Story highlights Judges agree to a request for a new examination of the Costa Concordia

The decision could mean a delay of months in the legal process

Capt. Francesco Schettino asked for permission to tour the ship's bridge and engine room

Schettino's lawyers want to show that he was not solely responsible for the disaster

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.

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.

Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The refloated wreck of the Costa Concordia is towed to the Italian port of Genoa on Sunday, July 27, to be scrapped, ending the ship's final journey two and a half years after it capsized at a cost of 32 lives. Hide Caption 1 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The Concordia is towed into the port of Genoa on July 27. Hide Caption 2 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Tugboats tow the wreck of the Costa Concordia as it leaves Italy's Giglio Island on Wednesday, July 23. Hide Caption 3 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A view from a porthole shows the wreck of the Costa Concordia as it's being towed on July 23. It'll take about two years to dismantle the massive cruise liner.

Hide Caption 4 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The Costa Concordia cruise ship sits in front of the harbor of Giglio Island after it was refloated using air tanks attached to its sides on Tuesday, July 22. Environmental concerns prompted the decision to undertake the expensive and difficult process of refloating the ship rather than taking it apart on site. Hide Caption 5 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The ship's name appears above the water on Monday, July 21. The ship is expected to arrive in Genoa on Sunday, August 27. Hide Caption 6 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Tugboats pull the Costa Concordia after the first stage of the refloating operation on Wednesday, July 16. Hide Caption 7 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A small boat passes by the wreckage on Tuesday, July 15. Hide Caption 8 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Water is expelled from the caissons hooked onto the Costa Concordia on Monday, July 14. The ship will be towed north to the port in Genoa, Italy. Hide Caption 9 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Thirty-two people died when the 114,000-ton vessel, seen here on July 14, ran aground off Giglio in January 2012. Hide Caption 10 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – In December 2013, crews managed to rotate the ship into an upright position. Hide Caption 11 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – To float the ship, seen here on Thursday, June 26, crews attached 30 steel tanks to fill with compressed air. Hide Caption 12 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Ship captain Francesco Schettino, left, returned to the Concordia in February for the first time since he ran the liner aground. He is on trial on charges of manslaughter, causing a maritime disaster and abandoning ship with passengers still on board. He denies wrongdoing. Hide Caption 13 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Experts inspect the ship's damage in January. They boarded the vessel to collect new evidence, focusing on the ship's bridge and the onboard elevators. Hide Caption 14 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise ship sits near the harbor of Giglio on Tuesday, September 17, after a salvage crew rolled the ship off its side Hide Caption 15 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The ship had been lying on its side for 20 months off the island of Giglio. Here, members of the U.S. company Titan Salvage and the Italian marine contractor Micoperi pass by the wreckage. Hide Caption 16 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Damage to the right side of the ship is apparent in September. Hide Caption 17 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Using a vast system of steel cables and pulleys, maritime engineers work on Monday, September 16, to hoist the ship's massive hull off the reef where it capsized. Hide Caption 18 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The project to upright the Costa Concordia continues on September 16. The nearly $800 million effort reportedly is the largest maritime salvage operation ever. Hide Caption 19 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A water line marks the former level of the stricken Costa Concordia as the salvaging operation continues on September 16. The procedure, known as parbuckling, has never been carried out on a vessel as large as Costa Concordia before. Hide Caption 20 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Members of Titan and Micoperi work at the wreck site early on September 16. Hide Caption 21 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Technicians work to salvage the half-submerged ship in July 2013. Hide Caption 22 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Giant hollow boxes have been attached to the side of the ship, seen here in May 2013. Attempts to refloat the ship will be aided by the compartments. Hide Caption 23 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A commemorative plaque honoring the victims of the cruise disaster is unveiled in Giglio on January 14, 2013. Hide Caption 24 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Survivors, grieving relatives and locals release lanterns into the sky in Giglio after a minute of silence on January 13, 2013, marking the one-year anniversary of the shipwreck. The 32 lanterns -- one for each of the victims -- were released at 9:45 p.m. local time, the moment of impact. Hide Caption 25 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A man holds an Italian flag on his balcony overlooking the port of Giglio on January 13, 2013. Hide Caption 26 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A man works in front of the shipwreck on January 12, 2013. Hide Caption 27 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A couple walks along the port of Giglio at night on January 12, 2013. Hide Caption 28 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A man sits in his boat in front of the half-submerged cruise ship on January 8, 2013. Hide Caption 29 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Cranes and floating decks surrounding the ship light up the dusk sky on January 9, 2013. Hide Caption 30 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Workers stand on the edge of the ship on January 8, 2013. Hide Caption 31 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A crew passes by the hulking remains on January 7, 2013. Hide Caption 32 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – People enjoy a day in the sun with a view of the cruise liner on July 1, 2012. Hide Caption 33 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Military rescue workers approach the cruise liner on January 22, 2012. Hide Caption 34 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Members of the Italian coast guard conduct a search-and-rescue mission on January 21, 2012. Hide Caption 35 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Rescue operations to search for missing people resumed on January 20, 2012, after being suspended for a third time as conditions caused the vessel to shift on the rocks. Hide Caption 36 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The Costa Serena, the sister ship of the wrecked Costa Concordia, passes by on January 18, 2012. Hide Caption 37 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A bird flies overhead the Costa Concordia on January 18, 2012. Rescue operations were suspended as the ship slowly sank farther into the sea. Hide Caption 38 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The ship was sailing a few hundred meters off the rocky Tuscan coastline. Hide Caption 39 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – An Italian coast guard helicopter flies over Giglio's harbor on January 16, 2012. Hide Caption 40 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Rescuers search the waters near the stricken ship on January 16, 2012. Hide Caption 41 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The Concordia, pictured on January 15, 2012, was on a Mediterranean cruise from Rome when it hit rocks off the coast of Giglio. Hide Caption 42 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The ship starts keeling over early on January 14, 2012. Evacuation efforts started promptly but were made "extremely difficult" by the position of the listing ship, officials said. Hide Caption 43 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Rescued passengers arrive at Porto Santo Stefano, Italy, on January 14, 2012. The Costa Concordia was carrying 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members. Hide Caption 44 of 44

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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.

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.