Some of the migrants who arrived in Malta on the rescue vessel the MV Lifeline in June are still being held at a reception centre but the relocation process is ongoing.

A group left for Norway on Saturday night. 

France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal have already taken some of the 233 migrants.

More migrants from the Lifeline will be relocated to Belgium, Ireland and Italy in the coming days, since these countries committed to participation within the framework of an ad hoc solidarity mechanism.

Since the process was still ongoing, the number of relocated migrants would be published once the entire procedure involving all foreign delegations was completed, a government spokesman said.

The Sea-Watch 3 meets all the conditions of the Dutch flag State

Pending the completion of the process, the needs of the remaining migrants are being cared for by the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers at the Initial Reception Centre, which is not an open centre.

The NGO Sea-Watch on Friday accused the government of putting human lives at risk by illegally blocking rescue vessels. Its Sea-Watch 3 remains impounded in Malta as the authorities investigate alleged registration irregularities.

Its comment comes after migrant rescue ship the Aquarius left Malta on Thursday, having landed 141 migrants the previous day. More than half of them were unaccompanied minors.

Some feared the ship could be impounded in Malta – a fate already suffered by three other rescue vessels, including the Sea-Watch 3 – because of registration issues.

The Lifeline has been held in Malta since June. The Seefuchs and the Sea-Watch 3 are reportedly facing questions over registration.

Sea-Watch insists its vessel was prevented from sailing for 51 days despite fulfilling all conditions of the flag state and having all the necessary registrations. It called on the government to put an “immediate end to the politically motivated blockade” of rescue vessels and stop “endangering human lives”.

It said Dutch inspectors had officially confirmed that the Sea-Watch 3 met all the conditions of the Dutch flag State and that the necessary registrations were available.

Some migrants who arrived on the Lifeline last month are living in the Initial Reception Centre. Photo: Jonathan Borg

To date, the Maltese authorities had not informed Sea-Watch about the requirements that must be met before the vessel could leave port, the NGO said, expressing concern about the “systematic crackdown” on the rescue fleet as a whole.

It said it believed even if all rescue NGOs were operational, a scenario that seemed unlikely, search-and-rescue capacity would remain alarmingly low because of the withdrawal of European naval missions and the Italian government’s refusal to assume responsibility in maritime rescue coordination.