Crew from the bulk carrier which tragically sank with the loss of 18 lives had warned of structural problems of the vessel before the ill-fated voyage, it has been claimed.

Information which has been passed to The Royal Gazette alleges that there was knowledge of deteriorating metal parts inside the Leader L after previous sailings.

The crew had allegedly reported problems in some of the seven holds, which a maritime expert said should have been repaired if they contributed to the structural safety of the vessel.

Crucially, the ship had a single hull. Last year, the cargo vessel Green Island was probably saved from sinking by its double bottom after a huge piece of hull fell off at sea. It limped into Bermuda for two weeks of repair work to its hull.

Last night, lawyer Kelvin Hastings-Smith, acting for the Leader L's owners, said he could not comment on any of the claims.

But as more details emerge of the incident, the information being provided by the surviving crewmen is likely to be vital to establishing why the ship sank so quickly.

The 776-foot Leader L reportedly sank in less than a minute, 400 miles north east of Bermuda on Thursday night, after its holds flooded. Thirteen crew survived and were rescued by the Canadian Navy, but six bodies were recovered and a further 12 men were missing presumed dead.

Yesterday, it emerged that crew noticed a hull plate popping in and out during the voyage, from Alexandria, Egypt to New York, allowing seawater to flood the number four hold.

They tried to pump out the water but failed as all the holds progressively flooded. Eventually the hatch of the hold caved in as the vessel went down by the bow.

The final death throes of the bulk carrier took so little time -- the crew readied the liferafts but did not have time to get into them.

And it has been revealed that a general SOS, which would have gone out to all shipping, was not sent. Instead, a message was sent to Denmark, onto Greece, before it was relayed to Bermuda, who alerted the US Coastguard.

But the source said the process did not delay the rescue attempt by the authorities.

He said it was understood that the crew had reported big gaps between frames and plates in the holds, which indicated that they weren't solidly connected.

A repair job had been made on a hole in the same side, but below the water level, on a previous occasion.

And yesterday the shipping daily newspaper, Lloyd's List, reported claims that structural problems on the vessel were apparent in 1998.

It goes on to speculate that the cargo, salt, may have had a corrosive effect on steel.

Built in 1977, the Leader L was owned by the Greek company, Leoninus Shipping and registered in Panama.

Representatives are on the Island as the investigation into the tragedy continues.

The surviving crew are being put up at the White Sands Hotel, pending the arrival of travel documents to allow them to go home. The bodies of the six dead crewmen will be flown home after formal identification. One man was due to be released from hospital after treatment for a leg injury.

Mr. Hastings-Smith said information was being gathered about the circumstances of the incident, which would then be assessed. "The investigation is still on going, until it is completed I cannot comment,'' he said.