The Italian port authority on Friday formally requested Malta to allow the German NGO-run migrant-rescue ship Lifeline with over 200 migrants on board to dock at one of its ports, Adnkronos learned from government sources.
Earlier on Friday, Italy's anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini wrote on Facebook that "to ensure the safety of the crew and passengers we have asked Malta to finally open one of its ports" to the Lifeline.
The Italian government claims German NGO Mission Lifeline acted illegally by picking up the 224 migrants including four children on Thursday off the Libyan coast instead of allowing Libyan coastguard to rescue them.
The government also alleges that Lifeline and another ship operated by the NGO are "illegally" flying the Dutch flag after the Dutch representation to the European Union said on Thursday that the ships did not appear in the Dutch naval registers.
Mission Lifeline denies this claim and on Thursday posted the Lifeline's Dutch registration document to its Twitter account as proof.
The charity's co-founder, Axel Steier, denied breaking any laws and defended his organisation's actions in rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean.
Salvini has repeatedly accused NGOs of being complicit with human smugglers operating in Libya and Thursday vowed on Facebook that "foreign NGO boats will never touch Italian soil again".
