Relatives of a trawler crew lost in a disaster 28 years ago said yesterday they hoped the latest bid to shed light on the mystery would finally allow them to grieve for their loved ones.

The Hull-registered Gaul went down about 70 miles off Norway in February 1974 in unexplained circumstances. All 36 crew on board, including six North-East men, were lost.

There have been claims - strenuously denied - that the vessel was sunk while spying on the Soviet Navy.

Among the dead were Ronald Bowles, of Wallsend, and James Wales, John O'Brien, Neil Peterson, James Woodhouse and James McKellar, all from North Shields, Tyneside.

Families who travelled to Aberdeen, where the North Sea diving vessel, SeisRanger, will depart for the site of the wreck, said they hoped the survey would bring them some peace.

Lynne Flay, 50, from Hull, Humberside, said: ''Hopefully they are going to bring back remains and the truth.

"We want to grieve because that's not something we have been allowed to do.

"It takes a life away and we have lost our lives because of it."

The SeisRanger, which is equipped with Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), is expected to leave Aberdeen today to investigate and photograph the wreck of the Gaul.

It was commissioned by the Department of Transport to carry out the survey as part of the inquiry into the 1974 loss. It was ordered to be re-opened last year by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who is MP for East Hull.

But some relatives at the quayside accused the Government of a cover-up and insisted they wanted answers.

SeisRanger is a multi-purpose deep water support vessel which forms part of the Subsea 7 fleet and will use ROVs to gather visual footage, and inspection and survey data to add to current photographic evidence explaining the loss of the trawler.