mh370.io
Micro-blog documenting the renewed, 2025, search for MH370, the Boeing 777-2H6ER/reg 9M-MRO lost on Mar 8th 2014. Don is one of the founding contributors of the Independent Group.
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Takes only 3 paragraphs for Murdoch’s super soaraway Sun to illustrate its journalistic incompetence.
MH370 disappeared from radar screens on 7th March, not 2nd.
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The Malaysian comms on the conduct of Ocean Infinity’s search are becoming even less coherent than when
Hishammuddin was running the ministry.
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Described on Facebook as ‘An update to the families from the MAS Family Support Centre, Malaysia Aviation Group’
So, not Ocean Infinity, not Malaysian Ministry of Transport (or AAIB-MY).
What authority can this entity provide on the matter?
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Two AUVs? One down as unserviceable during the quoted four hour period?
Four days? I guess toeing some line on reporting only on activity as covered by an agreed contract.
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Certainly, he & I correspond regularly.
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No Armada vessel has a crane or deep recovery winch system as might be necessary to recover anything that’s too large for an ROV to lift. A vessel such as IP or any deep water cable laying/intervention vessel may be necessary.
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I don’t believe there is a need for other subsea eqpmt, an AUV can perform hi-res SSS to optical/visual passes over an AoI.
E.g. A78-07 conducted work in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (DSM) last summer & its tracklines were so close to suggest it was nav-aiding its AUV in visual acquisition.
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OI’s payload integration lead stated that A86-01 is headed to Europe. A86-02 is already on the water & has conducted sea trials. A86-03 is also on the water but yet to be ‘switched on’!
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Victor Iannello
Steve Kent has published an excellent video explaining why WSPR tracking of MH370 is complete rubbish. He supplies the scientific rigor that is absent in the WSPR proponents' papers.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uil...
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Might be important, every now-and-again, to reiterate that it’s not WSPR that is the problem but the idea set out as GDTAAA that the WSPR archive can be regarded as a big data repository, mined, & processed to identify aircraft tracks.
GDTAAA is smthg of a mouthful, though.
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That bathymetry image layer originates from the GMRT web map service. It can be configured as a KML object, loaded on demand in Google Earth.
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Bathymetry information & imagery collated from GEBCO catalogue, vessel track via X/labratsr from BigOceanData.
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While the side scan sonar technology has not developed significantly in the intervening time since 2018, AUV navigation capabilities & endurance are much improved.
The focus continues on previously surveyed areas where imagery is assessed to deliver low probability of detection.
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I'd use the word 'contrived' rather than predicted. The Blelly-Marchand story involves much rationalising for what a pilot would do.
Whatever happened to 9M-MRO, rational thought is least likely to describe what, why, or why.
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At this time, it is not clear whether A78-06 will continue to Cape Town or stop again to acquire side scan sonar data at another location in the wider area of interest.
H/T LabratSR at X for access to tracking from Big Ocean Data
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At 0500Z today A78-06 reached the designated search area.
It has passed the 'block' OI described as one of its two areas of interest (the other is 'mirrored' on the northwest side of the 7th arc).
AIS broadcasts continue to report Cape Town as A78-06's destination. Ocean wide view for context.
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Discussion ensued suggesting brinkmanship between Putrajaya's bureaucrats & OI; that a debris field has been located; that the AIS destination has been posted in error (the ETA is infeasible).
Meanwhile A78-06 plied a track back towards the designated search area at a typical speed of 10kts.
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A months long commitment to incept a contract with Ocean Infinity never materialised.
What was expected to be a rapid replenishment at the AMC stretched out to 48hrs. When A78-06 then departed its AIS broadcast reported destination as Cape Town, ETA 2025-03-24. Not OFFSHORE AUSTRALIA as expected.
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Transit to the Australia Marine Complex, WA, took 5 days, with A78-06 at sea for a total of 24 days.
An Armada 78's endurance at sea is typically 28 days, the timing of the transit was not unexpected.
However, the official ambiguity from corridors of government in Malaysia persisted.
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Ocean Infinity's Armada 78 06 vessel departed on the mission from Port Louis, Mauritius, on Feb 8th to arrive Feb 23rd in the designated search area.
After conducting AUV operations over 4 days to acquire side scan sonar imagery of the seafloor the vessel made untypically high speed for port.
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We track Armada 78 06's movements using satellite relayed AIS provided by Big Ocean Data. The track info indicates when AUVs are launched & recovered, plus points where the vessel undertakes GNSS-A (acoustic positioning) checks with the AUVs 'flying' just above the seafloor 4000-4500m below.
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Three AUVs were launched with the vessel conducting operations over 5 days, 23rd Feb thru 27th Feb, before recovery of the AUVs. Early Fri 28th Armada 78 06 set course for a replenishment call at Fremantle/Henderson, WA.
Today, Armada 78 06 has returned to the search area.
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Armada 78 06, one of Ocean Infinity's fleet of eight 78m vessels completed preparation for the search in Port Louis, Mauritius. From there, it conducted trials to the north of the island before setting out for the designated #MH370 search area, arriving on Feb 23rd.⬇️
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Ocean Infinity first task in this search was to revisit areas of the seafloor where previous acquisition of side scan sonar imagery was deemed to be low quality.
The AUVs were tasked to operate over steep escarpments in an area centred around S34.8º E93.25º.
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After conducting a 3 month search in 2018 that added 120,000km² of imaged seafloor to the area searched over 3yrs by contractors engaged by ATSB and Malaysia over the period 2014-2016 Ocean Infinity has returned to conduct a much more focussed search.
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The search vessel, Armada 78 06, at Henderson, WA, during its replenishment visit 2025-03-04 thru 2025-03-06.