PEARL HARBOR, Oahu, Hawaii -- The U.S. Navy said Wednesday that it will try a slightly different plan than it first intended when it attempts to raise the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru from the ocean bottom.

Instead of rigging the Ehime Maru (pictured, right) with two cables, the Navy will string one thicker cable through the structure of the ship. The cable will be doubled-over, passed around the bow, and threaded through each of the vessel's hawsepipes, the pipes on each side of the ship through which the anchor chain passes.

Engineers have determined that the new method should be safer because it more evenly distributes the weight of the ship around the bow.

The Navy recently said that the raising operation will cost about $60 million, which is $20 million more than its first estimate. Officials attribute the higher costs to weather delays, engineered problems and new equipment brought in to fix those problems.