A Norwegian freighter was continuing with a search mission for the missing MH370 flight in the southern Indian Ocean on Thursday night, said the Norwegian Shipowners' Association (NSA) on Thursday.

Sturla Henriksen, managing director of the NSA, said the M/S Hoegh St.Petersburg freighter from the Hoegh Autoliners had been conducting the search for 12 hours prior to the press conference which started at 14:30 (1330 GMT).

The search would continue into the night at a reduced intensity due to low visibility, said Henriksen at the press conference held jointly with managers from the Heogh Autoliners.

The Norwegian freighter was the only vessel in the 100-square-kilometer area where two large objects possibly from the Malaysian Airlines plane were reportedly discovered.

"We can confirm that there are no other commercial vessels or any naval ships in that area," said Henriksen.

The 230-long-meter freighter received a request from the Australian rescue center two days ago for assisting in the search when it was on route from Port Louis, capital of Mauritius, to the Australian port of Perth.

The freighter would stay in the area as long as needed and report to the Australian rescue center, which has been coordinating the search operation in the southern Indian Ocean, but the NSA would closely follow the developments, said Henriksen.

The Norwegian freighter was called for assistance because it was the closest vessel to the area, a spokesman for the NSA told Xinhua earlier on Thursday.

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. Endi

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