The Spanish humanitarian ship Open Arms entered Italian territorial waters off the Italian island of Lampedusa with 147 rescued migrants on board .
It headed to the island after a judge in Rome suspended far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini’s decree banning the vessel from Italy’s territorial waters.
The Proactiva Open Arms charity which operates the ship said it would not try to force entry to Lampedusa port, as another rescue vessel, the Sea-Watch 3, did in June, prompting its seizure and the arrest of its captain.
The Open Arms is seeking shelter from 2.5-metre swells along with the Ocean Viking ship operated by SOS Méditerranée and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has more than 350 migrants plucked from the Mediterranean on board.
El Open Arms, en aguas italianas: "Saben que aún no hay puerto para ellos, pero ver tierra firme les calma" https://t.co/mw3olUzHaB
— Open Arms (@openarms_fund) August 15, 2019
Both Italy and Malta have refused both vessels permission to dock and unload their passengers.
