Costa Concordia salvage operation – in pictures

A man looks at the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship near the harbour of Giglio Porto Photograph: ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images

Salvage crew workers on the side of the capsized cruise liner Photograph: Tony Gentile/Reuters

The salvage procedure, known as parbuckling, has never been carried out on a vessel as large as the Costa Concordia before. It involves rotating the ship using a series of cables and hydraulic machines Photograph: Tony Gentile/Reuters

The operation to raise the ship was delayed for a couple of hours because of a storm during the night Photograph: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images

An international team of engineers is trying a never-before-attempted strategy to set the luxury liner upright Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP

Engineers work on the bow of the Costa Concordia before the start of the salvage operation Photograph: Marco Secchi/Getty Images

Rolling the ship off the seabed and on to huge underwater platforms is expected to take about 12 hours Photograph: Federico Scoppa/Demotix/Corbis

Reporters watch the Costa Concordia ship lying on its side Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP

The US salvage company Titan and Italian firm Micoperi work at the wreck Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images

If the operation is successful, the ship will be towed away and scrapped Photograph: Marco Secchi/Getty Images

The wreck begins to emerge from the water Photograph: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images

By midday, a rusting stain can be seen as the ship starts to lift Photograph: Tony Gentile/Reuters

The operation will see the ship rotated by a series of cables and hydraulic machines, pulling the hulk from above and below and slowly twisting it upright Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images