The container ship called Alexander Maersk changed its course after picking up a stress signal on early Friday, Mikkel Elbek Linnet, a spokesman at Maersk Line, told AFP. He could neither specify where exactly the migrants were rescued nor when the stress signal was picked up.

The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Rome).

The Maersk container's move to rescue the migrants is part of "an ancient code of conduct," according to Linnet.

"It's not the first time...they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years," he told AFP.

Italy's new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships -- Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, -- would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation "into their legal status". </s> The world’s leading container shipping company Danish Maersk Line on Saturday said one of its vessels rescued 113 migrants off the coast of southern Italy.

The container ship called Alexander Maersk changed its course after picking up a distress signal early Friday, Mikkel Elbek Linnet, spokesman at Maersk Line, told AFP.

He did not specify where exactly the migrants were rescued.

The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Rome).

The Maersk container’s move to rescue the migrants is part of “an ancient code of conduct,” according to Linnet.

“It’s not the first time… they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years,” he told AFP.

Italy’s new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships — Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, — would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation “into their legal status”. </s> The world’s leading container shipping company Danish Maersk Line on Saturday said one of its vessels rescued 113 migrants off the coast of southern Italy.

The container ship called Alexander Maersk changed its course after picking up a distress signal early Friday, Mikkel Elbek Linnet, spokesman at Maersk Line, told AFP.

He did not specify where exactly the migrants were rescued.

The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

The Maersk container’s move to rescue the migrants is part of “an ancient code of conduct,” according to Linnet.

“It’s not the first time… they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years,” he told AFP.

Italy’s new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships — Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, — would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation “into their legal status”. </s> Migrants board a container ship of Danish shipping company Maersk Line on Saturday after they were rescued from a shipwrecked vessel at sea. Photo: Danilo CAMPAILLA / Mission Lifeline e. V. / AFP

The world's leading container shipping company Danish Maersk Line on Saturday said one of its vessels rescued 113 migrants off the coast of southern Italy.

The container ship called Alexander Maersk changed its course after picking up a stress signal on early Friday, Mikkel Elbek Linnet, a spokesman at Maersk Line, told AFP. He could neither specify where exactly the migrants were rescued nor when the stress signal was picked up.

The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Rome).

The Maersk container's move to rescue the migrants is part of "an ancient code of conduct," according to Linnet.

"It's not the first time...they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years," he told AFP.

Italy's new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships -- Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, -- would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation "into their legal status". </s> Almost 350 migrants are stranded on two boats in the Mediterranean, including a Danish cargo ship, as a standoff between nearby European countries deepened on Sunday.

The boats include German rescue ship, Lifeline, which picked up 234 people and 17 crew members off the coast of Libya on Thursday; and a cargo ship operated by Danish transportation company Maersk, which picked up another 113 migrants off the coast of Libya on Friday morning.

Both boats have been barred from docking at nearby Italy and Malta, as the countries urged other European nations to take in the stranded migrants.

The standoff comes weeks after Italy and Malta refused to accept another rescue ship, the Aquarius, which was carrying over 600 migrants. After two days drifting in the Mediterranean the migrants were accepted by Spain, exposing the tough new policies of Italy’s hardline interior minister and leader of the anti-immigration League party, Matteo Salvini.

‘Dear Salvini, we have no meat on board, just humans’

Salvini doesn’t appear to be backing down on his tough stance anytime soon. Last week he warned the Dutch-flagged ship operated by the German nongovernmental organization Lifeline, currently stranded in the Mediterranean with over 200 migrants on board, not to dock in Italian ports.

“You (Lifeline) did a show of strength by contravening the indications of the Italian and Libyan coast guard. Now, you’ll carry this human load to the Netherlands,” Salvini said in a Facebook live video from his office.

On Sunday, Lifeline responded to Salvini in a Twitter post, saying: “Dear @matteosalvinimi, we have no meat on board, but humans. We cordially invite you to convince yourself that it is people we have saved from drowning. Come here, you are welcome!”

Similarly, Italy has also refused to allow the Maersk cargo ship, which is carrying over 100 migrants and is located south of Sicily, to dock in its ports. That’s despite the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center calling Maersk on Thursday night and asking for it to rescue the migrants, a Maersk spokesman told CNN.

The cargo ship had been traveling between Libya and Malta at the time, the spokesman said, adding that “it is now denied a port of entry and the company is awaiting further instruction from authorities.”

The ship is roughly three sea miles from the port of Pozzallo in Sicily, Italian Coast Guard press officer Commander Cosimo Nicastro told CNN. He added that of the 113 migrants rescued, five have since been brought to shore for medical reasons, including an eight-months pregnant woman and her partner, and a young girl that needed medical assistance with her mother and sister.

Lifeline ship near the coast of Malta

Axel Steier, a spokesman for Lifeline, told CNN Saturday that the ship was around 40 miles south of the Maltese coast.

However Malta has refused to allow the ship to dock, with Prime Miniser Joseph Muscat saying in a government statement that the rescue had taken place in the Libyan rescue zone and that it had been coordinated by the Italian authorities, and later by the Libyan authorities.

Given these circumstances, Malta is under no obligation to take in the ship, he said, even though the vessel is in the Maltese rescue zone.

That said, Malta has twice given food and drink supplies to the stranded ship, the Malta Ambassador to Italy, Vanessa Frazier, told CNN.

Meanwhile, the fiery exchange between Italy and Malta continued over the weekend, with Italian transportation minister Danilo Toninelli calling the Maltese decision not to allow the Lifeline to dock “inhumane” and “absurd” on his Facebook page on Saturday.

Malta’s Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Michael Farrugia, responded with tweets asking Toninelli to get his facts right and accusing Lifeline of breaking “international rules.”

Immigration continues to be a controversial issue for EU member states. During the recent federal election campaign that led to Italy’s new government — a coalition between the anti-immigrant League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement — Salvini promoted his party with an “Italians first” slogan and pledged to deport half a million migrants.

At an informal EU summit on immigration in Brussels on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared keen to manage expectations that European leaders could reach a broad agreement on migration, telling journalists that countries will need to work on bilateral and trilateral deals with one another instead of waiting for all 28 EU member countries to come to an agreement.

The Mediterranean remains the world’s deadliest migration route, despite sharp falls in the number of people trying to reach Europe by boat. That drop is partly ascribed to a deal struck between Italy and Libya last year, in which the southern European country pledged to bolster Libya’s coast guard so it could spot departing migrant boats and house migrants attempting to cross.

As of June 6, there had been an estimated 785 deaths on the route this year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said, with the majority of the 33,400 migrants and refugees arriving through Greece and Italy. </s> (CNN) Almost 350 migrants are stranded on two boats in the Mediterranean, including a Danish cargo ship, as a standoff between nearby European countries deepened on Sunday.

The boats include German rescue ship, Lifeline, which picked up 234 people and 17 crew members off the coast of Libya on Thursday; and a cargo ship operated by Danish transportation company Maersk, which picked up another 113 migrants off the coast of Libya on Friday morning.

Both boats have been barred from docking at nearby Italy and Malta, as the countries urged other European nations to take in the stranded migrants.

The standoff comes weeks after Italy and Malta refused to accept another rescue ship, the Aquarius , which was carrying over 600 migrants. After two days drifting in the Mediterranean the migrants were accepted by Spain, exposing the tough new policies of Italy's hardline interior minister and leader of the anti-immigration League party, Matteo Salvini.

'Dear Salvini, we have no meat on board, just humans'

Salvini doesn't appear to be backing down on his tough stance anytime soon. Last week he warned the Dutch-flagged ship operated by the German nongovernmental organization Lifeline, currently stranded in the Mediterranean with over 200 migrants on board, not to dock in Italian ports.

On Sunday, Lifeline responded to Salvini in a Twitter post, saying: "Dear @matteosalvinimi, we have no meat on board, but humans. We cordially invite you to convince yourself that it is people we have saved from drowning. Come here, you are welcome!"

Similarly, Italy has also refused to allow the Maersk cargo ship, which is carrying over 100 migrants and is located south of Sicily, to dock in its ports. That's despite the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center calling Maersk on Thursday night and asking for it to rescue the migrants, a Maersk spokesman told CNN.

The cargo ship had been traveling between Libya and Malta at the time, the spokesman said, adding that "it is now denied a port of entry and the company is awaiting further instruction from authorities."

The ship is roughly three sea miles from the port of Pozzallo in Sicily, Italian Coast Guard press officer Commander Cosimo Nicastro told CNN. He added that of the 113 migrants rescued, five have since been brought to shore for medical reasons, including an eight-months pregnant woman and her partner, and a young girl that needed medical assistance with her mother and sister.

Lifeline ship near the coast of Malta

Axel Steier, a spokesman aboard the Lifeline, told CNN on Saturday night that the ship is around seven to 10 hours from the Maltese coast.

However Malta has refused to allow the ship to dock, with Prime Miniser Joseph Muscat saying in a government statement that the rescue had taken place in the Libyan rescue zone and that it had been coordinated by the Italian authorities, and later by the Libyan authorities.

Given these circumstances, Malta is under no obligation to take in the ship, he said, even though the vessel is in the Maltese rescue zone.

That said, Malta has twice given food and drink supplies to the stranded ship, the Malta Ambassador to Italy, Vanessa Frazier, told CNN.

Malta's Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Michael Farrugia, responded with tweets asking Toninelli to get his facts right and accusing Lifeline of breaking "international rules."

Immigration continues to be a controversial issue for EU member states. During the recent federal election campaign that led to Italy's new government -- a coalition between the anti-immigrant League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement -- Salvini promoted his party with an "Italians first" slogan and pledged to deport half a million migrants.

At an informal EU summit on immigration in Brussels on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared keen to manage expectations that European leaders could reach a broad agreement on migration, telling journalists that countries will need to work on bilateral and trilateral deals with one another instead of waiting for all 28 EU member countries to come to an agreement. </s> The 'Alexander Maersk' waits off the coast of Sicily. Photo: Santino Galazzo/ANSA via AP/Ritzau Scanpix

Danish minister for immigration Inger Støjberg says that Italy must accept migrants rescued by shipping company Maersk.

The Italian government has refused to accept migrants rescued from the Mediterranean Sea but reportedly asked a ship belonging to Danish freight company Maersk to rescue 113 people on Saturday.

Støjberg, herself an immigration hardliner, told broadcaster DR that the position of the Italian government was “unsustainable” and “unreasonable”.

“It is unreasonable towards Maersk to put them in a situation in which they have a ship full of migrants, not least migrants whom they have been asked to help by the authorities, and this is therefore a question in which the Italians certainly should allow them to be brought to an Italian harbour,” she said.

The Alexander Maersk rescued 113 people on Saturday. Five were subsequently brought to land at the request of the Italian coastguard, Ritzau reports.

But the ship has not been granted permission to dock in Italy and therefore has nowhere to take the rescued migrants.

Denmark’s prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has previously stated that Italy must comply with its international obligations.

Støjberg will write to Italy’s deputy PM Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, one of two populist parties now dominating Italy’s parliament, on Monday, according to DR.

“We cannot take in any more, not one. On the contrary. We want to have fewer,” Salvini said to German news magazine Der Spiegel on Friday.

Until it is given a place to dock, the Maersk ship is incurring costs for as long as it is unable to follow its intended sailing route.

“This is costing Maersk a lot of money with every hour their ship is off the coast without being able to unload the migrants, so this must [be resolved] quickly,” Støjberg told DR. </s> MILAN (AP) - A German aid ship carrying more than 200 migrants headed toward Malta after Italy agreed Tuesday to take in some of the passengers, ending Europe's second impasse this month over the people rescued off Libya's coast by private humanitarian groups.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte said after a phone call with the Maltese prime minister that the boat operated by Mission Lifeline would disembark in Malta and its legal standing would be investigated.

"Italy will do its part to accept a quota of migrants aboard the Lifeline, with the hope that also other European countries would do the same, as some have previously indicated," Conte said in a statement.

The Lifeline has been blocked in the Mediterranean Sea since last week, when both Italy and Malta refused to grant it access to their ports.

The impasse was similar to another this month over the Aquarius, a rescue ship operated by French aid groups. The ship carrying 630 migrants had its journey to land extended by a week after Malta and Italy would not grant docking rights. Spain ultimately agreed to accept the passengers, and the Aquarius traveled an additional 1,500-kilometers (900-miles) to get there.

Italy's Sky TG24, which visited the Lifeline on Monday, said it was about four times over passenger capacity and running low on fuel. According to Sky, it had on board 224 migrants, including eight children, and 10 crew members.

Italy's new hard-line interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has made clear he doesn't want rescue ships run by non-governmental agencies to ferry migrants to Italy any more. Conte is pressing is European peers to take on more of the migrant burden when they meet at a summit later this week.

In a tweet about the Lifeline, Salvini said the "illegal ship will finally be seized" when it arrives in Malta, adding, "For women and children truly fleeing war, the ports are open, for all the others, no."

Salvini has likened the ships run by private aid groups under non-Italian flags to taxi services that are serving migrant smugglers.

Italy hasn't taken the same position with other ships. It allowed the Danish-flagged container ship Alexander Maersk to dock and disembark 108 migrants in Sicily on Tuesday after days at sea.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat earlier pressed other EU nations to take on a share of the migrants. He also said that Malta intended to investigate the actions of the ship's captain, who ignored instructions from Italian authorities coordinating the rescue. Authorities have also questioned the legality of the ship, which has a Dutch flag but is run by a German group.

In his proposals for dealing with migration, Conte has emphasized that migrants arriving in Italy are arriving in Europe, and responsibility for them should be shared by all the member states.

"The obligation of rescue cannot become an obligation to process all the requests on behalf of everyone," the proposal reads, asserting that only 7 percent of migrants arriving in Europe qualify as refugees. </s> Rome, June 22 - The Italian port authority on Friday made a formal request for Malta to allow the NGO-run migrant-rescue ship Lifeline to dock at a port on the island, government sources said. The Dutch-flagged ship, run by German NGO Mission Lifeline, may be set to be at the centre of an international wrangle like that which involved another migrant-rescue vessel, the Aquarius, which ended up docking in Valencia last week after Italy and Malta refused it access to ports. Italian Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday accused the Lifeline of "operating in Libyan waters outside all rules, outside international law" after it took on 224 asylum seekers. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the Lifeline should go to the Netherlands.
Container ship MV Alexander Maersk is allowed by Italian authorities to dock in Pozzallo, Sicily, after several days. There, it discharges over 100 rescued migrants. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte says German migrant rescue ship MV Lifeline will be permitted to dock in Malta in a deal that will see some of the migrants on board come to Italy.