BEIJING, March 14 -- A Chinese patrol ship is heading for the Strait of Malacca to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, authorities said on Friday.

The patrol ship Haixun 31 left the waters around the Gulf of Thailand for the strait at 6 p.m. after searching over 60,000 square kilometers for more than 120 hours without finding any sign of the aircraft, according to the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center.

Eight Chinese vessels had searched 63,187 square kilometers of the sea's surface as of 12 a.m. Friday, covering 5721.3 square kilometers of waters underneath. No confirmed debris has been found yet.

On Friday morning, experts and officials from China's multiple government departments as well as the navy held a counsel meeting during which they analyzed new information and discussed plans to improve search and rescue work.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200ER, suddenly went missing on its way to Beijing last Saturday morning shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. The plane was carrying 12 crew members and 227 passengers, including 154 Chinese.

Search and rescue operations by multiple nations have failed to find any trace of the plane.