Screenshot from a computer simulation

The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared more than 11 years ago, will resume in the Indian Ocean, Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport reported on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

The ministry said that the search will be conducted by the American company Ocean Infinity. The operation is set to begin on December 30 and will last 55 days, with pauses in certain areas considered the most promising for locating the missing aircraft.

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"This new phase underscores the Malaysian government’s commitment to providing the families of the victims with at least some closure to this tragic story," the statement said.

In March, Malaysian authorities approved a "no find, no fee" agreement with Ocean Infinity, allowing the seabed search to resume in a new 15,000-square-kilometer area. Ocean Infinity will receive $70 million only if the wreckage is found.

A previous Ocean Infinity expedition in 2018 was unsuccessful.

The Boeing 777 disappeared from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, mostly Chinese nationals, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Satellite data showed that the plane deviated from its planned route and turned south into the remote southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.

Theories about what happened on board range from hijacking to a sudden loss of cabin oxygen or power failure. However, there was no distress signal, no ransom demand, and no evidence of severe weather or technical malfunction. Malaysian aviation security experts cleared everyone on board of suspicion in a 2018 report, though they did not rule out the possibility of "unlawful interference."

The only confirmed traces of MH370 are a few fragments of the plane’s wing that washed ashore in different parts of the Indian Ocean, including Mozambique, Reunion, and Mauritius.