The results of a survey carried out on the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery have been released.

The US Liberty Ship was carrying thousands of tonnes of explosives when it ran aground, split in two and sank off the coast of Sheerness on August 20, 1944.

It remains there to this day, leading many to fear a potential catastrophe if the cargo ever went off.

Some predictions claim it would be one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history, destroying the Island and sending shock waves of damage to Sittingbourne and Medway.

The survey was carried out in November 2011, but the report has only recently been made available by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Bombs were salvaged from the rear section of the ship soon after it sank, so most of the focus is on the front.

Key areas which have been identified include a crack in the hull, which has lengthened by 27cm since previous sonar readings in 2010.

A partial collapse of the deck appears not to have worsened over the last two years.

An opening on the rear side of the front section remains stable while a split at the back has also not changed.

There is no evidence of any munitions escaping from the wreck.

Sittingbourne film-maker Ken Rowles is making a documentary called The Wreck: A Disaster Waiting to Happen.

He said: “What we are doing with our film is saying it is going to be 70 years since this went down next year and the government has got to take the wreck more seriously and coming up with a solution and getting it made safe is essential.”

He added the sunken ship could create problems for plans to build an airport in the Thames Estuary.

Alison Kentuck, receiver of wrecks at MCA, defended the decision not to release the report to the public immediately.

She said: “When the surveyor is out actually surveying the wreck, they can see on the screen straight away the sonar signal so anything significant they can hopefully see.

“What you can’t see is visual detail. For instance in one measurement there is a 27cm difference.

“By the time it is released, the data itself has already been calculated measured, reported on and provided to us, our technical advisors and anyone who deals directly with the wreck is already aware.”