Rome ( CNN ) -- Technical experts directing the salvage operation aboard the Costa Concordia cruise ship are recommending that the underwater part of the operation be called off because it is becoming too dangerous , Italy 's civil protection agency said Tuesday . The head of the operation , Franco Gabrielli , will make the final decision , but is unlikely to go against the recommendations of the technical experts , his office said . The advice is based on safety concerns and follows consultations with relatives of the people still missing from the shipwreck and diplomats representing their countries , the civil protection agency said . A total of 15 people remain missing after the cruise ship 's collision with rocks off the coast of Tuscany on January 13 . Seventeen bodies have been recovered . There were about 4,200 people on the cruise liner when it crashed . Franco Schettino , captain of the Costa Concordia , said that after the ship hit the rocks , he ran it aground off Giglio island to keep it from sinking and limit the tilting . It came to rest on its starboard , or right , side , with roughly 50 % of the ship under water . It is currently rotated nearly 90 degrees . Salvage operations in the part of the ship above the water line will continue , Gabrielli 's office said , as will searches of 7 square miles ( 18 square kilometers ) of sea around the wreck . Underwater operations have previously been temporarily suspended for safety reasons , but have always resumed . Technical experts are now advising that they come to a permanent end . Schettino is under house arrest on suspicion of manslaughter , causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while passengers were still on board . He denies the charges , saying his actions saved lives . Schettino has admitted to prosecutors , defense attorneys and a judge that he made a `` mistake '' in colliding with the rocks off shore . But he has brushed aside suggestions that he was going too fast , as prosecutors allege . The lead prosecutor in the case is asking that Schettino be sent back to jail . A hearing has been scheduled for February 6 . But Schettino 's lawyer says he should be released from house arrest . Officials are particularly concerned for divers who are searching submerged areas of the ship amid a sea of debris that includes heavy items and wires , they said Sunday . The ship jolted slightly and then slowly moved even further , totaling about 4 centimeters over a few hours , Gabrielli said Sunday . The ship 's movement renewed fears that the vessel could slide farther . Earthquakes in the region last week also stoked fears that the ship could plunge deeper into the water . Gabrielli said that if the ship does not slip into deeper water , it will take at least seven to 10 months to remove the wreckage . And that process wo n't begin until after the fuel is removed , which could take 28 working days once it begins . In the meantime , there will be no fishing , diving , snorkeling , or other normal use of the water near the wreckage , extending the disaster 's economic toll . A number of survivors have filed lawsuits against the company that ran the cruise , Costa Cruises . Costa has announced it was offering each of about 3,200 passengers who had been aboard the vessel a lump sum of 11,000 euros ( $ 14,400 ) , in compensation for their loss of property and emotional distress , as well as a refund of costs associated with the cruise . Separate agreements will be reached with those passengers who were injured and needed treatment at the scene and with the families of those who died , Costa said .
The operation is becoming too dangerous for divers , technical experts say . The commander of the operation is unlikely to contact them , his office says . 15 people are still missing after the January 13 shipwreck off the coast of Chile . The captain of the MV Aurora is under house arrest .