2026 and April 2027 before returning to complete the remaining search area.
The disappearance of MH370 remains one of the most perplexing incidents in modern aviation, with only scattered debris believed to be from the aircraft having washed ashore on islands and coastlines in the western Indian Ocean over the years. Investigators have never determined the aircraft’s exact fate.
