An attempt will be made within days to load the Transocean Winner oil rig onto a ship.
A forecast of good weather and low wind on Sunday seems suitable for the operation.
The damaged drilling platform is presently anchored in Broad Bay on the east side of Lewis after being pulled off rocks following her grounding in severe weather at Dalmore on 8 August.
The 17,600 tonne rig broke free when being towed between Norway and Malta for scrapping.
The Hawk -
Hugh Shaw, the UK Government's salvage advisor, told Hebrides News: “We are looking towards a potential weather window over the weekend.
“At the moment, Sunday is looking a bit more favourable than Saturday.
"If all goes according to plan, we would be looking at floating the rig over the ship perhaps on Saturday into Sunday morning.
“But the actual lift out of the water itself will only be conducted during daylight hours.
"At the moment we are thinking Sunday might be the best option for that part of the operation.”
If the weather forecast changes then plans will be revised.
The Hawk's deck is 157 metres long -
Initially, the rig will be moved to a different anchorage outside Stornoway where the process of welding it fast and securing fastenings to the deck of the ship will take a few days before the lengthy voyage to a scrapyard in Turkey.
Date set for attempt to remove oil rig from Broad Bay
20 September 2016
