The international medical NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Monday (August 22) that the Geo Barents rescue vessel had been given permission to dock in the Italian port of Taranto, a day after the aid group announced that it had rescued 106 migrants off Italy.

"Despite the rapid response and coordination provided by the Italian coast guard, the Geo Barents will have to navigate for more than a day to reach the assigned place of safety," MSF said in a tweet.

On Sunday, Italy's sea rescue control center had reported the migrant boat to the crew of the Geo Barents in the Italian search and rescue zone, MSF said.

Among the rescued migrants were 26 women and 42 minors. One woman on the boat was reportedly pregnant while seven of the children were under five years old. Three of the rescued migrants were from Iran, the rest from Afghanistan, MSF told InfoMigrants.

Read more: 20 migrants rescued from ship adrift off Lampedusa

Close to 50,000 migrant arrivals

The Open Arms Uno, another migrant rescue vessel, was still waiting on Tuesday to be assigned a safe port for the 100 people its crew rescued off Tunisia last week.

News agency EFE reported that the Open Arms Uno crew on Saturday (August 20) requested permission to disembark these people who "need immediate care, have suffered violence and are very affected physically and psychologically."

So far this year, close to 50,000 people -- many of whom continue on to other EU countries -- have arrived in Italy, according to Interior Ministry figures from August 15. More than half of all arrivals hail from Tunisia, Egypt and Bangladesh.

Last year, around 35,000 migrant arrivals were recorded in the same period. 

Migration has been a central issue in Italy's current election campaign, especially for the right-wing parties, news agency dpa reported. Polls suggest Italy could have a center-right alliance in government soon, as the far-right Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) is expected to emerge victorious in parliamentary elections on September 25.

According to dpa, this could have significant consequences for aid organizations, as Brothers of Italy said it wants to prevent landings of migrant boats.

Deadly Mediterranean

The Central Mediterranean route from northern Africa to Europe is among the deadliest migration routes in the world. 908 people are estimated to have perished so far this year.

Last year, more than 1,500 people drowned while trying to reach European shores. There is no state-run sea rescue mission in the Mediterranean. Instead, NGO vessels like the Geo Barents conduct search-and-rescue (SAR) missions to save migrants in distress. It often takes several days or longer until Italian authorities assign the vessel a port. Fellow EU member state Malta hasn't given permission to disembark rescued migrants for a long time.

Unless an NGO vessel finds them first, migrants trying to leave Libya for Europe are usually intercepted and returned by Libyan authorities to Libya, where they often face torture, abuse and death.

In late June, UN investigators reaffirmed previous reports about migrants and refugees detained in Libya facing serious abuse, with women especially being subjected to sexual violence.

With dpa