Movements of the grounded ship and concerns about bad weather have interfered with efforts by divers to search underwater areas. The concern is that the ship could move off its rocky resting place and slide into deeper water. Bad weather could also delay work to remove fuel from the ship and protect the environment along the Tuscan coast.

The ship is part of Carnival, the world's largest operator of cruise ships. Carnival is based in the American city of Miami, Florida. Its one hundred one ships carry about half of the world's fifteen million sea-going tourists each year. Carnival Corporation says it will closely examine safety at all of its cruise lines, including Costa Cruises, which operated the Concordia.

A diver inspects the Costa Concordia on ThursdayShortly after the accident, the ship's owners blamed the captain of the Concordia. They said he had made an unapproved change in direction and brought the ship too close to the coast.

A judge released Captain Francesco Schettino from jail on Tuesday and placed him under house arrest. He faces charges of causing deaths and fleeing his ship before all the passengers were rescued.

A recording of an exchange with an Italian coast guard officer showed that Captain Schettino refused orders to get back on the ship. Coast Guard Captain Gregory De Falco demanded that Captain Schettino use a ladder to climb back onto the Concordia and report how many people were still on the ship. But Captain Schettino said he was not going anywhere, that it was too dark. He said he was handling the rescue from a lifeboat. An angry Captain De Falco shouted that Captain Schettino was "going to pay" for his actions.