Malaysia Extends MH370 Search as Decade-Long Hunt Enters New Phase
Kuala Lumpur— Malaysia has extended by one year its agreement with deep-sea exploration company Ocean Infinity to continue the underwater search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the Transport Ministry said on Monday, reaffirming its commitment to resolving one of aviation’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
The extension will run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, allowing Ocean Infinity additional time to complete the search of a remaining 7,428.54-square-kilometre area in the southern Indian Ocean, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a statement.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, disappeared on March 8, 2014, while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Despite multiple international search operations, the aircraft has never been located.
Ocean Infinity previously conducted an unsuccessful search until 2018. Under a new agreement signed last year, the company resumed operations across a 15,000-square-kilometre search zone under a “no find, no fee” arrangement that provides for a payment of $70 million only if the wreckage is successfully located.
Loke said the extension reflected the government’s continued commitment to providing answers for the families of those aboard the flight.
“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.
According to the ministry, the additional time also accommodates Ocean Infinity’s commercial obligations, which will require its primary search vessels and equipment to be temporarily redeployed to another project between November 2026 and April 2027 before returning to complete the remaining search area.
The disappearance of MH370 remains one of the most enduring mysteries in modern aviation, with previous multinational search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean yielding only scattered debris confirmed to have originated from the aircraft.
