The comms issue has always left me wondering about diverting. I am not aware of oceanic track procedures when it comes to diverting off the flight plan.
Presumably, ATC authorization would normally be needed for a deviation. Were the pilots trying to contact Dakar for a deviation clearance around wx?
Was the inability to reach them and obtain clearance the reason they tried to penetrate the wx with minimual off-track or no deviation.
Obviously, most if not all pilots will aviate before navigating and will go off-track with or without clearance to avoid dangerous wx. But, I have wondered about this crew.
Ether way, they were trying to contact Dakar several times before the ACARS sequence began. Just a routine login for handover, position reporting, or a deviation request?