Italian authorities say the pumping of fuel from the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia can proceed in tandem with the search of the wreck.
They say the ship is stable.
Rescuers have found two more bodies today, bringing the confirmed death toll to 15. About 24 people are still missing.
The bodies are those of two women and were found near the Internet cafe on the fourth deck of the stricken liner. The nationalities of the women have yet to be determined. Seven other victims have also yet to be identified.
The Concordia might have been carrying some unregistered passengers, according to Civil Protection Agency Chief Franco Gabrielli, making it difficult to determine the number of missing people.
Captain Francesco Schettino has been blamed for running the ship aground on January 14th. He is under house arrest, accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship before all passengers were evacuated.
The criminal probe may be widened, a lawyer for the Captain said this evening. Bruno Leporatti said that evidence from his client about phone calls with the ship's owners, Costa Cruises, at the time of the accident could lead to the investigation being widened.
He said the calls with Costa's marine operation director had "opened further channels for investigation that could reasonably lead to an increase in the number of those under investigation".
Third parties "could have at least contributed to creating the tragic event", Mr Leporatti said.
According to leaked transcripts from the investigation, Mr Schettino has admitted steering too close to shore. Mr Leporatti has said that while Mr Schettino is willing to accept his share of responsibility, other factors were involved in the accident.
Investigators say he brought the ship to within 150 metres of the shore, apparently while performing a "salute" to the island. Mr Schettino says this manoeuvre was common but the company says it should not be performed so close to the shore.
According to transcripts of Mr Schettino's questioning by prosecutors leaked to Italian media, the captain said that immediately after hitting the rock he sent two of his officers to the engine room to check on the state of the vessel.
As soon as he realised the scale of the damage, he called Roberto Ferrarini, marine operations director for Costa Cruises."I told him: 'I've got myself into a mess, there was contact with the seabed. I am telling you the truth, we passed under Giglio and there was an impact'," he said."I can't remember how many times I called him in the following hour and 15 minutes. In any case, I am certain that I informed Ferrarini about everything in real time."
Separately, Mr Leporatti said that Mr Schettino tested negative in hair and urine tests for drug use, but was not tested for alcohol on the night of the accident. If the probe is broadened, it will reduce the glare of the spotlight on Mr Schettino, who has so far been assigned almost exclusive responsibility for the disaster.
His first officer Ciro Ambrosio is also under investigation.A judge has said Mr Schettino showed "incredible carelessness" and a "total inability to manage the successive phases of the emergency", according to documents from a hearing
The liner, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio as dinner was being served. It is now precariously lying on its side on an undersea ledge, half-submerged and threatening to slide into deeper waters.
Agencies