Race against time to raise Kursk

Cables will be attached to the Kursk to lift it off the sea bed

ABOARD THE MAYO, Barents Sea (CNN) -- The operation to lift the sunken Russian submarine Kursk has become a race against time.

Stormy weather -- unusual for the month of August -- has arrived and is already causing delays.

Divers resumed work on Thursday after high seas forced them to return to their floating base, the navy said.

The Russian commander of the mission remains confident his crew will complete their work by the end of September, despite recent setbacks.

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"We are aiming for the period between September 24 and 29 and leaving us some room for possible bad weather in September," said Vice Admiral Mkihail Motzak of the Russian Northern Fleet.

The Barents Sea storm season begins in October, and if the job is not done by then, it might have to wait until next summer, when seas are calmer.

The Navy said on Saturday that deep-sea divers have now cut 20 of the 26 holes into the submarine's double hull that are needed to start attaching cables to raise the vessel.

Workers also have to saw off the Kursk's mangled bow, where its torpedo arsenal was stored before it ripped the craft apart.

Officials have said it was a faulty torpedo that set off a series of explosions last August that destroyed one of Russia most modern nuclear-powered submarines and killed all 118 people on board. But what caused the initial blast remains a mystery.

Once it's raised, the Kursk's body will be transported to a dry dock, where experts are to examine the wreck for clues as to what caused Russia's worst naval disaster.

CNN Correspondent Ryan Chilcote contributed to this report.