The renewed search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 entered its next phase as the initial search of 3,160 sq. Texas-based Ocean Infinity -- which has signed a "no cure, no fee" deal with the Malaysian government to find the jetliner -- is scouring a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean, where the ill-fated plane is believed to have gone down. The second leg of the search includes scouring through an area of the 9,652 sq. According to a report, citing an update posted Tuesday by Malaysia's MH370 Response Team, Ocean Infinity's search ship, the Seabed Constructor, was able to launch all eight of its autonomous underwater vehicles following favorable weather conditions. Earlier, the search operation was hampered due to bad weather.

Chinese vessel Dong Hai Jiu 101 concluded its underwater search operations in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean to locate the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said in its latest search update that the vessel "commenced passage to Fremantle to demobilise the Phoenix Remora III Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) before the vessel returns to Shanghai." The agency, which is leading the search for the missing Boeing 777-200, moved from deep tow operations to AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) and ROV operations in October 2016. Dong Hai Jiu 101 vessel has completed 33 dives with the ROV since October 2016. The vessel departed the search area on Dec. 3 and has completed its missions in the search for MH370.

The underwater search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 found an oil barrel and cable debris but no sign of the missing jet, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said Wednesday. The agency, which is leading the search for the Boeing 777-200, released sonar images of the man-made objects that are currently being examined by a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). "The underwater search continues with an AUV searching areas of challenging terrain and an ROV examining a range of sonar contacts which have been previously identified. Over the past week, ROV missions have revealed those contacts to be geological or man-made objects," ATSB said. "Dive 17 identified a contact cluster as geological comprising basaltic rock outcrops on a slope."

Weather conditions this week will impact the progress of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), said Wednesday. The underwater operation to locate the missing plane had already been pushed to end in January 2017 in accordance with the weather forecast. ATSB, which is leading the search for the Boeing 777-200, said in its operational update that weather conditions are unsuitable for both Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) operations periodically during the week. This week, search vessel Fugro Equator continued underwater search operations in the north of the search area, which is in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean, using AUV. During the past week, Fugro Equator has undertaken five missions, each one taking an average of 21 hours.

The Dong Hai Jiu 101 is back in action. The vessel, which is one of two searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the Indian Ocean, ended its months-long break from the hunt this week. It also returned with some new equipment, according to an operational update released Wednesday by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. The Dong Hai Jiu 101 finally left port on Oct. 20 after being delayed for months by bad weather. By Monday, it was back in the search area with a remotely operated vehicle on board.