Mrs Keen said Mr Gibson spent time scouring the coast near Cervantes,about 200 kilometres north of Perth,sparked by the discovery of a Malaysia Airlines moist towelette earlier in the year.

She said he also met with ocean drift and current analysis experts in Perth to help determine where else could be worth searching.

"It was partially from information gleaned at those meetings that saw Blaine heading to where this debris was found,"Mrs Keen said.

University of WA Professor Charitha Pattiaratchi said he was happy to see Mr Gibson may have had some success in his search efforts.

He said he had discussed with Mr Gibson where debris could wash up.

"I said it was unlikely to wash up north of the equator,that it would either be along the southern part of the West Australian coast or around the eastern Indian Ocean,"Professor Pattiaratchi said.

He said while it was"a long shot"to be in the"right place at the right time"to find debris from the aircraft,Mr Gibson had been"very keen".

As well as Mozambique,Mr Gibson has travelled to Myanmar and the Maldives as part of his search efforts.

He also went to Reunion Island following the discovery of the first confirmed piece of the MH370 aircraft.

Ms Keen said while in Australia last year Mr Gibson had also met with family members of passengers who had been on flight MH370,representatives from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau,the Joint Agency Coordination Centre and then-Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss.

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