According to UK daily The Guardian, the second weekly update on the search released by Putrajaya yesterday made no mention of the period between Feb 1 and 4, during which the ship turned off its automatic identification system (AIS).

Neither the government nor Ocean Infinity, the US firm hired to find the plane, have offered an explanation, the report added.

The Seabed Constructor reportedly “went dark” for 80 hours last week after its AIS was mysteriously switched off.

The incident sparked intense speculation online, with some suggesting the tracker had malfunctioned and others even claiming the ship had detoured to recover sunken treasure.

The vessel began its search on Jan 22 in what has been called the final effort to locate MH370.

Under its deal with Malaysia, US company Ocean Infinity will be paid up to US$70 million (RM280 million) if it finds MH370 within 90 days.

MH370 disappeared in March 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

No trace of the plane’s main wreckage has been found despite the largest and most expensive search operation in modern aviation history.

MH370 search vessel ‘goes dark’ after tracking system disabled