Petrochemical tanker ELKA Athina is sailing toards a region in the Strait of Malacca after being hailed by the merchant marine ministry of Indonesia to locate possible debris from the Malaysian airlines missing Boeing 777.

The vessel, belonging to a firm of Greek shipowner Spyros Karnezis is sailing in the Strait of Malacca , north of Sumatra. The Malaysian authorities have requested assistance from 25 countries.

At a press conference given by the Malaysian authorities, the head of civil aviation said that probably the lost Boeing was on dry land when it sent some satellite signals. The Minister of Transport of Malaysia said that the ACARS communications system that sends the position and course of the aircraft was shut down before the pilot's last communication with the control tower. The Malaysian minister said that the pilot and co-pilot had not asked to fly together.