The image is of an oval shape with a trailing, white, underwater shadow.

The official search for the Nina and her seven crew was abandoned a month after the last message from the vessel.

The 85-year-old schooner left Opua in the Bay of Islands at the end of May, bound for Newcastle in Australia, with six Americans and one British green politician who was known to refuse fly for ethical reasons.

Family and friends of those on board, who gather weekly in the deep south of the United States for discussions, have been fundraising to continue the search, and also viewing satellite images to help pinpoint useful search locations.

They’re bitterly disappointed the search ended, and want the New Zealand Government to continue to search.

Today, Maritime New Zealand said it has seen the recent images, but didn’t believe they merited a resumption of the official search, which has already combed more than thousands square kilometres of ocean.

But they have provided drift information, which will help the private search company locate any object seen in the satellite photos.

Read the full report with photos at www.sail-world.com