Hi-tech ship sails from Durban in new hunt for MH370

A research ship has sailed from Durban in a new attempt to solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

The Seabed Constructor left at 8pm on Tuesday and is due off the Australian west coast on January 17 to search for whatever is left of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370‚ a Boeing 777-200ER that left Kuala Lumpur on March 8‚ 2014‚ with 239 people on board ... and vanished.

The Malaysian government has enlisted the US seabed exploration company Ocean Infinity‚ which chartered the Norwegian ship and its eight autonomous submarines.

No sign of the plane was found in a 120‚000km² search zone selected by satellite analysis of the jet’s likely trajectory. The sea search — the largest in aviation history — was suspended a year ago‚ when the Australian Transport Safety Bureau released scientific findings that identified a 25‚000km² area with “a high probability” of containing the aircraft.

Ocean Infinity‚ which has a “no find‚ no fee” arrangement with Malaysia‚ will focus its search on that part of the ocean floor.

“We are moving the vessel‚ Seabed Constructor‚ towards the vicinity of the possible search zone‚” a spokesman for the company told AFP.

The firm wants to start the hunt during a period of good weather expected in January and February.

The Seabed Constructor has a superstructure bristling with antennas and a gantry known to the crew as the “stinger”‚ The Economist reported.

Ocean Infinity technical director Josh Broussard told the magazine the vessel would be able to scan 1‚200km² a day.

Said The Economist: “If searching the patch of ocean designated by the ATSB reveals nothing‚ the ship will head further north‚ towards the 30th parallel‚ which some independent experts believe is a better bet.”

The Seabed Constructor’s submarines‚ known as HUGINs‚ can go as deep as 6‚000 metres‚ allowing them to reach most of the sea floor comfortably. They will be launched by the stinger‚ which extends out over the ship’s stern.

“Once underwater‚ the robot craft will communicate with the ship using an acoustic modem. The ship’s own modem‚ which will receive these signals‚ is fixed to the end of a long pole that extends down through her hull into the water‚” The Economist reported.

“Each HUGIN comes with a 300kg lithium-polymer battery pack‚ good for a tour of duty lasting up to 60 hours. A downward-pointing sonar will map the contours of the seabed beneath the craft‚ but most of the searching will be done by side-mounted sonars scanning the bed on either side of the craft.

“These send out pings and measure the intensity with which they are reflected. Sand reflects less sound than metal does‚ meaning metal objects such as aircraft debris are easy to distinguish. And if something apparently metallic is detected‚ its nature can be confirmed using an on-board magnetometer.

“The HUGINs’ search patterns are set by people‚ but the craft will actually navigate with little reference to their mother ship. Every so often‚ the ship will send out a corrective ping to keep them on course.

“Mostly‚ however‚ they will employing dead reckoning‚ based on data from accelerometers‚ to steer themselves autonomously. They are also capable of picking their way without assistance over sheer underwater cliffs and mountains‚ past crevices and gullies‚ using on-board cameras and machine-vision software.

“After its tour of duty‚ a HUGIN will be lifted back on-board ship and the data it has collected (up to two terabytes‚ recorded on a waterproof hard drive) downloaded into the ship’s data centre and turned into human-readable maps‚ a process that takes six hours. The HUGIN’s battery will be replaced with a fully charged one‚ any necessary repairs made‚ and the craft then sent back out into the ocean.

“A team of geologists and hydrographers will then pore over the maps‚ looking for signs of the missing plane. Surprisingly‚ for such a high-tech operation‚ this stage of the search will be entirely manual. Every block of sea floor that the HUGINs map will be examined by three sets of human eyes. Together‚ this survey team will come up with a list of possible targets‚ ranked from ‘E’ to ‘A‘ (‘nothing’ to ‘that’s it‘)‚ to present to their bosses. If the data look good‚ a HUGIN will be sent down for a second‚ closer look‚ cameras at the ready.

“What happens next‚ if Ocean Infinity does locate what is left of the missing aircraft‚ is unclear. Friends and relatives of those aboard it will doubtless find relief from knowing where the flight ended up. But merely finding the wreckage will not explain what happened on board the plane. That will require the discovery of the aircraft’s flight recorder.

“That object is therefore Ocean Infinity’s ultimate target. If the firm finds it on this mission‚ Mr Broussard says they plan to bring it to the surface and then deliver it for analysis to the Australian authorities‚ who have the technical competence to assess it. A follow-up trip to examine the wreckage‚ and even bring it to the surface‚ would require further authorisation from the Malaysian government.”

The Economist said Seabed Constructor is the world’s most advanced civilian survey vessel. “If its array of technology cannot find MH370‚ then it is likely that nothing will‚ and that the mystery of MH370 may never be solved.

“Either way‚ though‚ the advance of technology may mean that it is the last such mystery. As the oceans are watched with ever closer scrutiny‚ from space and the depths‚ it is increasingly difficult for anything to get lost in the first place.”