Second merchant vessel to join search for MH370

Höegh said it had received two requests from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) since 18 March to help in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane. “Höegh St. Petersburg was on its way from South Africa to Australia and was the ship closest to the search area. This area is about 60 nautical miles long and is located approximately 2,260 km southwest of Perth,” the company said.

The vessel started its second search of the area on 20 March. The Höegh St. Petersburg is part of the US Amver programme, which was also involved in the search for the missing Air France flight in 2009.

“The vessel is in direct contact with AMSA and all information about the operation will be communicated through the AMSA,” the company added.

On Thursday the AMSA said that possible debris measuring 24 m in length had been spotted 2,500 km from Perth.

AMSA said on Friday that four aircraft and the merchant vessel were involved in the search and a second merchant vessel was due to arrive in the search area tonight.

The disappearance of flight MH370 on 8 March has baffled aviation experts, however, information from satellite communications provider Inmarsat has focused the search in an arc running from the ocean off Southwest Australia through to central Asia.