A Norwegian freighter has joined the search for the missing MH370 flight in the southern Indian Ocean, said the Norwegian Shipowners' Association on Thursday.

In a statement, the association said the freighter was asked to change her course to join the search as she was the closest ship to the area where large-size objects possibly from the missing Malaysian Airlines plane were reportedly found earlier in the day.

A spokesman for the association told Xinhua that any findings by the freighter from the area will be reported directly to Australian search and rescue authorities.

It is a large area covering 100 square kilometers and so it will take some time for the sailors to be able to spot something, said the spokesman.

"At this point we have no other information other than that we can confirm that the M/S Hoegh St.Petersburg from the Hoegh Autoliners, on the request of Australian authorities, are assisting in the search for the missing plane from Malaysia Airlin," said Haakon Svane, head of contingency secretariat of the association.

The freighter, which is 230 meters long, was on her way from Port Louis, Mauritius, to the Australian port of Perth when she was called to assist in the search.

An unprecedented multinational search operation has been conducted since contact with the plane was lost in the early morning of March 8.

The plane was carrying 239 people including crew members when it went missing.
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