[Peetwo]

Update: 31 October 2017.

Ocean Infinity gets KL green light -

From 'that man', via the Oz:

MH370 hunt on table for early 2018


Transport Minister Darren Chester.

Via the ABC News online:

MH370: Ocean Infinity to be paid millions if new search turns up any trace of missing flight

By South-East Asia correspondent Adam Harvey
Updated yesterday at 8:10pm Mon 30 Oct 2017, 8:10pm
Photo: Extensive searches have failed to locate missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. (Reuters: Andrew Winning, file)

A US company will be paid between US$20 million and US$70 million ($26 to $91 million) if it finds any trace of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 within 90 days of beginning a new search.

Key points:

• US company Ocean Infinity will search for MH370 on seafloor previously identified by experts as likely location
  
• Australia will provide technical assistance in new MH370 search
  
• Ocean Infinity could be paid up to US$70 million ($91 million) if it finds a trace of missing flight
  

Australia will provide technical assistance for the search by seabed exploration company Ocean Infinity but will not contribute to the reward fee if the plane is found.

Malaysia's deputy transport minister says the nation's cabinet has accepted "in principle" an offer from Ocean Infinity to search a 25,000 square kilometre area for the plane.

Ocean Infinity offered to search for the plane on a "no-find, no-fee" basis.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi said that cabinet ministers had agreed "to prepare a special allocation to the Ministry of Transport amounting to between US$20 million up to US$70 million if MH370 aircraft wreckage is successfully found within 90 days".

What we know about MH370


Mystery still surrounds the case of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 with investigators still to determine how the plane ended up in the Indian Ocean.

Australia's Transport Minister Darren Chester said Australia, at Malaysia's request, will provide technical assistance to the Malaysian Government and Ocean Infinity.

The ABC understands that Australia will not be contributing to any payment to Ocean Infinity.

Ocean Infinity will focus on searching the seafloor in an area that has previously been identified by experts as the next most likely location to find MH370, just to the north of the original search area.

MH370 vanished from radar screens on March 8, 2014, with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board.

Analysis of satellite data showed the plane had flown for six hours after contact was lost.
A sonar search of the seabed was suspended in January this year after failing to find any aircraft debris.

Video: The CSIRO narrowed down the potential search area for MH370 earlier this year (ABC News)

MTF...P2