At the request of the Malaysian Government, Australia accepted responsibility for the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. After the conclusion of the surface search, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) led the underwater search for MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean.
Each week, from 10 September 2014 to 11 January 2017, an operational update was published, tracking the progress of the search effort and identifying noteworthy developments.
At a meeting of Ministers from Malaysia, Australia and the People’s Republic of China held on 22 July 2016, it was agreed that should the aircraft not be located in the current search area, and in the absence of credible new evidence leading to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, the search would be suspended upon completion of the current search area.
As such, the search for MH370 was suspended on 17 January 2017.