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PHOTOS Tearful hoist of Sewol ferry

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A giant floating crane prepares to hoist the Sewol ferry at a port in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. The 6,800-ton vessel will be righted on Thursday, which will make searching the ship much easier. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The wreck of the Sewol ferry, lying on its side at the southwestern port of Mokpo, is ready to be placed in an upright position to permit a further search for the remains of victims, pending last-minute safety checks, a state-run investigation commission said Wednesday.

The ferry sank off the country's southwestern coast near Jindo Island in April 2014, claiming more than 300 lives. It was hoisted from the seabed last year and moved to a port not far from the accident site.

People watch a giant floating crane lift the Sewol ferry at a port in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Women who lost children in the ferry's sinking on April 16, 2014, wipe away tears at a port in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Workers check steel ropes being used to lift the ferry at a port in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The Sewol Investigation Commission said it decided to right the 6,800-ton vessel on Thursday because of favorable weather then.

Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., a local shipbuilder, has installed 66 steel beams under the ferry and its left side and connected wires to it from a 10,000-ton floating crane.

"Once the Sewol is upright, we will dispatch investigators within a couple of days and conduct a thorough search for missing bodies within three weeks," commission chairman Kim Chang-jun said.

The rusty stern of the Sewol ferry. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Workers check steel ropes at a port in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The complete process of securing the ferry in an upright position, including removing the support beams, will be finished by June 10.

Though four years have passed since one of South Korea's worst maritime accidents, suspicions remain over its cause.

Five people are still missing from the deadly disaster that mostly claimed high school students on a field trip. (Yonhap)