THE government has approved a one-year extension of its search agreement with Ocean Infinity, reaffirming its commitment to locating the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 more than a decade after the aircraft disappeared.
Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook said the Cabinet approved the extension on June 26, with the renewed agreement taking effect from July 1, 2026 until June 30, 2027.
He said the extension demonstrates the government's continued determination to provide answers and closure for the families of the 239 passengers and crew who were on board the ill-fated flight.
“The extension retains all key terms and conditions of the existing agreement, including the ‘no find, no fee’ principle,” he said in a statement.
Under the agreement, Malaysia will not incur any payment if the aircraft is not located.
However, Ocean Infinity will receive a success fee of US$70 million (RM284 million) if it successfully discovers the wreckage of the aircraft.
The extension will enable the company to complete the search of the remaining 7,428.54 square kilometres within the designated search zone in the southern Indian Ocean.
Loke said the revised timeline also reflects Ocean Infinity's operational requirements, as the company's primary search assets have been temporarily committed to other commercial projects.
He added that search operations are now expected to resume between November 2026 and April 2027, a period chosen because calmer sea conditions are expected to improve both the safety and effectiveness of deep-sea search activities.
The continuation of the search under the unchanged contractual framework underscores Malaysia's long-standing commitment to resolving one of aviation's greatest mysteries while maintaining a risk-sharing arrangement that places no financial burden on the government unless the aircraft is found. - June 29, 2026
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