Australian authorities, two merchant vessels and a chartered aircraft are spending Sunday searching for survivors, 74 nautical miles west of the Island

after 13 bodies were spotted in the water on Saturday. So far, no survivors and no more bodies have been found. "This is another terrible tragedy, another terrible reminder of how dangerous these journeys are," Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said earlier on Sunday.

Mr Clare told reporters in Canberra that an air force plane had first identified the boat on Wednesday evening with about 55 people on deck.

He said the boat, which was carrying mostly adult males but also a small number of women and children, was stationary and did not appear to be in distress.

It is understood that Australian authorities did not receive a distress call from the vessel.

When HMAS Warramunga arrived in the area, early on Thursday morning, it could not find the boat. A submerged hull was not spotted until Friday afternoon at about 3pm AEST.

Mr Clare told reporters in Canberra on Sunday that the search would be subject to a full review, as is standard practice.

"I want to make sure that everything that should have been done, was done," he said.

A Customs aircraft helping with the search spotted up to nine bodies in the water on Saturday afternoon. Another four bodies were found later in the evening.

The bodies are yet to be recovered as the search for survivors continues.

The HMAS Warramunga has since been redeployed to look for another vessel that has sent out a call for help, about 110 nautical miles north of Christmas Island. This operation is still ongoing with the help of two merchant vessels.

Opposition border protection spokesman Michael Keenan said he would seek a briefing from the government as soon as possible.

"This is another terrible human tragedy," he told Sky News on Sunday.

With AAP