Ships are scouring a new area of the Indian Ocean for objects spotted by a New Zealand Orion in the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says a Chinese vessel has been at the scene trying to retrieve the items since first light.
Royal New Zealand Air Force aircrew on the flight deck of the P-3K2 Orion over the southern Indian Ocean. Photo: AFP / AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE / CPL JANINE FABRE
Several other aircraft have also sighted objects in the new search area, the latest a Chinese aircraft which has reported it has seen items that are white, red and orange.
However AMSA warns the objects cannot be verified as linked to the missing Boeing 777 until they are picked up by the ships.
A black box locator was earlier sent to the search area onboard an Australian navy ship.
The search area west of Perth has shifted north after the likely path of MH370 was updated following the analysis of new radar data.
Five aircraft, including a New Zealand Orion, have spotted objects in the ocean and ships in the zone are now trying to find them.
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott says the black box locator will be taken to the most prospective search area and will be deployed if there is a good reason to do so.
Australian navy vessel HMAS Success has been taking part in the search. Photo: AAP / Supplied
He says no debris has yet been recovered, despite the number of vessels in the updated search area.
Deploying the locator will be a race against time - the battery in the black boxes' signal beacon is expected to die in about 10 days.
Ships taking part in the search for the missing airliner arrived earlier today in an area of the southern Indian Ocean where unidentified objects were spotted by New Zealand and Australian Air Force Orions.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Orion spotted a number of objects "white or light in colour" within a new search area.
A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Orion reported seeing two blue/grey rectangular objects floating in the ocean and three other planes reported similar sightings.
Almost three weeks after the Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared on 8 March with 239 people on board, authorities on Friday re-focused the six-nation search 1100 kilometres to the northeast of its original location, following updated advice from the international investigation team in Malaysia.
New Zealand Air Vice Marshall Kevin Short told reporters in Wellington on Saturday that 11 objects no more than a metre in size were spotted, one which looked like an orange buoy.
He said said an Australian naval ship and two Chinese ships were in the area. Any items located would be picked up and photographed and the images sent to Perth for analysis.
The change in the search area resulted from analysis of radar and satellite data that showed the missing plane had travelled faster than had been previously calculated, and so would have burned through its fuel load quicker. The previous focus was in an area 2500km southwest of the West Australian capital.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority emergency response manager John Young said all search planes and ships had been moved to the new zone.
The new location would also allow search planes to spend more time on the scene. Previously, they only had one to two hours before having to return to RAAF Base Pearce.
Mr Young said weather conditions in the new search area were also more favourable. The new area is shallower, with water depths ranging from 2000 to 4000 metres.
The new search area is larger but closer to Perth, allowing aircraft to spend longer at the site. Photo: AAP / Australian Maritime Safety Authority
