Salvage workers are poised to begin hoisting the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship off the Italian island of Giglio.
It's the biggest ever salvage operation of its kind.
The 290-metre ship has lain on its side ever since foundering off the Tuscan coast on the night of January 13 2012, in a tragedy that claimed 32 lives.
The operation is expected to start shortly after 6am (1400 AEST) on Monday.
Salvage co-ordinators estimate the lifting could last up to 12 hours.
Activists warn thousands of tonnes of toxic waste will pour into the Mediterranean Sea - but officials say they are ready with extra floating booms and clean-up boats if there's a spill.
The bigger concern for the salvage workers is the resistance of the hull of the ship to the enormous pressures it will have to withstand as it is winched up.
Removal is not planned until the northern spring of next year after autumn and winter storms have abated.
The ship will then be cut up for scrap in a shipyard.
The Costa Concordia was once a floating pleasure palace filled with entertainment and sporting facilities, including four swimming pools and the largest spa on a ship.
It struck a group of rocks just offshore from Giglio after veering sharply towards the island in a bravado sail-by manoeuvre allegedly ordered by captain Francesco Schettino.
Dubbed "Captain Coward" for apparently abandoning the ship while passengers were still being evacuated, Schettino is currently on trial.
Four crew members and the head of ship owner Costa Crociere's crisis unit were handed short prison sentences earlier this year for their roles in the crash.
The ship had 4,229 passengers and crew from 70 countries on board when the crash happened as dinner was served on the first night of their cruise.
The salvage operation could cost more than $US1 billion.
WATCH: Time Lapse of Costa Concordia salvage operation
