The car carrier was on its way from Madagascar to Melbourne when it got a request from Australian authorities to assist in investigating the objects spotted by satellite four days ago in one of the remotest parts of the globe, around 2,500 km (1,500 miles) southwest of Perth.

“We’ve got a request from Australian authorities to search the area, and we will assist as long as needed,” said Kristian Olsen, a spokesman at Hoegh Autoliners.

The Norwegian shipping association told Reuters the ship was the first one to arrive in the area at 0800 GMT.

No confirmed wreckage from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been found since it vanished from air traffic control screens off Malaysia’s east coast early on March 8, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.

How sure are authorities that the objects might be related to MH370?

What is happening with the search now?

Have they found the objects yet?

We consider all leads to be the same level of importance ... Satellite imaging and the experience that we went through in respect of the images from the Chinese satellite confirms that our position was correct from the start. Any leads that we receive must be corroborated and verified, because if found false not only will it jeopardise our search but it will give false hope to the families.

Australian satellite images

Assets deployed

Aircraft

Ships

Family care

Concluding remarks

Professor Alexander Babanin, director of the Centre for Ocean Engineering, Science and Technology at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, is an expert on ocean waves and winds.

He says the data suggests floating debris could have been carried 100km away from its original site by now, even in normal weather.

Wave height in the search area is around three metres on average in March, according to satellite data.

“If there are storms with bigger waves and winds, it would be more than that,” he said, noting that extreme waves could reach six metres.

Because waves have directional spread, fragments would be unlikely to all end up in the same place; “they could also be spread laterally over an area of 50km or so,” the oceanographer added.

Ocean currents will also shift material beneath the surface: “There are large-scale vortices that can go any way. It depends on how large the object is and if it has some buoyancy; if it’s suspended it could be carried quite some distance, perhaps even more so than [by] waves because ocean currents can be stronger than wave-induced currents.”

Babanin added: “There could be some other debris - there is some shipping in the area - but it’s pretty remote.”

He said research submarines would be able to operate in the area, where ocean depths are likely to be around 4km, but that they would need to be delivered quickly because the electronic beacons on the “black box” would only transmit for around a month and 12 days had already passed.

“It’s not impossible, but it is a grand challenge,” he said.

Wen Wancheng refused to accept the discovery of possible debris meant he had lost his son, who was a passenger on the flight.

“My son is still alive. My son is still alive,” said the 63-year-old
from Shandong province. “I don’t believe the news.”

There are 153 Chinese citizens on board flight MH370, whose relatives
have been waiting for news at the Lido hotel in Beijing.

Zhao Chunzeng, who declined to identify his relative on board, said
families were seeking a confirmed discovery.

“We are waiting, just waiting and we can’t respond to news until it is
definitely confirmed,” Zhao told AFP.

Asked if he felt that the Australian announcement had greater
significance as it came from the prime minister, he said: “Maybe, but
we will still have to wait and see.”

RCC Australia received an expert assessment of commercial satellite imagery on Thursday.

The images were captured by satellite. They may not be related to the aircraft.

The assessment of these images was provided by the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation as a possible indication of debris south of the search area that has been the focus of the search operation.

The first pieces of debris were spotted within a few days of the 2009 crash, but most of the wreckage and the “black box” (actually orange-cased) flight data and cockpit recorders were not found until almost two years later.

But Dr Gallo, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said that does not mean this search will take as long. He pointed out that in all his team spent only around 10 weeks at sea over that period. “In the Air France case, if things had been done differently, it could have been a couple of months at most,” he said, adding that the initial modelling led searchers to look in the wrong place and that experts had learnt a lot since then, partly due to that investigation.

He added: “In a sense we are hoping this is the plane - it means finally the mystery comes to a close, or at least half way there. “But on the other hand, we don’t because it takes away the hope some families have that someone may still be alive - and I count myself in that group.”

If the debris does turn out to be connected to MH370, he said that every piece would prove useful. “Any little piece from the plane is a piece of evidence - you can get clues right away,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to find the black boxes. One of the pieces is big enough [that] if it was the tail section there might be black boxes in there.”

The cockpit voice recorder may be of scant help in this case: it records only the last two hours of audio before a plane crash - while in the case of MH370, the plane may have flown for hours after the critical events took place. “But there will be other clues, if the plane is treated as a crime scene. We never know what we will find,” said Gallo.

“There should be other things that could give a clue as to what has gone on - the cockpit itself; whatever position the pieces are in; the surface flaps and landing gear. We have the capability now of doing a very detailed forensic study of a wreck in deep water.”

China is paying “great attention” to Australia’s possible findings on Thursday of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight’s debris and has instructed its embassy to provide assistance in search and rescue efforts.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China expects Australia to send ships and planes as soon as possible to the search areas, according to a report by the official Xinhua news agency.

“The foreign ministry has instructed the embassy in Australia to stay in close contact with the Australian government and assist in the search and rescue efforts.

“China stands ready with relevant arrangements depending on the latest developments on this matter,” he said.

China’s response came around 2pm after Australia held a press briefing at 12.30pm and revealed that two objects spotted by satellite in the remote southern Indian Ocean could belong to the Malaysian Airlines jetliner that went missing on March 8.

At 10:00 this morning, Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak received a call from Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia, informing him that ‘two possible objects related to the search’ for MH370 had been identified in the Southern Indian Ocean. The Australian High Commissioner has also briefed me on the situation.

At this stage, Australian officials have yet to establish whether these objects are indeed related to the search for MH370.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is coordinating the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft, with assistance from the Australian Defence Force, the New Zealand Air Force and the United States Navy.

AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre Australia has received satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search for the missing aircraft, flight MH370.

RCC Australia received an expert assessment of commercial satellite imagery on Thursday.

The images were captured by satellite. They may not be related to the aircraft.

The assessment of these images was provided by the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation as a possible indication of debris south of the search area that has been the focus of the search operation.

The imagery is in the vicinity of the search area defined and searched in the past two days.

Four aircraft have been reoriented to the area 2500 kilometres south-west of Perth as a result of this information.

A Royal Australian Air Force Orion aircraft arrived in the area about 1.50pm.

A further three aircraft have been tasked by RCC Australia to the area later today, including a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion and United States Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft.

The Poseidon aircraft is expected to arrive at 3pm. The second RAAF Orion is expected to depart RAAF Base Pearce at 6pm.

The New Zealand Orion is due to depart at 8pm.

A RAAF C-130 Hercules aircraft has been tasked by RCC Australia to drop datum marker buoys.

These marker buoys assist RCC Australia by providing information about water movement to assist in drift modelling. They will provide an ongoing reference point if the task of relocating the objects becomes protracted.

A merchant ship that responded to a shipping broadcast issued by RCC Australia on Monday is expected to arrive in the area about 6pm.

Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Success is en route to the area but is some days away from this area. She is well equipped to recover any objects located and proven to be from MH370.

The focus for AMSA is to continue the search operation, with all available assets.

The assets are searching for anything signs of the missing aircraft.

Weather conditions are moderate in the Southern Indian Ocean where the search is taking place. Poor visibility has been reported.

AMSA continues to hold grave concerns for the passengers and crew on board.

When Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on a clear Saturday night from radar screens, no one could explain how the Boeing 777 had seemingly vanished. Ten days later, there is still more confusion and misinformation than solid evidence, and the aircraft with 239 people on board is still missing.

The announcement comes just after Australia’s maritime authority said the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight off the coast in Australia had halved in size and moved closer to Perth.

The authority’s general manager, John Young, provided a video update of the search operation on Wednesday which showed the initial search zone off Australia – an area of some 600,000 sq km – had been reduced to roughly 300,000 sq km and had been moved to 2,300km off the coast of Perth.

“Today the search area has been significantly refined. You can see here that the lines I briefed yesterday prepared by the US National Transportation Safety Board have been refined somewhat based on better, more detailed analysis,” he said.

Young said the refined area had been based on newer calculations made by the US agency “on the fuel reserves of the aircraft and how far it could have flown”.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing almost two weeks ago and has yet to be found. Australia has taken charge of the search mission over a potential southern flight path, after it was revealed that the plane appeared to have continued flying for hours afters the last contact was made with Malaysian authorities.

Two possible objects related to the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane have been found in the southern Indian Ocean, the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, says.

“I would like to inform the house that new and credible information has come to light in relation to the search for Malaysia airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean,” he told parliament on Thursday.

“The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has received information based on satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search.

“Following specialist analysis of this satellite imagery, two possible objects related to the search have been identified.

“I can inform the house that a Royal Australian Air Force Orion has been diverted to attempt to locate the objects. This Orion is expected to arrive in the area at about this time. Three more aircraft will follow this Orion. They are tasked for more intensive follow-up search.

“I have spoken to my Malaysian counterpart … and informed him of these developments. I should tell the house – and we must keep this in mind – the task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and it may turn out that they are not related to the search for flight MH370. Nevertheless, I did want to update the house on this potentially important development.”