MH370 search contract awarded to Australian company
Putrajaya today announced that the contract to search the ocean floor of the southern Indian Ocean for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been awarded to Australian company Fugro Survey Pty Ltd.
In a
statement, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said Malaysia was still committed to locating MH370, which disappeared on March 8.
"Fugro Survey will utilise two vessels equipped with towed deep-water vehicles operated by experts tasked with the responsibility for the search operations."
"The vessels will scan the ocean floor utilising sophisticated equipment including multibeam echo sounders and side scan sonar," Liow explained.
He revealed that the underwater search of the 60,000 square kilometre area would take a significant amount of time.
The vessel Fugro Discovery is already enroute to Perth from the United Kingdom while Fugro Equator is currently compiling ocean floor data in the southern Indian Ocean.
Fugro Survey is a company registered in Australia, and comes under the parent company Fugro, based in the Netherlands, with offices in more than 100 countries.
"Malaysia would like to assure all the next-of-kin of flight MH370 that it remains committed to the search for MH370," Liow said.
"Putrajaya has also deployed KD Mutiara, a naval survey vessel, to join in the bathymetric survey operations," he said.
A Royal Malaysian Navy vessel, Bunga Mas, has been in the southern Indian Ocean since April 2014, supporting search efforts.
Oil giant Petronas is also providing assistance for the search and rescue operations by deploying underwater search equipment and a support vessel for deep-water operations.
Liow revealed that he would be in Australia until August 19 for a meeting with Australia's deputy premier and the relevant agencies participating in the MH370 operation.
Another tripartite meeting involving China, Australia and Malaysia is also scheduled to be held this month.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 had departed from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing on March 8 with 12 crew member and 227 passengers.
The aircraft's disappearance has sparked the biggest and costliest search and rescue operation in aviation history. The search is also the longest in modern passenger-airline history.
However, searches of the South China Sea, Straits of Malacca and part of the Indian Ocean have failed to reveal any clues to the aircraft's whereabouts. – August 9, 2014.
