KUALA LUMPUR: The Transport Ministry is considering an offer from Ocean Infinity of the United Kingdom to resume the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the Indian Ocean.
Its minister, Anthony Loke, said the offer was submitted in June and covered a new area of about 15,000 sq km in the southern Indian Ocean.
He said the offer was based on the "no find, no fee" principle, which means the government would not have to make any payment if the Boeing 777-200ER is not found.
"The location of the new search area was proposed by Ocean Infinity based on the latest information and data analysis conducted by experts and researchers consulted by the company.
"The search operation proposal by Ocean Infinity is a credible suggestion and can be considered by the government as the registering country of flight MH370," he said in reply to Chong Zhemin (PH-Kampar), who inquired whether the government still has the intention to continue the search for MH370.
Loke said the government's commitment to locating the wreckage of flight MH370 remains unwavering.
"If credible and reliable new information or leads are discovered, the government will consider continuing the search operations. This position reflects the consistent approach of the Malaysian government."
On March 8, 2014, flight MH370 en route to Beijing vanished from commercial radar screens less than an hour after taking off from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
It was later revealed that the aircraft, which was tracked by military radar, had made a 180-degreee turn, crossed the peninsula to the Straits of Malacca, turned north before being lost somewhere north of Sumatera.
The use of satellite technology later surmised that the aircraft, which had 227 passengers and 12 crew on board, ended up in the southern Indian Ocean.
An extensive search and subsequent ones turned up nothing, though several pieces of debris, some of which have been confirmed as having come from MH370, turned up on beaches on the east coast of Africa and islands there.