‪‪Malaysia Airlines Flight 370‬‬

Malaysia signed a deal on Wednesday to pay a US seabed exploration firm up to $ 70 million if it finds the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370 within 90 days of embarking on a new search in the Southern Indian Ocean.

The disappearance of the aircraft en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 with 239 people aboard ranks among the world's greatest aviation mysteries.

Australia, China and Malaysia end a fruitless A $ 200-million ($ 157 million) search of a 120,000 sq. km area in January last year, despite investigators urging the search be expanded to a 25,000-square-km area further to the north.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said a Houston-based private firm, Ocean Infinity, would search for MH370 in that 25,000-sq-km priority area on a "no-cure, no-fee" basis, meaning it will only get paid if it finds the plane

"As we speak, the vessel, Seabed Constructor, is on his way to the search area, taking advantage of favorable weather conditions in the South Indian Ocean," Liow told a news conference.

The search will begin on Jan. 17, said Ocean Infinity Chief Executive Oliver Plunkett, who attended the signing event.

Ocean Infinity will be paid $ 20 million if the plane found within 5,000 sq km, $ 30 million if it is found within 10,000 square km and $ 50 million if it is 25,000 square km area. Beyond that area, Ocean Infinity will receive $ 70 million, Liow said.

Its priority is to locate the wreckage or the flight and cockpit recorders, and present credible evidence to confirm their location within 90 days, Liow added.
"They can not take forever or drag it on for another six months or a year."

`UNIQUE SOLUTION`

Ocean Infinity's vessel carries eight autonomous underwater vehicles that will scour the seabed with scanning equipment.

It has 65 crew, including two government representatives drawn from the Malaysian navy.

The ship could complete the search within three or four weeks, and cover up to 60,000 square km in 90 days, or earlier efforts than the four times faster, Plunkett said Reuters.

"It was a unique problem that needed a unique solution ... We looked at it and said,` Let's do something different than what other people do, `and that`s the essence of our business."

Ocean Infinity's core business is in the oil and gas industry, as well as subsea exploration services for tasks such as underwater cabling and seabed mapping, he said.

The company's shareholders will bear the upfront cost of the search, Plunkett added.

Debris from MH370 could provide events on board before the crash. There have been competing theories that the aircraft suffered mechanical failure

Investigators believe someone has deliberately switched off the plane's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles out over the Indian Ocean.

At least three pieces of debris collected from sites on Indian Ocean islands and along with Africa's east coast have been confirmed as being missing plane.