A renewed deep-sea search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 began Wednesday in the southern Indian Ocean, more than a decade after the jet vanished with 239 people on board.
Malaysia’s Transport Ministry said the search vessel Armada 86 05, equipped with two autonomous underwater vehicles, arrived at a designated search area after preparing in Fremantle Port, Western Australia. The location of the operation was not disclosed.
While the statement did not explicitly name Ocean Infinity, the Texas-based marine robotics firm previously involved in the search, the vessel specified is widely identified as belonging to the company.
Ocean Infinity confirmed it is resuming the search under a “no-find, no-fee” agreement, citing the sensitive nature of the operation. The company has upgraded its technology and narrowed the search zone to the most probable crash site.
MH370 disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014, shortly after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane diverted south toward the remote Indian Ocean, where investigators believe it crashed.
Previous multinational searches failed to locate the main wreckage, though debris later washed ashore along the East African coast and Indian Ocean islands.