Malaysia Revives MH370 Search in New 55-Day Ocean Mission

Malaysia will resume the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on Dec. 30, 2025, in a new 55-day operation led by US-based subsea exploration company Ocean Infinity. The effort marks the latest attempt to locate the Boeing 777 that vanished on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board. The Ministry of Transport confirmed the timeline and scope after suspending the previous phase earlier this year due to weather conditions.

The government is returning to a performance-based contractual model. Under the agreement, Ocean Infinity will receive US$70 million only if it locates the aircraft. Officials said the arrangement enables the search to continue while managing public spending. “The latest developments underline the Government of Malaysia’s commitment to providing closure to the families affected by this tragedy,” the Ministry said.

The new phase  targets a 15,000 km² area identified as having a “higher probability” of containing debris, based on refined drift analysis, satellite data and updated oceanographic modeling. Ocean Infinity previously scanned 112,000 km² in 2020 without findings and led the last full-scale search in 2018, also without results. The upcoming mission will be conducted intermittently to account for weather and technical limitations.

The disappearance of MH370 remains unresolved despite multinational investigations and one of the most extensive search efforts in aviation history. The aircraft departed Kuala Lumpur for Beijing and issued its final communication—“Good night, Malaysian 370”—as it approached Vietnamese airspace. Radar and satellite data later showed an unexpected turn toward the southern Indian Ocean. No verified explanation has been established. A 2018 report concluded that “the causes of the disappearance of MH370 cannot be determined with any certainty.”

Families of passengers and crew have continued to call for renewed efforts. In Beijing, relatives gathered during the tenth anniversary last year, with one attendee asking: “It has been 10 years. What is the truth? Is this a political conspiracy? We do not know anything.”

Malaysia had previously said it would reopen the search only if presented with new, credible information. In March, the government signed the current contract with Ocean Infinity, establishing the contingency-fee structure that ties payment to the successful identification of the aircraft. The company paused its early-2025 operations in April due to adverse conditions, leading to the new December schedule.

The search for MH370 has cost governments more than US$150 million to date. The initial multinational effort—led by Malaysia, Australia and China—covered 120,000 km² before ending in 2017. Subsequent phases have increasingly relied on private operators and risk-sharing models, a trend observers say reflects the challenge of balancing technical complexity with limited public resources.

Multiple theories have circulated over the years, including mechanical failure, deliberate route deviation, crew incapacitation and unsupported claims involving state actors. The 2018 investigation noted that certain control inputs suggested “the aircraft was diverted intentionally,” though it could not determine by whom, stressing that definitive conclusions require recovering the wreckage.