Last updated 7.06pm with call for new migration pact -

More than a hundred migrants are seeking a safe port after two vessels that rescued them were banned from entering Italy’s territorial waters, with Italy directing one of them to head for Malta.

The MV Alan Kurdi operated by German NGO Sea-Eye rescued more than 40 migrants from a small boat on Wednesday and refused Libya’s offer to take them to a Libyan harbour, insisting it is not safe.

They include a pregnant woman, three young children and a man with gunshot wounds, the group said.

Instead the ship headed for Lampedusa but Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini issued a decree banning the vessel, prompting the Italian Coordination Centre to refer the Alan Kurdi to the Maltese authorities. 

Sea-Eye said this was done "even though the vessel is right in front of Lampedusa".

"Malta is more than 20 hours(sailing) away. An unbearable dispute is fought on the backs of refugees".

Sea Eye's Barbara Held said the situation had become "simply unbearable" and urged authorities to find a solution. The migrants had been on board for three days and that it was "imperative" they got off the boat soon, she said.

She said the boat is currently in the Italian rescue area, but not in Italian territorial waters, and that the nearest safe port is Lampedusa. 

Italian Coastguard officers visited the vessel on Thursday and informed the crew that Malta was responsible because they were in the Maltese rescue area. "That is not true, of course," she added.

The Alan Kurdi, previously called the Sea Eye, has been involved in several standoffs near Malta.

It was allowed to disembark 65 migrants off Malta after being banned by Lampedusa a few weeks ago when a deal was struck for the migrants to be shared by several countries. 

It also featured in a stand-off in Maltese waters in late December and early January, along with Sea Watch.

Another rescue vessel heading North

Another vessel, the Open Arms is also heading North after having rescued 69 people, including two babies and 15 women, from a sinking boat off Libya on Thursday.

Its destination is unclear but Italy has already declared it banned from its harbours.  

Previous migrants rescued by Open Arms have disembarked in Spain. But the Spanish authorities have forbidden the ship from returning to the waters off Libya, saying it would face a fine of between up to 900,000 euros, according to the charity.

Another two ships set to join rescue missions

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Sicily on Friday released the Mare Jonio - run by the Italian left-wing collective Mediterranea - which had been seized after a rescue in May.

The collective said it was preparing to set sail again as soon as possible.

It will be joined by the Ocean Viking, run jointly by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which is due to set off shortly from Marseille for waters off Libya.

Salvini blocked an Italian coast guard ship off Lampedusa last week, only letting the migrants disembark in Sicily on Wednesday after a deal with the Italian church and five European countries to take them. 

Incoming EU Commission president calls for migration pact

The incoming head of the European Commission on Friday called for a "new pact" on migration.

"I want to propose a new pact for migration and asylum because I think we need a new and fresh view," Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference after talks with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

"We know that migration will not go away, it is inherent in a globalized world. What we do need are procedures the are effective and humane at the same time," she said. 

Von der Leyen, who will take office in November, acknowledged that Italy, Spain and Greece were "geographically exposed" and said the EU must show greater solidarity.

"We need to adapt the Dublin rules to manage migration flows more efficiently," Conte said.

We cannot think the problem is just for those countries where migrants first land- Italian PM

"We cannot think the problem is just for those countries where migrants first land," he insisted. 

Last month, a meeting of EU interior ministers about migration ended without a solution. Germany and France had proposed a coalition of countries willing to admit rescued migrants over the summer months. 

However Italy opposed the plan because it would remain one of the main landing points migrants.

A follow-up meeting is due to take place in Malta in September.