U.S. marine exploration company Ocean Infinity says it's made "good progress" on a deal to restart the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370, but the contract hasn't been finalized.
Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said on Friday that a deal had been reached between Malaysia and Ocean Infinity, but the Malaysian government later clarified in a statement that it was still in talks.
The last major search effort wrapped up in May, before new information narrowing down a search area came to light.
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia is negotiating with a USA firm to resume the hunt for missing flight MH370, a minister said, in news welcomed by the widow of one of those who had been on board.
Malaysia's deputy transport minister Aziz Kaprawi said on Thursday: "Yes, we are negotiating with Ocean Infinity, but the agreement has not been finalised".
In this case, Ocean Infinity would likely be working instead for a set fee from the Malaysian government, and for the significant publicity on offer should it find the wreckage, an industry expert told the BBC.
The Boeing 777 vanished from radar less than 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport just after midnight on March 8, 2014.
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"Malaysia's decision to proceed with the search shows the commitment to find MH370", the statement said.
"While I am hopeful of a successful search, I'm conscious of not raising hopes for the loved ones of those on board". It had 239 passengers and crew members on board.
The plane has yet to be recovered, with only small pieces of debris surfacing periodically.
In December a year ago, an Australian government report confirmed that teams searching for the missing aircraft had been very likely been looking in the wrong place.
That report recommended that, based on new analysis, a new area approximately 25,000 square kilometers to the northeast of the then-search area should be searched.
In January, Malaysia, Australia and China called off the unsuccessful search covering an area of 120,000 square km at an estimated cost of $135 million.
The aircraft was thought to have been diverted thousands of miles off course out over the southern Indian Ocean before crashing about 2,000km off the coast of Western Australia.
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