Malaysia has given deep-sea exploration company Ocean Infinity one additional year to continue its underwater search for the long-missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, according to the country’s transport ministry.
The Boeing 777 jet disappeared in 2014 while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members when it vanished, leaving behind one of aviation history’s most baffling unsolved mysteries. Despite multiple search efforts focused on the southern Indian Ocean, the plane has never been found.
Ocean Infinity had previously conducted search operations for the aircraft through 2018. Last year, the company entered into a renewed agreement with Malaysia to resume the search across a zone covering 15,000 square kilometers — roughly 5,792 square miles. Under the terms of that deal, Ocean Infinity would only receive payment of $70 million if it actually locates the wreckage.
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that the contract extension covers the period from July 1 of this year through June 30, 2027.
“This decision is a manifestation of the government’s continuous and unwavering commitment to provide a closure for the next of kin of the passengers aboard flight MH370,” Loke said in an official statement.
The additional time is intended to allow Ocean Infinity to finish searching a remaining area of approximately 7,428.54 square kilometers that has yet to be fully covered, Loke explained.
The minister also noted that the extended timeline accounts for Ocean Infinity’s other business obligations, which will require the search team’s main equipment to be temporarily shifted to a different location between November 2026 and April 2027.
