A BRITISH nuclear submarine is set to join the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Malaysia’s Defence and acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein revealed the news via Twitter, saying he had just received word from the UK’s secretary of state for Defence, Philip Hammond, that HMS Tireless will join in the search effort.
The Ministry of Defence said the Trafalgar class submarine had arrived in the southern Indian Ocean and would soon be joined by the survey vessel HMS Echo.
Both ships carry advanced underwater search capabilities which will be applied in the search for the ultrasonic “pings” being emitted by the missing aircraft’s black box flight recorders.
It may prove to be one of the last missions for HMS Tireless, which had originally been scheduled to be scrapped in 2013.
The nuclear-powered submarine was launched in 1984. It carries a crew of 130 and 18 officers.
OFF THE RADAR
The Australian-operated support vessels Ocean Shield and Seahorse Standard have both vanished from ship tracking services as they steam to the search area.
The bright red Ocean Shield was purchased as part of an emergency program to replace the failed Landing Platform (Dock) vessels HMAS Kanimbla and Manoora. These ships, bought second-hand off the United States Navy, were discovered to be in a far worse structural condition than anticipated and were deemed unsafe for operations.
Ocean Shield’s last position, as recorded on marinetraffic.com Source: Supplied
Seahorse Standard has been contracted by the Australian Defence Force for this search mission.
Both have been tasked with carrying towed sensors intended to find missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370’s black box flight recorders.
The unarmed Ocean Shield is not part of the Royal Australian Navy. It has instead been given the designation “Australian Defence Vessel” instead of “Her Majesty’s Australian Ship (HMAS)”.
Its purpose is to assist in disaster relief and defence logistics operations.
Seahorse Standard, which is under lease and has not been given any form of military designation, departed for the search area yesterday.
An AMSA chart showing the search area for today, Day 16. Source: Supplied
Ocean Shield is expected to reach the search zone on Friday. Seahorse Standard is likely to arrive shortly after.
China’s government has been less secretive about the movements of its unarmed survey vessel Xue Long. The ship has been observable since it entered the search early last week. It is currently returning to Chinese waters.
Combat vessels are not tracked by civilian maritime movements services.
The several naval vessels China has committed to the search remain unseen. HMAS Success and HMAS Toowoomba are also not visible on the ship-location websites.
The two Australian support vessels will join the flotilla of three other Australian vessels and more than six Chinese ships in the search zone.
The Malaysian frigate KD Lekiu is also en route.
Civil service ... Ocean Shield docked at naval base HMAS Stirling while being fitted with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and towed pinger locator to aid in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Picture: Rob Griffith Source: AP
HOUSTON TAKES ON THE CHALLENGE
Head of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston has stressed the search for MH370 is one of a kind, but he isn’t putting a timeframe on how long it will continue.
“I can’t think of a set of circumstances in a search and rescue or a search and recovery as demanding and as complex as this,” he told ABC Radio from Perth this morning.
“The reality is it’s the most complex and challenging search and recovery operation now that I’ve ever seen,” he said.
“We have to keep searching and searching with vigour.”
He said it was vital to find debris on the surface of the ocean, to then narrow the search underwater.
Air Chief Marshall Houston claimed there isn’t a “precise” aircraft location for six hours before the plane went down somewhere.
“So we have a very large search area which has to be scoured by aircraft and ships,” he added.
He said the use of visual search techniques take a long time and have been hindered by the weather.
“There is nothing more demanding than trying to find things in a sea with lots of white caps.”
But he refused to put a time on how long the search effort will continue.
“Clearly it’s vitally important for the families, it’s vitally important for the governments involved that we find this.”
“I’m just pointing out it won’t be easy.”
He praised the “truly impressive” work of those conducting the search.
With Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak set to arrive in Perth today, Air Chief Marshall Houston argued cooperation with the country has been “absolutely first class”.
Task master ... Retired Australian air chief marshall Angus Houston speaks about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 at a press conference yesterday. Picture: Greg Wood Source: Getty Images
MALAYSIA ON THE ATTACK
This morning Malaysia revealed it would gather “false’’ media reports over the crisis and consider filing lawsuits.
Mr Hishammuddin said on his Twitter feed the country’s attorney general had been instructed to “compile evidence and advise’’ on possible legal action.
Earlier in the day he was quoted by the Malay Mail newspaper as saying: “We have been compiling all the false reports since day one. When the time is right, the government should sue them.’’
The MH370 saga and resulting world attention has put Malaysia’s long-ruling authoritarian government — which muzzles its own pliant mainstream press — in the unaccustomed position of having to answer tough questions from reporters.
The potential lawsuits emerged as Malaysian officials released the official transcript of the last conversation between the cockpit of flight MH370 and air traffic controllers before it vanished.
However, Mr Hishammuddin said the transcript showed nothing awry before the pilot or copilot delivered the final words: “Good night, Malaysian three seven zero.”
Australian and International Pilots Association president Nathan Safe agreed tonight the transcript appeared “completely benign”.
“There is absolutely nothing in the transcript that even hints at being unusual to me,” he said.
“It all looks normal to me. The whole ‘goodnight’ part is totally innocuous. I’ve said it a hundred times myself.
“Not even 1 per cent of its contents would raise suspicion for me.”
The search is ongoing in the southern Indian Ocean with a number of countries, including Australia, still involved in trying to locate where MH370 ended up.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak will visit Perth today to see the rescue efforts himself and thank international crews involved in the hunt for the missing plane.
Still searching ... Kazuhiko Morisawa looks out of a window of a Japan Coast Guard Gulfstream aircraft during the search for wreckage and debris of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. Source: AFP
Mr Hishammuddin, who has run the government’s near-daily briefings on the situation, was also forced to deny various anonymously-sourced reports revealing details of Malaysia’s investigation into the March 8 disappearance of MH370 with 239 people aboard.
He took particular aim on Monday against British tabloid the Daily Mail, which at the weekend quoted a “source close to the family’’ of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah as saying police had learned he was emotionally unstable before the flight amid alleged marital trouble.
“I can confirm to you that the information did not come from the police and you should ask Daily Mail how they get the information,’’ Mr Hishammuddin said tersely when asked about the report.
In a Facebook comment reported by local media, Zaharie’s daughter Aishah Zaharie accused the Daily Mail of “making up’’ the report.
The Daily Mail also reported earlier that Zaharie was said to be a fanatical supporter of Malaysia’s political opposition. Friends and acquaintances have denied that.
Suspicions have fallen on Zaharie, 53, and his copilot Fariq Abdul Hamid after Malaysian officials said the plane was believed to have been deliberately diverted by someone with flying knowledge. But nothing has emerged to suggest either had any motive to go rogue.
The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition — in power since independence in 1957 — has a poor record of transparency, routinely sweeping corruption scandals and other embarrassments under the rug.
Malaysia’s independent web-based news organisations are largely unfettered due to a promise by the government in the 1990s not to censor the internet, but their reporters say they are routinely harassed or blocked from government press briefings.
Power of prayer ... Buddhist monks offer prayers for the passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 at a Buddhist temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Source: AP
 HMS Tireless (S88) at the North Pole, April 2004 | |
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Tireless |
| Ordered: | 5 July 1979 |
| Laid down: | 6 June 1981 |
| Launched: | 17 March 1984 |
| Sponsored by: | Sue Squires |
| Commissioned: | 5 October 1985 |
| Homeport: | HMNB Devonport, Plymouth |
| Identification: | Pennant number: S88 |
| Fate: | in active service, as of 2014 |
| Badge: |  |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class & type: | Trafalgar class submarine |
| Displacement: | 4,800 tonnes, surfaced 5,300 tonnes, dived |
| Length: | 85.4 m (280 ft) |
| Beam: | 9.8 m (32 ft) |
| Draught: | 9.5 m (31 ft) |
| Installed power: | 15,000 shp (11 MW) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h) dived |
| Range: | Unlimited, except by food supplies and maintenance requirements. |
| Complement: | 130 (18 officers) |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Ferranti/Gresham Dowty DCB/DCG orBAE Systems SMCS data system, Type 2072 hull-mounted flank array passive sonar, Plessey Type 2020 orMarconi/Plessey Type 2074 hull-mounted active and passive search and attack sonar, Ferranti Type 2046 or TUS 2076 towed array passive search sonar, Thomson Sintra Type 2019 PARIS or Thorn EMI 2082 passive intercept and ranging sonar, Marconi Type 2077 short range active classification sonar, Kelvin HughesType 1007 I band navigation radar,Pilkington Optronics CK34 searchperiscope, Pilkington Optronics CH84/CM010 attack periscope |
| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
|
| Armament: |
5 x 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes with stowage for up to 30 weapons;
|
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