Private firms to take over search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane
Documents released show the private sector has effectively been handed control of search operations in an effort to speed up the hunt for flight MH370.
The Australian government is inviting search and salvage specialists to take on the task of finding the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
Documents released yesterday show the private sector has effectively been handed control of search operations in an effort to speed up the hunt for flight MH370.
Starting in August, successful bidders will have 300 days to explore 60,000 square kilometres of seabed in the southern Indian Ocean. It's a vast expanse, the size of Sri Lanka, with depths of up to 6,000 metres.
Joining the winning bid will be a consortium of companies including Malaysian oil giant Petronas, which said last night it would fund a deep towed side-scan sonar for the operation. Malaysia last week asked the US to renew a lease on a number of remotely operated underwater vehicles.
Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The aircraft, a Boeing 777, carried 239 people, including 154 Chinese nationals.
The challenging conditions and depths in the Indian Ocean have proved tricky for the Australia-led search mission in the area to date.
