The Costa Concordia will finally be righted next week in the largest and most expensive maritime salvage operation in history. The cost of lifting the giant cruise liner, which sank off the coast of Tuscany in January 2012, off the sea bed, has ballooned to £500million - a figure that could rise if there are problems, organisers admitted. Thirty-two people died when the ship, with 4,200 passengers onboard, hit rocks and ran aground off the island of Giglio after an ill-judged 'salute' to inhabitants by the ship’s captain. Scroll down for video . Heaving work: An underwater platform has been built on which the 114,00-tonne ship will come to rest as jacks and underwater cables haul it upright . The Costa Concordia will finally be righted next week in the largest and most expensive maritime salvage operation in history. Thirty two people died when the ship hit rocks and ran aground off the island of Giglio in January 2012 after an ill-judged 'salute' to inhabitants by the ship's captain . Stricken: Salvage ships circle around the wreck of Costa Concordia as it lies on its side next to Giglio Island in this aerial picture taken from an Italian navy helicopter . Salvage: 500 engineers and 18,000 tonnes of cement will be used to try to haul the Costa Concordia from its current resting place on its side next to Giglio Island . The enormous operation, to pull the . ship off the reef where it capsized, is due to start at dawn on Monday, . weather permitting, and will take 10 to 12 hours, with 500 people . working on the project. The Concordia is currently lying on its . side on an underwater reef. An underwater platform has been built on . which the ship will come to rest as a system of jacks and underwater . cables haul it upright. Uncharted territory: The international team of engineers will use a never-before attempted strategy to set upright the luxury liner . Tragic: The giant wreck of Costa Concordia has lain partly submerged in shallow waters off the Tuscan island of Giglio since the accident in January 2012 . Huge task: The Costa Concordia cruise ship could be upright again next week, nearly two years after the liner capsized and killed at least 30 people . The Concordia is currently lying on its side on an underwater reef. An underwater platform has been built on which the ship will come to rest as a system of jacks and cables haul it upright . The enormous operation, to pull the ship off the reef where it capsized, is due to start at dawn on Monday, weather permitting, and will take 10 to 12 hours, with 500 people working on the project. Above, a graphic of how the ship is stricken on the reef . It will be rolled onto the platform in a manoeuvre known as parbuckling. Workers . will look for the bodies of two people, an Italian and an Indian . unaccounted for since the disaster, as machines haul the 114,000-tonne . ship upright and underwater cameras comb the seabed. Assuming seas are calm, the ship will be slowly pulled to the vertical in an hours-long operation so it can be towed to a mainland port and turned into scrap . Dozens of crank-like pulleys will start slowly rotating the ship upright at a rate of about 3 metres per hour. Steel chains weighing 17,000 tons have been looped under the vessel to help pull it upright. Tanks filled with water on the exposed side will also help rotate it upward . The 114,00-tonne ship will be rolled onto the platform in a manoeuvre known as parbuckling . Unprecedented: The cost of refloating the Costa Concordia has risen to £500million and has involved 500 engineers . Enormity: An aerial view shows the huge scale of Costa Concordia - equivalent to a floating city - set against the backdrop of the houses on Giglio Island . An international team of . engineers and other experts has devised no 'Plan B' if the attempt to . right the hulking wreck goes wrong and . the cruise liner splits apart or falls back on its side. Assuming . seas are calm, the ship will be slowly pulled to the vertical in an . hours-long operation so it can be towed to a mainland port and turned . into scrap. The . possibility that the ship might fall apart is a 'remote event', insisted Franco Gabrielli, head of Italy's Civil . Protection agency, at a briefing to lay out logistics. 'If the . ship doesn't turn back upright, there is no other way to try it . again,' he said. The reef sliced a . 70m (230ft) long gash into a side of the hull, seawater rushed . in and the Concordia began to lean over on one side, listing so quickly . that many lifeboats couldn't be lowered to help save the 4,200 . passengers and cruise aboard the pleasure cruise. Many . of Giglio's 1,500 inhabitants work or go to school on the mainland, and . authorities will let one last ferry sail from the island at dawn . on Monday. But no ferries or other boats will be allowed until the effort . is completed. If seas are rough, or a storm looms, the ship's rotation . will be postponed to a later day next week. Divers have pumped 18,000 tonnes of cement into bags below the ship to support it and prevent it from breaking up. A . buoyancy device acting 'like a neck brace for an injured patient' will . hold together the ship's bow, and fishing nets will catch debris as it . rises from beneath the ship, said Nicholas Sloane, senior salvage master . at Titan Salvage. The . salvage team will go through the ship cabin by cabin and hand over items . found on board to the Italian state prosecutor, and the vessel will be . towed away to be dismantled. The greatest fear for environmentalists is that the ship will break up under the massive force needed to haul it upright. The Italian Department for the Environment have also highlighted the danger of pollution as thousands of tonnes of water inside the ship pours out. The ship’s fuel has been removed over months by divers and construction workers toiling 24 hours a day, but chemicals and toxins from rotting food and drink remain. Arpat, the Regional Environmental Agency of Tuscany, said it ‘will provide a sampling of the water in the affected area both during the rotation and in the days to follow, in order to identify the extent, the extension and duration of pollution.’ Mr Sloane admitted that there are risks - but once the operation begins, there is no way to stop it. ‘Once you start lifting her off the reef, you have already gone beyond the point of no return,’ he said. National Civil Protection agency head Franco Gabrielli said: 'This scale of operation has never been attempted before. 'Like all things that have never been done before, there are elements of uncertainty.' He added: 'The theory that the wreck will break is a remote possibility. 'What’s more likely is the possibility of spills. 'Specific plans have been put in place if that happens.' Eventually, in a secondary operation, the cruise liner will be refloated and towed away to be broken up for scrap metal. Four Costa Concordia crew members and a Costa Cruises company official were sentenced to jail in July for their part in the accident, and the ship's captain Francesco Schettino remains on trial for manslaughter and causing the loss of the ship. The captain is accused of abandoning ship before all crew and passengers had been rescued. A coastguard's angry phone order to him - 'Get back on board, damn it!' - became a catchphrase in Italy after the accident. Four Costa Concordia crew members and a Costa Cruises company official were sentenced to jail in July for their part in the accident, and the ship's captain Francesco Schettino (above) remains on trial for manslaughter and causing the loss of the ship . Passengers onboard the cruise ship Costa Concordia wait to be evacuated after it ran aground . Pulleys, rotation and steel chains: The art of parbuckling . A 500-member salvage team from 24 nations will be conducting the operation to move the ship, known in nautical terms as parbuckling, before the autumn storm season arrives, when winds and powerful waves risk battering it to the point it won't hold together. Dozens of crank-like pulleys will start slowly rotating the ship upright at a rate of about 3metres per hour. Steel chains weighing 17,000 tons have been looped under the vessel to help pull it upright. Tanks filled with water on the exposed side will also help rotate it upward. Although parbuckling is a tested way to set upright capsized vessels, the operation has never been applied to a huge cruise liner. The ship's fuel has been removed over months by divers and construction workers toiling 24 hours a day, but chemicals and toxins from rotting food and drink remain . Mr Sloane said the Concordia will suffer an 'extreme amount of force' of compression in the first part of the manoeuvre. He is 'pretty satisfied' the vessel will survive the stress, adding: 'We expect her to come up to vertical'. 'She's resting in pristine waters on this hill' of two massive pieces of sloping granite seabed, Sloane said. Tension: Observers will hold their breath during the difficult and never-before-tried operation to salvage the Costa Concordia is attempted . He likened the ship's hull bottom to a 'big belly... about the size of a football field' perched on the two reefs. Months ago, divers inserted cement-filled bags and grouting between the reefs to provide more stability. The aim of the parbuckling is to set the wreck upright on an underwater platform that has been installed. 'The objective is to get her to move very slowly and gently,' Sloane said. Engineers indicated they would be anxiously watching the early parts of the effort. Once the ship moves upward some 25 degrees, Sloane said: 'At that point, gravity takes over, and at that point, we start feeling relief.'
114,00-tonne ship sank off the coast of Tuscany in January 2012 and is due to be lifted on Monday .
Cost of raising it off seabed .
has ballooned to £500m .
Underwater platform has been built on .
which ship will come to rest as jacks and underwater .
cables haul it upright .
Divers have pumped 18,000 tonnes of cement into bags below the ship to support it and prevent it from breaking up .
32 people died when it hit rocks and ran aground off the island of Giglio after an .
ill-judged 'salute' to inhabitants by the ship’s captain .
The Costa Concordia will finally be righted next week in the largest and most expensive maritime salvage operation in history. The cost of lifting the giant cruise liner, which sank off the coast of Tuscany in January 2012, off the sea bed, has ballooned to £500million - a figure that could rise if there are problems, organisers admitted. Thirty-two people died when the ship, with 4,200 passengers onboard, hit rocks and ran aground off the island of Giglio after an ill-judged 'salute' to inhabitants by the ship’s captain. Scroll down for video . Heaving work: An underwater platform has been built on which the 114,00-tonne ship will come to rest as jacks and underwater cables haul it upright . The Costa Concordia will finally be righted next week in the largest and most expensive maritime salvage operation in history. Thirty two people died when the ship hit rocks and ran aground off the island of Giglio in January 2012 after an ill-judged 'salute' to inhabitants by the ship's captain . Stricken: Salvage ships circle around the wreck of Costa Concordia as it lies on its side next to Giglio Island in this aerial picture taken from an Italian navy helicopter . Salvage: 500 engineers and 18,000 tonnes of cement will be used to try to haul the Costa Concordia from its current resting place on its side next to Giglio Island . The enormous operation, to pull the . ship off the reef where it capsized, is due to start at dawn on Monday, . weather permitting, and will take 10 to 12 hours, with 500 people . working on the project. The Concordia is currently lying on its . side on an underwater reef. An underwater platform has been built on . which the ship will come to rest as a system of jacks and underwater . cables haul it upright. Uncharted territory: The international team of engineers will use a never-before attempted strategy to set upright the luxury liner . Tragic: The giant wreck of Costa Concordia has lain partly submerged in shallow waters off the Tuscan island of Giglio since the accident in January 2012 . Huge task: The Costa Concordia cruise ship could be upright again next week, nearly two years after the liner capsized and killed at least 30 people . The Concordia is currently lying on its side on an underwater reef. An underwater platform has been built on which the ship will come to rest as a system of jacks and cables haul it upright . The enormous operation, to pull the ship off the reef where it capsized, is due to start at dawn on Monday, weather permitting, and will take 10 to 12 hours, with 500 people working on the project. Above, a graphic of how the ship is stricken on the reef . It will be rolled onto the platform in a manoeuvre known as parbuckling. Workers . will look for the bodies of two people, an Italian and an Indian . unaccounted for since the disaster, as machines haul the 114,000-tonne . ship upright and underwater cameras comb the seabed. Assuming seas are calm, the ship will be slowly pulled to the vertical in an hours-long operation so it can be towed to a mainland port and turned into scrap . Dozens of crank-like pulleys will start slowly rotating the ship upright at a rate of about 3 metres per hour. Steel chains weighing 17,000 tons have been looped under the vessel to help pull it upright. Tanks filled with water on the exposed side will also help rotate it upward . The 114,00-tonne ship will be rolled onto the platform in a manoeuvre known as parbuckling . Unprecedented: The cost of refloating the Costa Concordia has risen to £500million and has involved 500 engineers . Enormity: An aerial view shows the huge scale of Costa Concordia - equivalent to a floating city - set against the backdrop of the houses on Giglio Island . An international team of . engineers and other experts has devised no 'Plan B' if the attempt to . right the hulking wreck goes wrong and . the cruise liner splits apart or falls back on its side. Assuming . seas are calm, the ship will be slowly pulled to the vertical in an . hours-long operation so it can be towed to a mainland port and turned . into scrap. The . possibility that the ship might fall apart is a 'remote event', insisted Franco Gabrielli, head of Italy's Civil . Protection agency, at a briefing to lay out logistics. 'If the . ship doesn't turn back upright, there is no other way to try it . again,' he said. The reef sliced a . 70m (230ft) long gash into a side of the hull, seawater rushed . in and the Concordia began to lean over on one side, listing so quickly . that many lifeboats couldn't be lowered to help save the 4,200 . passengers and cruise aboard the pleasure cruise. Many . of Giglio's 1,500 inhabitants work or go to school on the mainland, and . authorities will let one last ferry sail from the island at dawn . on Monday. But no ferries or other boats will be allowed until the effort . is completed. If seas are rough, or a storm looms, the ship's rotation . will be postponed to a later day next week. Divers have pumped 18,000 tonnes of cement into bags below the ship to support it and prevent it from breaking up. A . buoyancy device acting 'like a neck brace for an injured patient' will . hold together the ship's bow, and fishing nets will catch debris as it . rises from beneath the ship, said Nicholas Sloane, senior salvage master . at Titan Salvage. The . salvage team will go through the ship cabin by cabin and hand over items . found on board to the Italian state prosecutor, and the vessel will be . towed away to be dismantled. The greatest fear for environmentalists is that the ship will break up under the massive force needed to haul it upright. The Italian Department for the Environment have also highlighted the danger of pollution as thousands of tonnes of water inside the ship pours out. The ship’s fuel has been removed over months by divers and construction workers toiling 24 hours a day, but chemicals and toxins from rotting food and drink remain. Arpat, the Regional Environmental Agency of Tuscany, said it ‘will provide a sampling of the water in the affected area both during the rotation and in the days to follow, in order to identify the extent, the extension and duration of pollution.’ Mr Sloane admitted that there are risks - but once the operation begins, there is no way to stop it. ‘Once you start lifting her off the reef, you have already gone beyond the point of no return,’ he said. National Civil Protection agency head Franco Gabrielli said: 'This scale of operation has never been attempted before. 'Like all things that have never been done before, there are elements of uncertainty.' He added: 'The theory that the wreck will break is a remote possibility. 'What’s more likely is the possibility of spills. 'Specific plans have been put in place if that happens.' Eventually, in a secondary operation, the cruise liner will be refloated and towed away to be broken up for scrap metal. Four Costa Concordia crew members and a Costa Cruises company official were sentenced to jail in July for their part in the accident, and the ship's captain Francesco Schettino remains on trial for manslaughter and causing the loss of the ship. The captain is accused of abandoning ship before all crew and passengers had been rescued. A coastguard's angry phone order to him - 'Get back on board, damn it!' - became a catchphrase in Italy after the accident. Four Costa Concordia crew members and a Costa Cruises company official were sentenced to jail in July for their part in the accident, and the ship's captain Francesco Schettino (above) remains on trial for manslaughter and causing the loss of the ship . Passengers onboard the cruise ship Costa Concordia wait to be evacuated after it ran aground . Pulleys, rotation and steel chains: The art of parbuckling . A 500-member salvage team from 24 nations will be conducting the operation to move the ship, known in nautical terms as parbuckling, before the autumn storm season arrives, when winds and powerful waves risk battering it to the point it won't hold together. Dozens of crank-like pulleys will start slowly rotating the ship upright at a rate of about 3metres per hour. Steel chains weighing 17,000 tons have been looped under the vessel to help pull it upright. Tanks filled with water on the exposed side will also help rotate it upward. Although parbuckling is a tested way to set upright capsized vessels, the operation has never been applied to a huge cruise liner. The ship's fuel has been removed over months by divers and construction workers toiling 24 hours a day, but chemicals and toxins from rotting food and drink remain . Mr Sloane said the Concordia will suffer an 'extreme amount of force' of compression in the first part of the manoeuvre. He is 'pretty satisfied' the vessel will survive the stress, adding: 'We expect her to come up to vertical'. 'She's resting in pristine waters on this hill' of two massive pieces of sloping granite seabed, Sloane said. Tension: Observers will hold their breath during the difficult and never-before-tried operation to salvage the Costa Concordia is attempted . He likened the ship's hull bottom to a 'big belly... about the size of a football field' perched on the two reefs. Months ago, divers inserted cement-filled bags and grouting between the reefs to provide more stability. The aim of the parbuckling is to set the wreck upright on an underwater platform that has been installed. 'The objective is to get her to move very slowly and gently,' Sloane said. Engineers indicated they would be anxiously watching the early parts of the effort. Once the ship moves upward some 25 degrees, Sloane said: 'At that point, gravity takes over, and at that point, we start feeling relief.'
of Tuscany in January 2012, off the sea bed, has the island of Giglio after an ill-judged 'salute' has been built on which the 114,00-tonne ship will come to rest as jacks and underwater cables history. Thirty two people died when the ship hit rocks and ran aground off the island of Giglio in January 2012 after an ill-judged 'salute' to inhabitants by the ship's captain . Stricken: platform has been built on . which the ship will . cables haul it upright. Uncharted territory: later day next week. Divers have pumped 18,000 tonnes of cement into bags below the ship to support it and prevent it from breaking up. A .