Australia has awarded the contract to conduct further search for the missing Malyasian Airlines flight MH370 to Netherlands based Fugro...
Australia has awarded the contract to conduct further search for the missing Malyasian Airlines flight MH370 to Netherlands based Fugro Survey Pty Ltd (Fugro) on Aug 6.
Fugro will employ two vessels, equipped with towed deep water vehicles and carrying expert personnel, to undertake the search operations.
The vessels will search the sea floor using side scan sonar, multi-beam echo sounders and video cameras to locate and identify the aircraft debris.
The underwater search of the 60,000 square kilometre area is expected to take 12 months. Assets are already mobilising with Fugro Discovery en route to Perth from the United Kingdom.
Fugro Equator, currently acquiring bathymetry data in the search area, will be the second search vessel and will be mobilised when the bathymetry work is complete in mid-September.
The Malaysian Government has committed to support the joint search effort with four vessels. The KD MUTIARA, a naval survey ship will be arriving in late August to join the bathymetric survey work.
Two vessels equipped with side scan sonar and remotely operated vehicles will be integrated into the overall capability for the underwater search being led by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
Malaysian naval vessel, Bunga Mas, will continue to support the search, as it has since April.
The Chinese vessel, the Zhu Kezhen, continues to work in the southern Indian Ocean, surveying the sea floor. China has committed to the Zhu Kezhen remaining in the search area until mid-September.
The Australian Government has allocated has AUS $ 60 million to the ATSB to carry out the search for MH370.
