A renewed effort to locate Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is underway, more than ten years after the aircraft vanished in one of aviation’s most baffling mysteries, AFP reported.

Maritime exploration company Ocean Infinity has resumed its search for the missing jet, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke confirmed on February 25. While the contract terms between the Malaysian government and the firm are still being finalised, Loke welcomed Ocean Infinity’s proactive approach in deploying its vessels. However, he did not specify when the search officially restarted or how long it was expected to last.

Flight MH370 disappeared from radar shortly after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing in March 2014 with 239 people on board. The plane was never found, and its fate remains unknown although there have long been rumours that it was sighted on that night by individuals around Southeast Asia or even that it had crash-landed in multiple places across the region.

Families of those lost have long sought answers, with some expressing hope that the renewed search will finally provide closure. Grace Nathan, whose mother was aboard the flight, described the development as a relief, while Jaquita Gonzales, whose husband was part of the flight crew, said the pain of uncertainty remains fresh even after a decade.

Ocean Infinity’s ship was tracked in the southern Indian Ocean as of February 23, according to marine traffic data. The search, approved in December 2024, is being conducted on a “no-find-no-fee” basis. If the wreckage is discovered and verified, the company will receive $70mn under an 18-month contract. The operation aims to cover 15,000 square kilometres of ocean.

Australia, which previously played a key role in search efforts, offered Malaysia its support on the 10th anniversary of the disappearance. However, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau clarified that the country is not directly involved in this latest operation.

Theories about the aircraft’s fate range from pilot sabotage to mechanical failure, with speculation fueled by the discovery of debris along the coasts of Tanzania and Mozambique. A 2017 report by Australian investigators concluded that the failure to locate the plane was a “great tragedy” and “almost inconceivable” in the modern era.

Ocean Infinity previously conducted a fruitless search in 2018, but with new technology and refined data, hopes are pinned on a breakthrough in solving one of the aviation industry’s greatest enigmas.

Back in March 2024 during at the 10th anniversary of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370's disappearance, bno first reported that Malaysia was contemplating a fresh search effort, according to the transport minister at the time.