HONOLULU -- The Navy began the operation to lift the stern of the Ehime Maru Wednesday afternoon.

Crews hope to lift the stern of the sunken Japanese fishing vessel high and long enough to install wires under the hull and frame. The wires will be used to install thicker wires, which in turn will be used to move a lifting plate under the ship.

If successful, the Navy willl try to move the vessel sometime in mid-September.

The Navy says that it has helicopters in the area to spot any signs of fuel leaks and a private skimmer system will be on standby. The Ehime Maru sank with about 45,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 1,200 gallons of thicker lubricating oil still inside.

"When you have any type of oil release, there is a risk to the environment and it needs to be taken seriously," U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. George Butler said.

Plans to use a high-pressure drilling machine failed to penetrate what was expected to be soft sediment beneath the ship.

The new method being used will lift the Ehime Maru's stern for a few hours using a crane from the Rockwater Two while remote-controlled submersibles string a thinner messenger wire under the sunken ship.

The Ehime Maru was sunk on Feb. 9 when the submarine USS Greeneville hit the Japanese fishing vessel.

Nine men and boys were killed when the ship sank.