MH370 and Other Investigations

Content researched and created by Don Thompson

Ocean Infinity previously conducted a search for MH370 in 2018 using a fleet of Kongsberg Hugin 6000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (Hugin AUVs). The AUVs were operated from Seabed Constructor, a vessel designed to support subsea construction activity. Seabed Constructor’s roster of equipment was impressive, a truly multi-purpose subsea vessel: eight Hugin AUVs, acoustic comms and positioning system, two 5000-6000m depth rated (tethered) ROVs, autonomous surface vessels, and a crane able to lift from 3000m deep.

In early 2021 Seabed Constructor’s lease was terminated, along with Normand Frontier, as Ocean Infinity prepared to introduce its fleet of Armada 78 vessels.

The Armada 78 vessels, at 78m length, are smaller than Seabed Constructor. The fleet comprises four distinct operating configurations, none of which involve permanent AUV mobilisation.  However, in the context of an MH370 search mission, an Armada 78 can operate Hugin AUVs deployed in a self-contained ISO 668 form factor hangar/garage.

As of mid-January 2025, four Armada 78 vessels are operating in European waters, one has been operating out of San Diego, California, while three underwent further completions work in Singapore following the experience of those vessels operated in Europe.

While not permanently mobilised to operate AUVs, some Armada 78 vessels have been configured to deploy AUVs: Armada 78-07, from San Diego, to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean; Armada 78-05, surveying pipeline/connector routes in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea; and, Armada 78-06, to the Ryukyu Trench, east of Taiwan, operating out of Kaohsiung port.

Recently, through December 2024-January 2025, much discussion has ensued, speculating on which of the three vessels based in Singapore may be a candidate to conduct a renewed search for MH370 in 2025. One commentator even asserted that Armada 78-08 had been designated as the vessel to conduct the search. Through December 2024 and January 2025 Armada 78-04, 78-06, and 78-08 separately departed Singapore.

Armada 78-04 departed 14th December 2024 fully configured for geotechnical operations with its CPT and vibrocore machines in place and without AUVs. In this configuration, it was not a candidate to conduct the search. After departure from Singapore, Armada 78-04 passed through the Sunda Straits, crossed the Indian Ocean and proceeded to the Atlantic with enroute replenishment and bunkering stops at Port Louis, Mauritius, and Cape Town, South Africa.

Armada 78-06 departed for a task in deep waters east of Taiwan. At departure, it was mobilised with two containerised AUV garages on the aft deck. Upon its return to Singapore, the vessel moored at the ST Engineering facility before departing again on January 19, 2025, and broadcasting Mauritius as its destination. Armada 78-06 passed through the Sunda Straits before establishing a course across the Indian Ocean for Mauritius.

Armada 78-08 had departed for Cape Town with a replenishment and bunkering stop at Port Louis, Mauritius. The vessel is mobilised to operate two Saab Seaeye Leopard ROVs using a LARS over the forward moonpool. These ROVs do not have the ability to operate at the depths found in the MH370 search area. No containerised AUV garages were deployed on the vessel at departure from Singapore.

Following a brief stop in Cape Town, Armada 78-08 departed, this time eastbound to the small port of Mossel Bay where a containerised AUV garage was waiting on the quayside to be loaded onto the vessel. The curious folk of Mossel Bay recorded, on social media, the missing piece of the puzzle to complete the picture of vessel preparation for the MH370 search: Armada 78-08 is ferrying a third AUV to Port Louis where it will be transferred to Armada 78-06 and transit will begin to the search area.

We suspect that delivery of the third container AUV garage was delayed in transshipment to A78-08 at Cape Town. By repositioning Armada 78-08 to Mossel Bay while the intermodal container was delivered by road to the port, any overall delay to the schedule was minimised. Armada 78-08 and 78-06 should arrive at Port Louis within a short time of each other.

While the period required to fully mobilise the additional, third, containerised AUV garage on Armada 78-06 is unknown to us, an estimation of sailing time Mauritius to 7th arc search area is approximately 10 days. Assuming a rendezvous of Armada 78-06 and Armada 78-08 around February 5, and assuming a week to outfit and resupply Armada 78-06, the search might begin around February 22, and perhaps sooner if the time to outfit and re-supply Armada 78-06 occurs faster than one week.

[VI comment: Here are some additional remarks to refute claims that are circulating.]

First, there is no evidence that Malaysia will not sign a contract with OI to search again. Yes, the negotiations seem to be taking longer than any of us would like, and yes, this might reduce the duration of the search compared to the last search, but considering only 15,000 km² of area is proposed, the shorter duration of the search might not matter. The claim that Malaysia is not interested in searching again is at best premature, and most likely it is false.

Second, there is much speculation about the trajectory of Armada 78-08, which some believe is the vessel designated for the search. More likely, that is not the selected vessel for the search. As Don deduces in the article above, Armada 78-06 is more suitably designed and outfitted for the search.

Thirdly, there is no reason to believe that the search area will be very much different than what OI proposed in March of last year (2024), as shown at the top of the prior post. That area is largely consistent with the Zone 2 search recommendation proposed in Ulich and Iannello (2023). We also hope that OI will have the willingness and capability to search the steep slope at around 33 km (18 NM) due south of our best estimate of where MH370 crossed the 7th arc. This area, centered around S34.53° E93.84°, was not previously searched by either the ATSB or OI, and remains a high priority despite the challenging terrain, as discussed in this previous post.

So, although there are still many unknowns regarding the search, including the precise start date, I still believe it is likely that a search contract will be signed and the search will proceed without many surprises.

Tags: AUV, debris field, MH370, Ocean Infinity, subsea

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 28th, 2025 at 11:11 am and is filed under Aviation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.