Search for MH370 postponed to next Southern Hemisphere summer
PETALING JAYA: The search for the missing ÿմ Airlines flight MH370 has been postponed to next summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
In a post on its official Facebook page on Thursday (April 3), the Association for Families of the Passengers and Crew on board MH370 said that this is due to seasonal weather changes and prior commercial commitments on the part of Ocean Infinity.
“Whilst Ocean Infinity arrived at the proposed search zone earlier, they were only able to officially commence their search on March 25 after the contract was signed,” said the Association.
“Ocean Infinity suspended their search on March 28 and shall resume the search during the next summer in the Southern Hemisphere,” it added.
The marine robotics company was previously involved in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the aircraft, deploying the Seabed Constructor from January to May 2018.
At that time, the search was conducted under a "no cure, no fee" contract with the government.
Founded in 2017 and based in Austin in the United States, and Southampton in the United Kingdom, the company uses robots to gather information from the ocean and seabed.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Transport Minister Anthony Loke has said that the government has signed the agreement with Ocean Infinity to resume the search for MH370.
He however added on Wednesday (April 2) that while the agreement has been signed, the search has been paused due to weather conditions at the site.
Loke then said that the search would resume at the end of the year.