Credible Lead' In Search For Missing Plane! Norwegian Ship Reaches

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 Malaysia said on Thursday that two objects spotted by a satellite in the Indian Ocean were a "credible lead" in the search for a missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet.

"We now have a credible lead," Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport

his "requires us overnight to verify and corroborate it," Hishammuddin said, adding that the overall search and rescue effort for Flight 370 would continue in the meantime.

Currently, there are 18 ships, 29 aircraft and six ship-borne helicopters deployed in the search along two corridors stretching from the southern Indian Ocean to South and Central Asia.

"Until we are certain that we have located MH370, search and rescue operations will continue in both corridors," Hishammuddin said

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Norwegian car carrier Hoegh St. Petersburg has reached the area in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia where two floating objects, suspected to be debris from the missing Malaysian jetliner, were spotted, the ship's owner said on Thursday.

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.

The larger of the objects measured up to 24 metres (79 ft) long and appeared to be floating on water several thousand metres deep, Australian officials said. The second object was about 5 metres (16 feet) long.

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.

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A British naval ship has joined the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane after possible debris from the plane was spotted, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.

The survey ship HMS Echo is in the Indian Ocean, where the Australian prime minister said a satellite had detected objects including a 24-metre (79-feet) long piece of debris.

The ship is designed to collect ocean data to support submarine and amphibious operations and is equipped with a survey motor boat and a contingent of Royal Marines.