KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 — Flight MH370 "disappeared” on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Despite past searches covering over four million square kilometres above the water and more than 230,000 square kilometres under the water, it remains missing.

Here is a quick, simple recap of all that we know so far:

1. What is Ocean Infinity?

On its website, the company says it operates globally with a team of over 500 technology and data specialists including robotics engineers, surveyors, oceanographers, hydrographers, as well as operators of uncrewed vessels and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).

2. What has Ocean Infinity done in the past?

The company has been involved in search and salvage projects of shipwrecks and other sea vessels, including a successful mission in 2022 to find Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton’s long-lost ship Endurance which sank over 100 years ago.

3. Ocean Infinity’s first MH370 search attempt in 2018

Almost four years after MH370 went missing, Malaysia on January 10, 2018 announced a deal with Ocean Infinity to find either the aircraft’s wreckage or its flight recorders within 90 days of the search.

Under the deal, the Malaysian government would pay up to a US$70 million reward (the equivalent of RM285 million at that time), but only if the company manages to find the wreckage or black box based on the conditions of the deal.

Ocean Infinity took on the economic risk and expenses of the search, as it would only receive payment from Malaysia if it succeeded.

4. How much did Ocean Infinity cover in its first MH370 search?

On May 29, 2018, Ocean Infinity concluded its unsuccessful search for MH370, after having searched 112,000 square kilometres of the ocean floor in more than three months or 90 operational days.

The company exceeded its original target of searching 25,000 square kilometres within the same three-month period, and had actually covered almost the same size in another area searched previously within a longer period of two and a half years.

5. Ocean Infinity’s second MH370 search attempt

At the end of its 2018 search, Ocean Infinity had said it hoped to offer its services again to search for MH370 in the future.

In March, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said his ministry has instructed Ocean Infinity to provide a briefing on its latest "no find, no fee” proposal before it is brought to Cabinet to be approved, since the government would need to commit to the financial cost.

Ocean Infinity was in May reported to have made the presentation on its new search proposal to the Transport Ministry and Malaysian government.

On December 20, Loke said the Cabinet had on December 13 agreed in principle to accept Ocean Infinity’s proposal to continue the MH370 search in a new area estimated at 15,000 square kilometres in the southern Indian Ocean under a "no find, no fee” deal.

Loke said the Transport Ministry is negotiating the terms of the agreement with Ocean Infinity and that it is expected to be finalised in early 2025.

6. What do we know so far about Ocean Infinity’s second search?

While Malaysia has yet to finalise its new contract with Ocean Infinity, Loke had on November 5, 2024 also told the Dewan Rakyat that Ocean Infinity is still seeking the same payment of US$70 million if the company succeeds this time in finding MH370.

At that time, Loke said the US$70 million reward is part of the draft joint agreement that is still being negotiated, and that he would make an announcement once it is finalised and approved by the Cabinet.

At the time of writing, a check of Ocean Infinity’s website shows that the company has not released any press statements on the new MH370 search, including details such as what equipment it plans to use.