I had taken that hydrophone-on-a-stick-from-a-rubber-dinghy to be somebody's B-roll that had been added for effect and was not necessarily how they picked up the signal. That B-roll was NOT in the original report from the ship, which is here:
Chinese Ship Detects Possible Black Box Signal in Search for Malaysia Airlines Plane
By the way, in that footage of the Zodiac, don't you think the sea looks remarkably calm for the far reaches of the Indian Ocean? It's like glass.
Does anyone know where that footage of the Zodiac first appeared and who released it? It apparently was not part of the first news release.