More than 400 people including women and children were stranded at sea on Saturday aboard vessels running short of space and supplies.
The Louise Michel, a 31-metre boat sponsored by street artist Banksy, reported being unable to move after being overwhelmed with more than 200 people aboard.
The boat has carried out three separate rescues within its first week of operation. One person has died and survivors have told the crew that three others perished before the rescue took place.
It issued a distress call on Friday and said it was in a “state of emergency”.
The Sea-Watch 4, a migrant rescue vessel operated by a German NGO that is carrying another 200 migrants of its own, said on Saturday that it was changing course and coming to the aid of the Louise Michel.
Sea-Watch 4 crew have also carried out three sea rescues this week.
Meanwhile, a commercial Danish-flagged tanker which rescued 27 migrants on August 5 is now into its third week of being stranded at sea.
The Maersk Etienne says it was instructed to rescue the migrants by Maltese authorities but is now being refused permission to disembark them in Malta. Malta claims it did not issue any such instructions.
The three-week standoff has been condemned by the Danish government and a prominent shipowners’ association, as well as by 29 MEPs who have signed a letter calling for its disembarkation.
Meanwhile, rescue NGO Alarm Phone said on Saturday that its surveillance plane Moonbird had spotted a group of another 50 people in distress at sea.
A Maltese armed forces boat was “close but left again”, the NGO said.
Attempts to contact the AFM for comment were unsuccessful. A government spokesperson had not responded to questions at the time of writing.
The UN’s refugee agency UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration demanded that people stuck aboard the three vessels be brought to safety.
"The humanitarian imperative of saving lives should not be penalized or stigmatized, especially in the absence of dedicated state-led efforts," they said.
- UNCHR, IOM
They slammed the “unacceptable” delays in disembarkation in the cases of the Louise Michel, Sea-Watch 4 and the Maersk Etienne.
“Any delays could jeopardize the safety of all people onboard, including its crew members,” the agencies said.
They also complained about the lack of a regional disembarkation mechanism, and called for proposals to be “urgently revived, especially amid repeated standoffs.”
UNHCR and IOM also expressed concerns about the fact that commercial vessels are shouldering responsibilities for rescue operations.
The Louise Michel (back) has carried out three separate rescues in its first week of operation. Photo: AFP“Shipmasters of commercial vessels may be deterred from attending to distress calls for fear of being stranded at sea for weeks on end,” they said.
Malta argues that it is within its rights to use private vessels when coordinating rescues and says that it is obliged to come to the aid of migrants at sea only when they are truly in distress.
It, together with Italy and other Mediterranean EU member states, insists that relocation deals to distribute rescued migrants among other member states must be in place before rescued people are brought to shore.