Rome ( CNN ) -- Judges in the trial of the captain of the wrecked cruise liner Costa Concordia agreed Wednesday to his request for a new examination of the ship , Costa Cruises spokesman Davide Barbano told CNN from inside the court . Lawyers for Capt . Francesco Schettino had asked the panel of three judges on Monday for permission to tour the ship 's bridge and engine room as part of a defense strategy he says will prove Schettino was not the only person responsible for the disaster . The move could delay the legal process for months . INTERACTIVE : How ill-fated cruise liner was raised . Schettino 's defense is trying to prove that the ship 's watertight doors did not function properly , and that is the reason the ship sank , leading to the loss of 32 lives during the evacuation . A special team of divers will have to examine parts of the ship which are still under water , including the engine room and watertight doors . The liner , which crashed on the rocks off Giglio Island in January 2012 , was rotated back to vertical last week after well over a year resting on its side . The unprecedented maneuver , called parbuckling , exposed a twisted mass of metal dotted with mattresses , passenger luggage and deck chairs on the ship 's previously submerged starboard side . Now that the Concordia is upright , there can be further investigation of the captain 's alleged mishandling of the ship . Defense lawyers for Schettino agreed with lawyers representing more than 200 civil parties against the captain , including Giglio Island and several passenger and environmental advocacy groups , in asking for a new examination of the ship . How cruise ship tragedy transformed an island paradise . Prosecutors are expected to argue that Schettino 's decision to take the cruise liner off course is what caused the loss of life , not secondary mistakes or malfunctions . Schettino also argued Monday that Indonesian helmsman Jacob Rusli Bin 's failure to understand his command to turn away from the rocks led to the crash . Rusli Bin and four others were convicted in a plea deal in July for their role in the disaster . A Florence court is considering the validity of those plea bargain agreements .
Judges agreed to a request for a new examination of the SS Concordia . The decision would cause a delay of time in the legal process . Mr . Francesco Schettino asked for permission to inspect the ship 's bridge and engine room . Schettino 's lawyers want to show that he was not solely responsible for the disaster .