Updated | ‘Alan Kurdi’ ship carrying 64 people stranded between Malta and Lampedusa

Updated at 3.35pm with ship's latest position

The rescue ship Alan Kurdi is stranded midway between Lampedusa and Malta after it aborted an evacuation in Italy on Friday

The ship was headed towards Malta on Saturday morning but now appears to have anchored off Malta's south westerly coast in the stretch of sea between the two Mediterranean islands.

Earlier, a government source told MaltaToday the rescue vessel did not have permission to enter Maltese territorial waters.

The Italian coast guard had on Friday afternoon accepted to take children and their mothers from the vessel, the NGO Sea-Eye said that it had aborted the evacuation because Italy had refused to take the fathers on board.

The position of the Alan Kurdi at around 3.30pm on Saturday, showing also its movement from Lampedusa towards Malta (Photo: MarineTraffic)

Following this, the NGO said that it had decided to head for the next safe harbour - Malta.

The vessel tracking website MarineTraffic shows the German-registered Alan Kurdi stationary in international waters.

After Italy insisted on only accepting children and mothers, Sea-Eye sent a protest to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, saying that “to separate mothers and children from their fathers without a proper reason is active family separation and emotional torture."

“Actually, Germany and Italy agreed on the evacuation of two families due to humanitarian reasons. Head of operations Jan Ribbeck, repeatedly requested MRCC Rome not to separate the families,” Sea-Eye said in a press statement.

”We once again confirm emphatically that it is our deep understanding not to separate family members from one another. Asking for your permission to disembark six people corresponding to two families with each three persons," Ribbeck told MRCC Rome.

The Italian coast guard, however, insisted on splitting families, Sea-Eye said, and, after asking the families themselves what they wanted, these told the rescuers that they did not wish to be separated.

Subsequently, Sea-Eye aborted the evacuation and requested Rome for an assignment of a safe port in Lampedusa, but this request was dismissed.

The experience with the Italian government created neither trust nor confidence in a quick, responsible and humanitarian solution, the NGO said. 

"It is all about the safety of the rescued people. Because they are human beings and that alone is enough to grant them the same human rights that we claim for ourselves," Sea-Eye spokesman Gorden Isler said, "Today Matteo Salvini not only humiliated the rescued. He instrumentalises everything and everyone in order to derive the greatest possible political benefits from this situation for himself. The many Italian hate mails that have reached us in the last two days show that he is successful."

READ ALSO: Malta and Italy refuse access to 64 people rescued by ‘Alan Kurdi’ ship

"The 'Alan Kurdi' is now on her way to Malta. It is the next safe harbour and the ship will need weather protection, drinking water and possibly food in the weekend. Malta did not insist on the separation of families," the NGO added.

The people on board the Alan Kurdi were rescued after a distress call forwarded by the Watch The Med alarmphone to the Libyan coast guard and the ‘Alan Kurdi’. 

The people rescued included 12 women, one of whom is pregnant, and two children. Sea-Eye head of operations Jan Ribbeck said the captain of the ‘Alan Kurdi’ has repeatedly requested a port of safety. No one could be reached in Tripoli via phone.