Last week the Malaysia Ministry of Transport (MOT) and its Department
of Civil Aviation (DCA) signed a deal to pay a Houston-based seabed exploration
company, Ocean Infinity, up to $70 million (USD) if it is successful and finds convincing
and credible proof of where the seabed wreckage of missing Malaysia Airlines flight
MH370 lies. And the contractual caveats? Ocean Infinity, and the 65-strong crew
of its leased vessel, Seabed Constructor, must do it within 90 days of reaching
the newly designated search area, identified by the ATSB and its partners when
it published its Final Search report at the end of 2017. This area includes a 25,000-sq-km
priority area and potentially beyond (separated into four divisions: primary,
subsequent, tertiary and supplementary).
The public may not be aware that slides were presented at the contract announcement and media event.
The public may not be aware that slides were presented at the contract announcement and media event.
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THE REAL DEAL?
But there are a few more catches to this deal. It is based
on what is known in the marine industry as ‘no cure-no fee’ – if you turn up
nothing, you get nothing, and Ocean Infinity and its financers and shareholders
will have to bear the brunt of all the operational costs, upfront. Oh, and
Malaysia Transport Minister, Liow Tiong Lai, insists that this will also mean
that Ocean Infinity must provide proof of aircraft seabed wreckage – without removing
it from the seabed, unless Malaysia gives the okay – and convince Boeing, the manufacturer
in Seattle, that it is from the ill-fated aircraft, registered 9M-MRO, the very
Boeing 777-200ER which operated flight MH370 on the morning of March 8th,
2014 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. So, no indistinct blurry images or ‘yep, it’s
definitely down there – we saw it’ will see a single cent exchanging accounts
with a spit and a handshake.
It’s not a position Fugro Worldwide found itself in when in
2014 it was awarded the tender by the three primary nation partners involved
(Malaysia, Australia, China), and Australia’s ATSB was tasked with overseeing
the operational activities and search that covered initially 60,000-sq-km,
later expanded in 2015/16 to 120,000-sq-km. Indeed, though constantly dealing
with seasonal weather, a search that once began with four vessels – then there
was one – and an extensive bathymetric seabed scan before towfish sonar could
be deployed, Fugro never had a time constrain beyond getting the job done and
finding the aircraft resting place.
Undeterred, and much to the credit of the Dutch-based
company, Fugro, it did offer to search again, considering it had the experience
and at least one vessel in place. The initial seabed search came to its
conclusion in January 2017. Malaysia mulled and became silent but for another
interim report on the third anniversary, which told the world little or nothing
more, and then it fell silent for months.
VOICE370
Voice370, the official family support group for relatives of
those on board MH370, began to sense an impending and permanent limbo, despite that
the previous 12 months had seen the discovery of multiple pieces of debris on
the east coast of Africa – some proven to be from 9M-MRO, some ‘almost
certainly’, a few very likely to be aircraft composite pieces, still many pieces
unknown and likely always to remain that way. The most significant pieces discovered
were a flaperon, an outboard wing flap, and the now almost infamous ‘NO STEP’
and the painfully but humbly-referred-to piece of debris called ‘ROY’ (part of
the engine cowling casing from one of Rolls Royce’s Trent 800s sporting its
emblem manufacturer RR badge).
In a world where there has been so little information, so
little data, so many unanswered questions, some of the relatives of MH370 took
solace in being able to meet the crew of Fugro’s search vessel, the ATSB, and
witness the outboard flap found in Tanzania in 2016 in Canberra, Australia
later that year. Just to be in the ATSB’s facility, in the same room as a piece
of 9M-MRO, was both a profound and upsetting experience to be so close to
something which had itself been close to their loved ones on the morning of
March 8th, 2014.
But Voice370 grew frustrated with the lack of information
from Malaysia, increasing delays with debris being picked up from local civil
aviation authorities and at the time of the third anniversary decided they
would have to take matters into their own hands, having travelled to east
Africa at their own expense to raise awareness about potential coastal debris,
they began to reach out to aviation experts, oceanographers, wreckage hunters
and influencers prepared to assist them in funding an independent search for
the seabed wreckage and their loved ones.
While they began to reach out and explore this, they
discovered that one company had already tabled an offer to the Malaysia
government to search on, and it was not Fugro. Above all else, as the weeks and
months passed, Voice370 discovered this offer was based on a ‘no cure-no fee’
basis. The group believed an announcement would surely be imminent. Then the
ATSB released its final report, concluding new refinement of an area of
25,000-sq-km north of the original larger search site. Silence from Malaysia, a
ministerial release that a tripartite meeting might happen, maybe October,
maybe November, and they were preparing their own final report, maybe before
the end of 2017. But nothing more.
Voice370 went public with what the little they knew about
the offer by Ocean Infinity, but that it did exist and had for some
considerable time. Ocean Infinity maintained its silence and continued to test
its advanced AUV Hugin equipment. Sea wreck hunter David Mearns went public and
made it clear he had been in contact with the group and was prepared to assist
them with an independent search. David Gallo, of Woods Oceangrahic – which had
been involved in the final search for Air France AF447 – joined the increasing
pressure that something must happen and decisions needed to be made by those in
charge of the investigation and search.
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| Voice370 members at the Ocean Infinity deal announcement |
Ultimately, the lead investigative nation, Malaysia, knowing
they had to deliver a Final Report to ICAO by mid January 2018, the one-year expiry
after the official seabed search had been suspended, having somewhat slow-walked
themselves down a dead-end alley, succumbed to the pressure, announced that,
yes, they had been considering three possible offers of continuing the search,
but had a preference for one. A lull of several weeks late 2017 was followed by
an announcement that the Malaysia interior cabinet had approved the potential
release of up to $70m, but only on the understanding a new search would be
successful.
Almost immediately, Ocean Infinity, a company that did not
exist a year ago, with a 6-year lease on a vessel called Seabed Constructor,
which had been testing its 6 Hugin AUVs in the south English Channel, returned
to Bristol port, and then departed across the Atlantic Ocean. The Chess Game
began.
OCEAN INFINITY
Malaysia stalled on a decision. Ocean Infinity upped its
game, rolling out social media and website updates to show off its technology and
that it was far ahead of what had already been deployed on previous sea search
missions. Then at SUT, Senior Advisor Survey & AUV Operations Director at
Swire Seabed (Norway), Jan-Ingulfsen,
laid the path for Ocean Infinity, and it became very apparent that Ocean
Infinity had very significant financial backers and stakeholders behind it, notwithstanding
its existing partnerships with SeaTrepid and others. This was no longer a misty
farm on the hills in winter with flying pigs and promises of a crock of gold at
the end of the rainbow. One of the first questions Minister Liow asked Ocean
Infinity in November in London was – can you
assure us you can finance this and that it will not fail because you ran out of
money? We cannot provide money at the end if you do not have it all at the
start. He got his answer at that meeting. And the deal was done, bar him
having to convince his cabinet colleagues a few weeks later. This was always
shaping up to be a with or without you.
By the time of reaching Durban port, Ocean Infinity’s
vessel, Seabed Constructor, received two new Hugins, which were loaded, as well
as the vessel receiving Inmarsat high-grade antennas to its hull in dry-dock.
The vessel departed Durban to conduct two sea trial tests, critically, to
deploy all eight Hugin AUVs at one time and test the full operation, and to
test them all at depths of up to 6,000 metres. As of January 13th,
these tests went well; though Ocean Infinity reported some minor glitches, and
they decided to remain in the test area to resolve these first. This meant
backtracking on some test areas to ensure everything was working. The vessel
then departed for the priority search area late January 13th and is
expected to arrive there around the 20th/21st, a few days
after they had hoped to arrive. However, given the 90-day timeframe, Ocean
Infinity does not believe this will play any factor. They are hoping to
complete the first phase of search within 26-28 days, but this will require one
visit back to port to resupply.
SEARCH DETAILS
Ocean Infinity will be paid $20 million if the plane is
found within 5,000 sq km, $30 million if it is found within 10,000 square km
and $50 million if it is found within an area of 25,000 square km. Beyond that
area, Ocean Infinity will receive $70 million.
I appreciate some of the below details may be difficult for
some NOK, but the reality is that this search must have priorities, and any
search after this period of time must have technical priorities. The priority
is to locate – first the wreckage site, then to identify the data flight and
cockpit recorders. If successful, Ocean Infinity will then, if time allows, try
and grid the area.
Ocean Infinity will require authorisation to extract
anything from the site, even though they have some equipment capable of doing
that for small objects like the recorders. That authorisation will remain with
the Malaysia government. Difficult as this is, extraction of human remains is
not part of this search phase and will be dealt with at a later date when a
full grid is provided of the seabed wreckage and an agreed salvage plan is implemented.
THE SEARCH OPERATION
Seabed Constructor carries eight AUVs (autonomous underwater
vehicles) that will search the seabed with scanning equipment for information
to be sent back for analysis. Once the AUVs are recovered by Seabed Constructor
(SC), the data is downloaded onboard the vessel.
SC has 65 crew and almost half of Ocean Infinity’s staff
(about 20) is onboard the vessel. There are two government representatives
drawn from the Malaysian navy who will act as monitors for the Malaysia
government. Some of SC’s crew also work for Swire and SeaTrepid because they
have extensive experience working with this equipment. Like Fugro’s vessel
staff, they are deeply committed to this and we should not underestimate the
day-to-day risks they take. They have been training and preparing for this for
months.
Further reading:
You can see my interview with Voice370 representative, Grace
Nathan here and also view Ocean Infinity
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