Steady weather could see the stranded Transocean Winner rig floated this afternoon, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
A spokesperson said: “Final preparations for moving the Transocean Winner rig onto the Hawk vessel are continuing and good progress has been made on the operation in Broad Bay.
“The anchors have now been disconnected and the rig is being held on four tugs about half a mile from the Hawk.
“The Hawk has almost completed ballasting and is making final preparations to receive the rig.
“Weather conditions are improving by the hour and if this continues then it is extremely likely that the rig will be floated over the Hawk later this morning or early this afternoon.
“As long as the weather holds, the Transocean Winner will be loaded onto the Hawk and taken out of the water within the next 24 hours. The operation itself is, however, going to be lengthy.”
The Winner grounded at Dalmore beach, near Carloway, on Lewis in August.
Previously, multi-million-pound salvage operations were paralysed by high winds.
The rig, carrying 280 metric tonnes of diesel oil, had been surging up and down at high tide.