KUALA LUMPUR: The unfavourable sea condition of the Southern Indian Ocean due to bad weather had the search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plane, flight MH370, experiencing some hiccup.
The sea condition saw the Fugro Discovery delay the launch of its towfish for two days since its arrival on Friday, said the Australian Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC).
“Sea conditions prevented the launch of the towfish and recommencement of the search operations until last Sunday,” the agency said in a statement, made available on its website, yesterday.
Another vessel, Fugro Equator which arrived back in the search area on Sunday only launched the towfish yesterday, said the agency which oversees the search operation.
However, the agency said the weather was predicted to improve over the coming week.
The agency also reiterated that the search operations would continue through the winter months, but pauses were anticipated.
The Fugro were the only two vessels currently tasked with looking for the missing aircraft, after another vessel, GO Phoenix, ceased the deep-sea operation on June 20, with its contract reported to have ended.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had said that Malaysia was committed to continuing into the second phase of the search operation which would involve an additional area of 60,000 sq km.
JACC said so far, more than 50,000 sq km of the sea floor had been searched in the first phase that covered 60,000 sq km.
Flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens on March 8, last year as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board.
The Boeing 777 aircraft has yet to be found, even after an exhaustive search in the southern Indian Ocean where it is believed to have gone down after veering off course.
On Jan 29, this year, the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation announced that the disappearance of the aircraft was an accident based on international aviation rules and that all 239 people on board were deemed to have lost their lives. — Bernama