Malaysia extends MH370 search agreement with Ocean Infinity until 2027

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has extended the search arrangement for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 by another year, more than 10 years after the aircraft disappeared during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The Boeing 777, carrying 239 people, vanished from radar on March 8, 2014, in what remains one of aviation’s most enduring mysteries. Despite the biggest search effort in aviation history, the aircraft has still not been located.

Extension of search deal

Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Monday that the extension of the agreement with exploration company Ocean Infinity will remain in force until June 30, 2027, while all terms and conditions of the existing arrangement will stay unchanged.

Under the agreement, the search continues on a no find, no fee basis. That means Ocean Infinity will receive $70 million only if the wreckage is found.

In a statement, Loke said the government had approved the extension as part of its continued effort to help bring closure to the relatives of those on board. “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 a statement.

He added that the extension was intended to allow Ocean Infinity to complete the remaining search area measuring 7,428.54 square kilometres, or 2,868 square miles. “The approval of this extension aims to allow the remaining search area of 7,428.54 square kilometres (2,868 square miles), to be fully completed by the company,” he added.

Timing and latest search effort

Loke said the decision also reflected new commercial commitments received by Ocean Infinity, which required the company’s main search assets to be temporarily moved to another location.

According to the minister, those assets can only be redeployed and rescheduled between November 2026 and April 2027, during the calm sea season, in order to ensure the search is conducted safely and effectively.

The latest search operation was carried out in two phases beginning in March 2025, but it did not produce any results. Ocean Infinity had also undertaken an earlier unsuccessful search in 2018. Before that, Australia led a search effort for three years until January 2017, also without locating the aircraft.

Families seek more information

Relatives of Chinese passengers issued an open letter on March 8, marking the 12th anniversary of the disappearance, in which they criticised the lack of information shared with them during the most recent search.

About two-thirds of those aboard MH370 were Chinese. The remaining passengers included Malaysians, Indonesians and Australians, as well as nationals of India, the United States, the Netherlands and France.

In their letter to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the families thanked him for taking the initiative to continue efforts to find the aircraft, while also voicing concern about the absence of updates. “We understand the difficulties of the search,” the relatives said in their letter to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in which they thanked him for the initiative.

“However, since 15 January this year, families have received no further search briefings whatsoever,” they said.