The video survey of the wreck of the Solway Harvester is to continue off the coast of the Isle of Man.

Evidence is being gathered in an attempt to establish why the Kirkcudbright-based fishing boat sank last week with the loss of all seven hands.

Investigators on the survey ship Mansal 18 are using a mini-submarine and underwater cameras to look at pictures of the scallop dredger which is lying in more than 100ft of water.

They are trying to find out why the trawler went down in poor weather conditions 11 miles off the Isle of Man and are looking for the fishermen's bodies.

The Mansal 18, which was used by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch during its underwater survey of the Hull trawler Gaul in the Barents Sea during August 1998, left Douglas on the Isle of Man on Tuesday morning.

An island's police chief is with the MAIB investigators and will try to determine whether the bodies are still on board.

If they are, the authorities will then decide how best to recover the men.

Chief Inspector Dudley Butt, of the Isle of Man Constabulary, said: "It really depends on the situation at the scene.

"There are tidal problems and problems of visibility so we really have to wait and see.

Body recovery

"We need to know the conditions down there so we can determine what kind of equipment we need and whether it is physically possible to remove the bodies."

Relatives are scheduled to travel to the Isle of Man this week where they will be on hand for first news of the survey's results.

UK law on sunken vessels usually means that the bodies of victims are not recovered.

However, Isle of Man officials, acting on the directions of the island coroner, said that Manx legislation differed and allowed for the bodies to be retrieved.