ROME, September 23 (RAPSI) – Lawyers of Francesco Schettino, the captain of shipwrecked Costa Concordia cruise liner, asked the court Monday to appoint an additional forensic evaluation of the ship, in order to determine whether any mechanical failure could have caused the accident, ANSA news agency reports.

Last week, the wreckage of Costa Concordia was lifted from the reef and propped vertically during a salvage operation. This makes another forensic evaluation of the ship possible.

The hearings of the case at the Moderno Theater resumed on Monday in the town of Grosseto, Italy. Schettino stated that the accident took place because of a mistake by the helmsman, who misunderstood the command and steered the ship right instead of left.

The Costa Concordia sank off the coast of Giglio near Tuscany in Italy on the evening of January 13 last year, resulting in the deaths of 32 people and injuring hundreds of the 4,200 passengers and crew on board.