Italian authorities allowed the Ocean Viking to dock in the port of Taranto, south of Rome, on Friday (September 2). The ship had 459 migrants on board, rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in ten operations.

Some migrants showed relief and joy at the news that they had received permission to enter the port.

Some of the migrants had been on board for eight days and many of them were suffering serious medical conditions, the organization SOS Mediterranee said. The medical team leader said she had never before seen so many severe cases on board.

On Friday, a pregnant Tunisian migrant was evacuated from the Ocean Viking by helicopter. Her husband and their two children aged two and seven had to stay on board.

SOS Mediterranee said most of the migrants on the ship were from Bangladesh and Egypt, and 90% had departed from Libya.

Survivors 'ignored' by Malta and Italy

Another vessel, Sea-Eye 4, operated by the German NGO Sea-Eye, on Friday rescued 76 people – including 17 unaccompanied minors and one child – from a wooden boat. The Sea-Eye 4 set off from Sicily on August 31 for its fifth mission in the Mediterranean this year.

The Geo Barents rescue ship, run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said Saturday that it had 267 migrants on board. It had sent four requests to Malta and six to Italy to assign the vessel a place of safety. Some of the migrants were suffering from sea-sickness, dehydration and infected wounds, but the survivors were being "ignored by (the) responsible authorities," MSF said.