Search Update - 2:30PM Australian WST (0630GMT).
Two merchant ships are currently in the designated search area and carrying out a search by travelling back and forth through the search zone.
HMAS Success is expected to reach the search area mid-Saturday afternoon, local time (very soon).
The Chinese Government has re-tasked three warships - the Kunlunshan, the Haikou, and the Qiandaohu - to the Southern Indian Ocean search zone.
The Kunlunshan is a modern amphibious transport ship, the Haikou is a destroyer, and the Qiandaohu is a refuelling ship.
The Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon (Xue Long) was fully refuelled and re-provisioned in Fremantle port and left at 6:00PM local time last night (Friday night) for the search zone. The Snow Dragon carries 87 crew.
Two commercial jets (Gulfstream & Global Express) and an RAAF P3 Orion left Perth 6:00AM local time (1000GMT) to carry out search duties in the search area.
The commercial jets have 5 hrs endurance over the search zone, the Orion has only 2 hrs endurance.
Ten volunteers from the local State Emergency Service (SES) have been tasked with search duties (air observers) on the commercial jets.
There have been 15 sorties carried out from Pearce airbase by the RAAF and RNZAF Orions since they arrived Thursday.
Three Chinese Iluyshin-IL76's are expected to arrive in Perth this afternoon to join in the search.
A number of Japanese search aircraft are expected to arrive in Perth on Monday to assist in the search.
Weather in the search area is reported as being exceptionally favourable today, with excellent visibility, and winds down to 10 knots.
The swell never lets up, though.
Last edited by onetrack; 22nd Mar 2014 at 07:16.
Reason: addendum ..