Phase One of the operation, planned to take approximately 60 days, began in earnest during the first week of November with the arrival on site of the crane barge 'Anna 4'. The well equipped crane has a lifting capacity of 300 tons and will play a major part throughout the project. A day or two later a set of giant steel cutting shears arrived by barge from La Rochelle where they were used in a similar operation to dismantle the wreck of the 'Rokia Delmas' on the French coast.

The shears will be used by the Anna 4 to completely remove the accommodation block. A 10,000 ton capacity barge will eventually be used to take the resulting scrap steel away to be recycled in one single load. If necessary, no.7 hold may be used temporarily to store the scrap material. With the superstructure removed, shearing operations will concentrate on the aft peak, propeller, rudder and steering gear. The engine room will then be fully exposed by removing the decks and deckheads. It is also hoped that within the first phase it will be possible to cut the hull plating down to 4m above the waterline, remove the upper components from the main engine, cut the engine mountings and seal any pipework and openings to reduce the risk of pollution.

Just how much work can be completed in this first stage of the removal operation is to a large extent dependent on the weather in Lyme Bay during November and December.

A second and final phase is scheduled to commence in late March 2008 when the heavy lift crane 'Rambiz' will arrive to remove the engine and, using pre-prepared lifting points, lift the remaining hull structure onto Smit’s barge 'Giant 4'. This is expected to be a 12 day operation that will see the remains of the Napoli completely removed. A full sonar scan of the site will then be carried out and divers and contractors will do a final sweep of the seabed to remove any remaining debris.