Sea surveying company hired for MH370 search
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A deep water surveying company has been contracted by the Australian government to help with the search for flight MH370.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) this week penned a contract with Netherlands-based Fugro Survey to conduct a bathymetric survey of the seafloor in the area of the Indian Ocean where the Boeing 777 is believed to have crashed.
The survey will provide a map of the seafloor in the search zone, which covers 6,000km² and reaches depths of up to 6km. Once complete, this information to help plan the deep water search for flight MH370, which is scheduled to commence in August.
The company’s ship, MV Fugro Equator, will join the Chinese naval vessel Zhu Kezhen, which is also conducting a bathymetric survey in the search area. But the Chinese ship had to abort its operations recently, due to malfunctioning equipment.
Fugro will provide a deep-water multi-beam echo sounder system and expert survey personnel to undertake the task. The two vessels are expected to take around three months to complete their surveys.
Flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March 2014 with 237 passengers and crew onboard. It is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean, but subsequent air and sea searches of the Indian Ocean, including the use of a submersible vehicle, have failed to find any trace of the aircraft.
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