Third search ship joins hunt for missing Malaysian airliner

In this March 22, 2014, file photo, Flight Lt. Jason Nichols on board a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, takes notes as they search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in southern Indian Ocean, Australia. The deep sea hunt for the missing Malaysian airliner has shifted to a remote part of the Indian Ocean where a British pilot has calculated that the Boeing 777 made a controlled ditching last year with 239 people aboard, officials said Monday, Nov. 23, 2015. AP FILE PHOTO

CANBERRA, Australia — A third ship will join the hunt for a missing Malaysian airliner as the 13-month-old search of a huge expanse of the Indian Ocean ramps up during the southern hemisphere summer.

The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was scaled back to two ships towing sonar equipment during the winter when the remote target area southwest of Australia was buffeted by gale-force winds and mountainous waves.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a statement on Wednesday that a third ship Havila Harmony is expected to leave the Australian port of Fremantle on Saturday and reach the remote search area five days later. The ship is equipped with a video camera inside an underwater drone.

The bureau says the Havila Harmony will investigate the most rugged seabed terrain.

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