THE final stage of the operation to remove the wreck of the MSC Napoli is under way.

Work to salvage the remainder of the ill-fated cargo ship from the seabed off the East Devon coast is expected to take around two months.

A large section of the stern of the Napoli remains hidden beneath the waves.

The long-running and complex salvage operation had been suspended during the winter months. But the return of more favourable weather has enabled it to resume.

The process will entail lifting and cutting up the Napoli and then putting the scrap metal on barges to be taken away.

Klaas Reinigert, of the Dutch contractors conducting the salvage operation, said he hoped it would be completed by the end of July.

Two giant barges are visible off the Jurassic Coast, flanking the spot where the wreckage lies.

A cradle of 12 giant chains, capable of lifting up to 200 tonnes and attached to 24 hoists on the barges, will be used to raise the wreckage, which will then be cut into smaller sections.

A 500-metre exclusion zone surrounds the Napoli, which was beached off Branscombe in January, 2007.

Three buoys mark the area where the wreckage lies under the water.

The lifting and salvaging equipment, measuring up to 140m in length, started to arrive at the scene over the bank holiday weekend.

A lift barge, crane barge, two tugs and a utility vessel are at the site. The giant lifting chains have already been placed under the stern section of the container vessel. The project is being overseen by Global Response Maritime BV of the Netherlands.

The team used a pioneering technique to dig under the wreck and put 12 lifting chains into position under the 3,800-tonne stern section.

A series of 24 chain-pullers, installed on the flat-top barges, have now been connected to the lifting chains.

The MSC Napoli was damaged about 50 miles off the Lizard during a storm and a decision was taken to deliberately ground the ship off Branscombe.