ARMADA 78 06

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Search for missing MH370 flight suspended

11 years after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the latest underwater search campaign, launched at the end of March 2025 by the American company Ocean Infinity, has been suspended. The 'Armada 7806', tasked with exploring the seabed in the southern Indian Ocean, is now heading to the port of Singapore with an ETA as of April 4. This suspension does not signal the end of operations: a new phase could begin in October, after the southern hemisphere winter, with increased resources. The final green light from the Malaysian government was given on March 20, 2025. The contract with Ocean Infinity, which was already involved in the 2018 search, provides for a payment of $70 million solely in the event of the discovery of the wreck of the Boeing 777. The exploration area covers 15,000 km², more than 2,000 km from the Australian coast, in a particularly hostile region marked by powerful currents and unpredictable weather. The choice of this area was based on new analyses, notably those of Captain Patrick Blelly and aeronautics expert Jean-Luc Marchand. Their study, presented in 2023, suggested that the plane may have intentionally flown south until its last satellite signal. These conclusions have allowed the search to be refocused on a previously unexplored area. Flight MH370, which departed from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, disappeared from civilian radar screens on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board—including 153 Chinese, 43 Malaysians, four French, as well as Australian, Indian, American, and Dutch passengers. Only a few pieces of debris, washed up on the shores of the Indian Ocean, have been formally identified as belonging to the aircraft. The main wreckage and the black boxes remain missing. For experts, recovering the flight recorders would provide access to the final moments in the cabin as decisive elements in finally shedding light on the circumstances of the disappearance. While the mission has been suspended, it has not been abandoned. Ocean Infinity has not yet released the results obtained, but a resumption of the search is planned for the fall of 2025. This time, a larger vessel and more favourable weather could allow the exploration to continue under better conditions.

New search for flight MH370 has commenced

Nearly 11 years after the unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a new search for the wreckage has begun in the Indian Ocean by the 'Armada 78-06' on Feb 25. Over the next few weeks, US- and UK-based technology firm Ocean Infinity will deploy the ship and AUVs to search the seabed for traces of the missing Boeing 777. The search will focus in an area of about 15,000 square kilometres, with special attention paid to four hotspots where researchers believe the wreck would most likely be, about 1,500k kilometres off the coast of Perth. The firm, which had already been involved in an earlier unsuccessful search in 2018, has signed a “no find, no fee” contract with the Malaysian government. The contract details between the government and the firm were still being finalised. The Malaysia Airlines flight went missing after leaving Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew members on board. It was headed for Beijing but deviated from the flight path, according to radar and satellite data. Investigators believe the aircraft came down somewhere in the remote southern Indian Ocean. So far, only a few dozen pieces of wreckage have washed up on various coasts. The aircraft’s main fuselage, the occupants and the flight data recorder are all still missing.

Offshore ship may be heading to crash site of MH 370 flight

The 'Armada 78 06' left Port Louis on Feb 8, 2025, headed towards the Southern Ocean MH370 search zone, with an estimated arrival of Feb 23. Having conducted operations near Mauritius, it was now on the move to the search area where the missing Boeing 777 is believed to have crashed. Late in 2024 the Malaysian government had reached an agreement in principle with the operator Ocean Infinity to conduct a new “no find, no fee” underwater survey. The final contract between Ocean Infinity and the Malaysian government is still being finalized. Details regarding the financial terms and operational specifics are expected to be released once the agreement is formally concluded. It is speculated that Ocean Infinity may possibly commence the search ahead of the contract finalization. An official confirmation from Ocean Infinity or the Malaysian government the search is underway has not yet been made. The proposed search area is approximately 15,000 square kilometers. This area is newly defined, based on refined analysis and expert opinions regarding the possible crash location of MH370. The new search area will take in locations proposed by three research groups, the MH370-Caption team, headed by Captain Patrick Blelley and Jean Luc Marchand; the Independent Group, and Richard Godfrey’s WSPR analysis team. Additionally, a number of research groups have contributed expertise and input to Ocean Infinity. The new search broadens the region under investigation beyond the ‘seventh arc’ where previous searches were focused. The search is anticipated to take place between Jan and April 2025 to take advantage of favourable weather conditions in the Southern Hemisphere. Flight MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. Extensive international search efforts covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometres have been conducted, but the main wreckage of the Boeing 777 has never been found. However, advancements in technology and oceanographic analysis have led to the identification of this new search area. The advancements, coupled with data from recovered debris, offers a renewed opportunity to find the wreckage.