[WATCH] Updated | Lifeline standoff: Ship allowed to enter Maltese waters to shelter from bad weather

At least five EU member states - Malta, France, Italy, Portugal and Ireland - have publicly committed to take in the migrants as ship is allowed to enter Maltese waters to shelter from bad weather

27 June 2018, 9:24am
by Maria Pace

1 min read

The Lifeline is currently carrying 239 migrants

TWEET SHARE

Joseph Muscat will address the media in the afternoon

Updated at 11am

The migrant rescue ship MV Lifeline has been allowed to enter Maltese waters to shelter from bad weather after it formally requested permission on Tuesday night, saying it needed to shelter from strong seas.

In a tweet, the ship said it was given permission to enter Maltese waters on Wednesday, to shelter from the bad weather.

The ship said earlier that "several people already need intensive medical treatment", as EU member states haggle over how migrants should be shared between them.

Meanwhile, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning that he will be addressing a press conference on the Lifeline case at around 1pm.

Earlier

The ship’s captain sent a request by email at around 11pm last night, asking for permission to enter Maltese waters to seek shelter. A reply was still being awaited early on Wednesday.

Vor 1 Tag kamen die Eilmeldungen, dass wir auf Malta einlaufen dürfen, aber wir haben noch immer keine Genehmigung.
Wir fragen nun, ob wir uns wenigstens vor den hohen Wellen & dem starken Wind vor der maltesischen Küste schützen dürfen. Sehr viele sind seekrank. #lifeline #malta pic.twitter.com/yzHI5xhdqz
— MISSION LIFELINE (@SEENOTRETTUNG) June 27, 2018

The captain said that another period of strong winds and sea was expected in the coming hours, and that a “huge number” of people on board were already suffering from seasickness.

The ship has been stranded in international waters since last Thursday, after rescuing some 234 migrants within the Libyan search and rescue area.

Malta has accepted to take in the ship on the condition that the rescued migrants are shared among the EU member states. At least five EU member states - Malta, France, Italy, Portugal and Ireland - have publicly committed to sharing responsibility.

Three other EU countries - Germany, the Netherlands and Spain - are still "evaluating" the case.