The retrieved Sewol ferry will depart from the wreckage site Thursday and arrive at a port in Mokpo the following day, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Wednesday.

“Engineers are wrapping up operations to securely fix the ferry onto the semisubmersible transport ship and remove the two remaining buoyancy tanks before heading for Mokpo Port, a process which we expect to complete by Thursday,” said Lee Cheol-jo, a ministry official in charge of the salvage operation.

The ferry is estimated to reach the port as early as Friday morning after a nine to 10 hour trip, but the exact hour of its arrival is uncertain, according to the official.

In preparation for the ship’s arrival, a comprehensive on-site headquarters of government officials and volunteers is set to begin operations at Mokpo port Thursday.

Since Tuesday night, the relocating operation has been thwarted by weather conditions, with waves reaching as high as 2.2 meters on Wednesday morning in waters off Jindo.

Also, the welding operation of Sewol to the transport ship was halted after bone fragments were discovered Tuesday, raising expectations that they may be the remains of one of the missing passengers.

But the National Forensic Service concluded later in the day that all of the seven bone fragments were of animal origin, possibly from a pig.

Sewol, which capsized and sank in waters off the southwestern island on April 16, 2014, is currently on board the transport vessel, with drainage complete Sunday.

The maritime accident left 295 dead and nine missing, most of whom were students of Danwon High School in Ansan who were on their way to a field trip.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly’s eight members of a fact-finding special committee visited the bereaved families at Paengmok Port, Jindo, Wednesday.

The eight-member body was appointed by the National Assembly to oversee the search operation and determine the cause behind the maritime disaster. They will work over the next six months.

But their meeting soon fell through after the families of missing passengers and the committee members failed to bridge differences and could not reach an agreement.

“The special committee should understand the bereaved families’ pain and help us to bring those responsible to justice,” said Lee Geum-hui, a mother of the missing Danwon High school student Cho Eun-hwa, after meeting with the committee members at Paengmok Port on Wednesday.

When the semisubmersible ship arrives at Mokpo on Friday as planned, it will take four to five days to load the 145-meter-long Sewol to a dry quay area.

The operating team will then search for the nine missing passengers whose bodies are believed to be trapped inside the ferry. The search is expected to commence on April 10 after workers sterilize the ship.

In case the missing nine bodies are not found inside the ship, the rest of the workers will continue to search and walk on the sea floor using sonar radar to detect the bodies, at the same time, the ministry said.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)