Commercialization of MH370 search efforts

[zolace]

Hi everyone! I trust that you all are familiar with the details about the tragic disappearance of MH370. Sad I saw this article today:

"SYDNEY—Authorities will open up the hunt for Malaysia Airlines to private contractors next week, with the launch of a public tender that could take two months to complete, a person familiar with the search said.

Malaysian, Chinese and Australian authorities are seeking a single contractor to coordinate an expanded undersea search of a remote patch of the Indian Ocean covering 60,000 square kilometers (23,000 square miles). The successful bidder will be responsible for bringing together ships, crew and technology to look for the missing jetliner, the person said.

The tender documents will outline basic information, including the area to be explored, the money available and the expected time frame for the search. However, private contractors will be free to devise their own strategies to find the plane for the money made available, the person said."

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10...42652.html

What do you think about the Australian government offering the search effort to private contractors?

Do you trust that private contractors will do the job better than government agencies? Or do you think that they are profit seeking agencies that are more concerned about making money and will not make the best use of the money provided to them or try to prolong the search efforts?

[noviapriani]

I say: Why not? The private sector has always been known as being more efficient and creative than government sectors. And given how ineffective the search by government agencies has been so far, maybe it's time to give someone else a try.

[zolace]

This is simply the government agencies involved throwing in the towel after months of fruitless searches and wanting to stop $$ from leaking out of their pockets.

But at the same time, they needed an honorable way to retreat. They can't say "oh, we have decided to stop the search." So this is their exit plan. Just pool together a small sum of money together and push the responsibility to someone else.

I don't think one single private contractor can search better than the combined efforts of so many governments.

[umair127]

This is simply the government agencies involved throwing in the towel after months of fruitless searches and wanting to stop $$ from leaking out of their pockets.

But at the same time, they needed an honorable way to retreat. They can't say "oh, we have decided to stop the search." So this is their exit plan. Just pool together a small sum of money together and push the responsibility to someone else.

I don't think one single private contractor can search better than the combined efforts of so many governments.

Well, it is certainly a correct step...
Private sector is undoubtedly expensive compared to the government sector but then it is more efficient and quick..
At the government level, there are certain guidelines and a hell lot of rules which need to be strictly followed, and thus, officers are unable to give their best...

I suppose private contractors do a better job and come out with some new findings in regard to MH-370..

[bryant.coleman]

Do we need to spend any more money on this? It is almost 100% certain that none of the passengers survived the flight. And already the various governments have spend a large amount of money to locate the black box, without any success. May be it is time to end all this.

[zolace]

Do we need to spend any more money on this? It is almost 100% certain that none of the passengers survived the flight. And already the various governments have spend a large amount of money to locate the black box, without any success. May be it is time to end all this.

Si I gusss is best to let everyone believe they were taken from aliens or god for a reason.  hmmmm  I wish I can do my own investigation on and come with my own conclusion on why they just vanished from no where. Maybe a shark swallowed the black box or a dolphin took it, i heard they had echo hearing so maybe it create echoes. 

[Rigon]

Private agencies do indeed have much more freedom and do not have to go through all the layers of 'bureaucracy' to obtain permission for what they want to do.

I've seen this happen personally when government agencies such as airlines or energy sectors start being privatized, the service and quality of the product being offered improved tremendously!

[noviapriani]

No basic to say that government agencies have been performed better. Also this mission is not for free, so why would the private contractors perform it worse then?

Only doubt risen in my mind is: why is Australia so enthusiastic in this case while other nations do not pay appropriate attention, even Malaysia? Look at the map, Australia is the least concerned nation among those of which territories MH370 might fall down in. Is it worth for Australia to spend that much money searching this airplane?

[zolace]

No basic to say that government agencies have been performed better. Also this mission is not for free, so why would the private contractors perform it worse then?

Only doubt risen in my mind is: why is Australia so enthusiastic in this case while other nations do not pay appropriate attention, even Malaysia? Look at the map, Australia is the least concerned nation among those of which territories MH370 might fall down in. Is it worth for Australia to spend that much money searching this airplane?

@ Novia Because of profit. Private companies have the incentive of making profit but less incentive of finding the plane unlike the government.

The government has 2 added incentives for finding the plane.

1) It is their duty to answer to the people as governments.

2) Money is leaking out of their pockets while the search is ongoing.

These are incentives that private sector companies do not have. On the contrary:

1) It is their goal to answer to their shareholders and seek profit as companies.

2) Money is going into their pockets while the search is ongoing. This allows them to pay salaries and have fatter bonuses.

I fear that private companies might not have as much enthusiasm as government agencies to search for the plane.

[zolace]

About the Australian involvement issue:

Indeed. Considering that Australia has no direct stake in the issue of flight MH370, they have been very generous with the help provided so far. And so has all the other countries involved in the search.

I was curious about who would pay for the private contractor and I came across this:

"The three countries leading the operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) aircraft are planning to hire a private contractor to oversee an advanced underwater search involving detailed mapping of the ocean floor, but have yet to agree on who will foot the A$60 million (S$70 million) bill.

The transport ministers of Australia, Malaysia and China met in Canberra yesterday to discuss the next phase of the search in the Indian Ocean following the failure to find MH370 in an initial underwater operation."

http://www.asianewsnet.net/MH370-Private...59994.html

By right, it should be the Chinese and Malaysian government. However, if the Australian government were to chip in too, no doubt it will be seen as a gesture of goodwill that will one day be repaid back generously.

[hilariousandco]

Do we need to spend any more money on this? It is almost 100% certain that none of the passengers survived the flight. And already the various governments have spend a large amount of money to locate the black box, without any success. May be it is time to end all this.

If it was just the Malaysian government who suggested this I'm sure you'd be complaining about how badly they're treating the family members. It's not about finding survivors but finding out what actually happened to the plane and the causes of it.

[blumangroup]

Do you trust that private contractors will do the job better than government agencies?

No they will not. With that being said private companies will likely do the same job in a more cost efficient manor.

The very sad truth to the matter is that, as of now there is a very little chance that the plane will every be recovered. The "pinger" has now been "off" (it's battery has almost certainly died by now) for several weeks so the only way to find the plane will be to actually find it at the bottom of the ocean (assuming that is where it is). With that being said the vast majority of the ocean has not been explored and we know much more about outer space then we do about the ocean.

[bryant.coleman]

Si I gusss is best to let everyone believe they were taken from aliens or god for a reason.  hmmmm  I wish I can do my own investigation on and come with my own conclusion on why they just vanished from no where. Maybe a shark swallowed the black box or a dolphin took it, i heard they had echo hearing so maybe it create echoes. 

I just said that it is better not to spend any more money on this lost cause. There is hardly any chance of recovering the black-box. It is like searching for a needle in the haystack. That money can be better utilized.

[jambola2]

Let's be serious, the Malaysian government hasn't taken their obligation too seriously till now.
They've come under fire from everyone, including China. Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia can't afford to carry on the search anyway.
And while there seems to be a lot of corruption involved in these deals, I'm sure private contractors would give it their best efforts, for a massive PR win at the least

[Ron~Popeil]

Let's be serious, the Malaysian government hasn't taken their obligation too seriously till now.
They've come under fire from everyone, including China. Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia can't afford to carry on the search anyway.
And while there seems to be a lot of corruption involved in these deals, I'm sure private contractors would give it their best efforts, for a massive PR win at the least

They were caught flat footed from the start. Queue the conspiracy theorists.

[bryant.coleman]

They were caught flat footed from the start. Queue the conspiracy theorists.

At first, they refused to reveal information, as they feared that it will expose the incompetence of the Malaysian military. That is why they retracted the Pulau Penang radar sighting.

[Harley997]

Let's be serious, the Malaysian government hasn't taken their obligation too seriously till now.
They've come under fire from everyone, including China. Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia can't afford to carry on the search anyway.
And while there seems to be a lot of corruption involved in these deals, I'm sure private contractors would give it their best efforts, for a massive PR win at the least

They were caught flat footed from the start. Queue the conspiracy theorists.

Their government/military was/is not equipped to handle this kind of search.

[sana8410]

No basic to say that government agencies have been performed better. Also this mission is not for free, so why would the private contractors perform it worse then?

Only doubt risen in my mind is: why is Australia so enthusiastic in this case while other nations do not pay appropriate attention, even Malaysia? Look at the map, Australia is the least concerned nation among those of which territories MH370 might fall down in. Is it worth for Australia to spend that much money searching this airplane?

Hmmmm. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the reaction and enthusiasm of other nations to join the search would be the threat of terrorism.
Countries are concerned about their national security especially US which has been through 9/11 before because of the possibility that MH370 has been hijacked and the plane is being hidden somewhere for nefarious purposes in the future can't be dismissed.
However, after the largest search in world history by the coalition of military force from multiple nations failed to turn up any results, no doubt a lot of countries have secretly placed their military on high alert...

[noviapriani]

About the Australian involvement issue:

Indeed. Considering that Australia has no direct stake in the issue of flight MH370, they have been very generous with the help provided so far. And so has all the other countries involved in the search.

I was curious about who would pay for the private contractor and I came across this:

"The three countries leading the operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) aircraft are planning to hire a private contractor to oversee an advanced underwater search involving detailed mapping of the ocean floor, but have yet to agree on who will foot the A$60 million (S$70 million) bill.

The transport ministers of Australia, Malaysia and China met in Canberra yesterday to discuss the next phase of the search in the Indian Ocean following the failure to find MH370 in an initial underwater operation."

http://www.asianewsnet.net/MH370-Private...59994.html

By right, it should be the Chinese and Malaysian government. However, if the Australian government were to chip in too, no doubt it will be seen as a gesture of goodwill that will one day be repaid back generously.

The sea in which they are searching is quite sensitive. That water connects Australia, gateway to the south china sea as well as gateway to indian ocean. Strategic location.
Someone previously talked about profit. I guess this search may bring profit to private agents but any of those government. Through the history I would not believe if China pay that much attention to their missing citizens. In comparison with a very recent move in continental China, the government passed a law to forbid dead burying and many elders committed suicide to be buried as their ancestors. Not surprisingly, a local officer spoke something like China is huge and it is normal that people die everyday. Since when citizens' lives are taken into account in policy making?
The only assumption I may have is the spying. This search may be just a disguise for spying activities. Some wanna do it, some have to join to watch and control others....

[zolace]

That is actually a very good theory. Seems like people are getting more and more suspicious of China. But I think that suspicion is justified as China as a nation has never been known to be a philanthropic country.
All of its actions seems to have a motive behind it. Like how it played the conflict between US and Russia to make profit from lower natural gas prices from Russia.
Just look at how China continually pollute the environment and resist all attempts by other nations to get it to care more about their impact on the environment. One really cannot say that they care much for the welfare their citizens at all!