MH370: Australia plans to use system that found Titanic

Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan described the object as appearing to be sheet metal with rivets. "It's sufficiently interesting for us to take a look at the photographs," he was quoted as saying by CNN.

But Dolan added strong words of caution: "The more we look at it, the less excited we get."

The 2.5 metre-long object was picked up near Augusta, some 300 kilometres south of Perth. The pictures of the object have also been shared with Malaysian investigation team.

A source with the Australian Defence Force described the object as having rivets on one side with what appears to be a fibreglass coating.

When asked about the shape and scale of the object, the source said it is "kind of rectangular," but torn and misshapen.

Perth-based Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) that is leading the search also acknowledged that some "material" has been found.

"Western Australia Police have attended a report of material washed ashore 10 kilometres east of Augusta and have secured the material," it said on the 47th day of the search.

"The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is examining the photographs of the material to determine whether further physical analysis is required and if there is any relevance to the search of missing flight MH370. The ATSB has also provided the photographs to the Malaysian investigation team," it said.