In many cases, capsized ships remain floating upside-down due to buoyancy of intact hull compartments and air cushions. Uprighting of such a ship is usually a complex salvage operation, which needs proper planning based on predictions of ship stability. This paper considers aspects affecting selection of the uprighting method, presents features of ship stability in the inverted mode and a procedure for calculating the required forces. Approximate formulae are derived for estimating the maximum lifting capacity necessary for uprighting a capsized vessel supported by buoyancy of the double bottom and double side compartments. The formulae are intended for quick estimations at the initial stage when no detail information may be available on the casualty. A practical salvage work is briefly described.