MADRID (Reuters) - Spain offered on Monday to take in a rescue ship that is drifting in the Mediterranean sea with 629 migrants on board after Italy and Malta refused to let it dock.

The Aquarius ship picked up the migrants, including 123 unaccompanied minors, 11 other children and seven pregnant women, from inflatable boats off the coast of Libya at the weekend.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who took office just over a week ago, has given instructions for the boat to be admitted to the eastern port of Valencia, his office said in a statement.</s>The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) launched an initiative in Rome on Monday to help find missing migrants in the Mediterranean, a day after Italy and Malta refused to allow a rescue boat carrying 629 migrants to dock in their ports.

Representatives from Italy, Malta, Greece and Cyprus met to discuss ways to better locate and identify missing migrants — at the same time the Aquarius rescue ship, carrying migrants including children and pregnant women, was left stranded at sea for two days — until Spain mid-Monday said it would allow it to dock at the port of Valencia.

“It’s the first time in history that governments have come together on this issue, believe it or not,” said Kathryne Bomberber, ICMP Executive Director.

“One country is not capable of dealing with this problem, just given the enormity, the scale of the problem and given that migrants are missing across the Mediterranean.”

“So it’s very important that governments cooperate to account for the missing persons and that they meet their obligations under the law to investigate missing persons cases,” said Bomberber.

Nearly 27,000 migrants may have disappeared worldwide since 2014, including 16,000 in the Mediterranean, said participants at the meeting in a statement.

Drownings in the Mediterranean began surging in 2013 as Europe’s worst migration crisis since World War II began picking up speed, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and elsewhere.

A large number of children cannot be located after their arrival in Europe.

“One of the challenges for any country faced with the migrant issue is finding practical solutions to this issue… The point is to not politicise this process, but work together to find practical economic solutions,” said Bomberber.</s>The minister is being seen as making good on ‘get-tough’ anti-immigration electoral promises by banning the boat in a move which has seismic implications for the EU and international asylum policy. The ship Aquarius, carrying 629 migrants from Libya, including seven pregnant women, is operated by the charities Medecins Sans Frontieres and Sos Mediterranee. The vessel remains afloat in the Med, unable to dock. Mr Salvini, who is also head of the hard right, anti-immigrant Lega party, could end up closing every Italian port. He took to Facebook to explain his move and wrote: “Enough. Saving lives is a duty, transforming Italy in a refugee camp isn’t. “Italy is done with taking orders, this time there is someone saying no.

“France pushes people back at the border, Spain defends its frontier with weapons. “From today, Italy will also start to say no to human trafficking, no to the business of illegal immigration.” But Mr Salvini’s decision has incensed Maltese politicians who have also refused to take in the migrants. Malta’s prime minister Joseph Muscat said: “The Italian government is breaching international rules and, with its attitude, is risking to create a situation that would be dangerous to everyone. “Malta is respecting international rules and, therefore, can’t let Aquarius dock at its port.

“Nevertheless I am very worried for the direction taken by Italian authorities.” On Sunday Maltese defence experts even accused the new Italian government of deliberately inflaming pan-European politics, according to Italian newspaper Repubblica. One said: “Rome is seeking a diplomatic incident”. They explained that Valletta had no responsibility over the people aboard of Aquarius as they had been saved by Italian Navy in Libyan waters. SOS Mediterranee confirmed that there were 629 people on board, including 123 unaccompanied minors, 11 other children and seven pregnant women after being involved in six rescue operations off the coast of Libya. One of the rescues was carried out in collaboration with Italian naval units, which later transferred the refugees onto the Aquarius. The charity added on Twitter: “We have acknowledged what was stated by the Italian interior minister to Italian media.

“Our only goal is to let the people we assisted yesterday in difficult conditions to dock in a secure port.” Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is nominally in charge of the ports, said: “Malta cannot continue looking the other way when it comes to respecting international conventions.” But the mayor of Naples opposed to the direction taken by the government. Left-wing mayor Luigi De Magistris said he would welcome in the humanitarian boat and added: “Naples is ready, without funds, to save lives.” The Dublin Regulation, the set of EU rules focused on immigration, generally require the migrants' first country of entry to examine their asylum claims. By not letting migrants in, Mr Salvini is trying to avoid Italy to take upon itself this burden.</s>Spain's prime minister has said the country will take in a rescue ship stranded in the Mediterranean, to help avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

Pedro Sánchez said he would give "safe harbour" to the Aquarius and the 629 people on board, after Italy and Malta both refused to let the ship dock.

The UN refugee agency and the EU had both called for a swift end to the stand-off between the two countries.

Mr Sánchez has said the ship will dock in Valencia.

The migrants aboard the Aquarius were picked up in six different rescue operations off Libya's coast, according to the German charity SOS Méditerranée.

Many are children, and pregnant women are also among them.

Why didn't Italy or Malta take the ship?

Italy's new Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused to let it in, saying: "Saving lives is a duty, turning Italy into a huge refugee camp is not."

Mr Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, promised during Italy's recent general election to take a tough stance against migration.

He said Malta should accept the Aquarius, but it refused, arguing that it falls under Italy's jurisdiction.

Italy is the main entry point for migrants crossing from North Africa to Europe.

SOS Méditerranée earlier said the Aquarius had been instructed by the Italian Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre to stand by in its current position, 35 nautical miles (65km) from Italy and 27 nautical miles from Malta.</s>Malta is accusing Italy of violating international norms by instructing a migrant rescue ship with 629 people aboard to stay at sea while a diplomatic standoff plays out over where it can dock.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Italy’s refusal to allow the Aquarius ship to dock at an Italian port risks “creating a dangerous situation for all those involved.”

In a statement late Sunday after speaking with his Italian counterpart, Muscat refused to let the ship dock in a Maltese port, but said Malta will conduct emergency medical evacuations if necessary.

The standoff marked the first display of Italy’s get-tough immigration policy under the right-wing, xenophobic League. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted Sunday that from now on, “Italy, too, begins to say NO to the trafficking of human beings.”</s>Italy refuses to let a humanitarian ship carrying more than 600 migrants dock at its ports and has asked Malta to open its doors to the vessel, but Malta has brushed off the request.

SPAIN offered Monday to take in a ship stranded in the Mediterranean with 629 migrants aboard after Italy and Malta refused to let the vessel dock in their ports.

The ship Aquarius warned that fresh food and drink supplied by the Maltese navy on Monday would only last until Tuesday.

The migrants, including pregnant women and scores of children, were discovered in inflatable boats off the coast of Libya and saved by the French charity SOS Mediterranee on Saturday. They were taken on-board the Aquarius but Italy and Malta refused to let the ship dock.

Malta and the new populist government in Italy each refused to take the migrants in, accusing each other of failing to meet their obligations.

The refusal to accept the Aquarius in Italy was the first major anti-migrant move since far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini took office this month.

Salvini tweeted “VICTORY” after two days of confrontation with Malta over the migrants ended with Spain’s offer of help.

The new Spanish administration headed by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez agreed to allow the Aquarius to dock in its eastern port of Valencia, insisting that it was an “obligation” to do so.

But Spain’s new foreign minister, Josep Borrell, said the gesture was also intended to underline the need for solidarity from the entire bloc.

“Italy has received an enormous influx of migrants and so far other European countries haven’t shown much solidarity,” Borrell told a news briefing in Madrid.

There was, he said, a “need for Europeans … to face up, in a united and coordinated manner, to a problem that is a problem for all, and not just for Greece one year and for Italy the next”.

SOS Mediterranee director general Sophie Beau said Spain’s offer “is encouraging and shows that some states are sensitive to the humanitarian emergency”.

She warned that the ship will have to travel some 1300 kilometres to reach the Spanish coast — which AFP estimates could take at least four days — and that by Tuesday “there will be no more food (on board) apart from energy biscuits”.

“The Aquarius has just received a resupply of 950 bottles of water, 800 packs of noodles and snacks from a vessel of the Maltese navy,” the SOS Mediterranee tweeted Monday.

“Food distribution ongoing on board the Aquarius. Despite the resupply this afternoon, food stock will only allow for one more meal tomorrow.” Malta and Italy thanked Spain for stepping up, but maintained their dispute over who was responsible.

Muscat tweeted his thanks to Sanchez “for agreeing to accept the Aquarius after Italy violated international law and caused an impasse”.

He added: “It will be necessary to sit down and discuss how to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future. This is a European issue.”

Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said his country had “asked for a gesture of solidarity from Europe and this gesture has been made”.

Conte is set to head to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday ahead of the European summit on June 28-29, with a particular focus on migration, Macron’s office said Monday.

But Beau said that under maritime law the ship should be allowed to dock in one of the nearest countries, Italy or Malta.

The UN had called on Malta and Italy to immediately allow the boat to dock, describing the situation as “an urgent humanitarian imperative”.

The EU and the bloc’s biggest member state Germany made similar pleas.

“The priority of both the Italian and Maltese authorities should be ensuring these people receive the care they need,” European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters, calling for a “swift resolution”.

But Salvini refused to back down.

“Saving lives is a duty, turning Italy into a huge refugee camp is not. Italy is done bending over backwards and obeying, this time THERE IS SOMEONE WHO SAYS NO,” he wrote on Twitter followed by the hashtag #closethedoors.

MSF Sea (Doctors Without Borders) said the medical situation of those on the Aquarius was “stable for now but unnecessary delay to disembarkation in safe port puts vulnerable patients at risk.”

“Particularly seven pregnant woman, 15 with serious chemical burns and several critical drowning hypothermia patients,” MSF Sea said.

Conte said Sunday that Rome had sent two patrol ships with doctors on board “ready to intervene and ensure the health of anyone on board the Aquarius who might have the need”.

The migrants were rescued in six separate night-time operations in the central Mediterranean on Saturday.

Under EU rules, migrants must apply for asylum in the European country where they first arrive.

That has put pressure on Italy and Greece, the entry points for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia since 2015.

EU leaders in December had set an end-June deadline for an overhaul of rules to create a permanent mechanism to deal with migrants in the event of a new emergency.

The summer of 2016 saw a surge in mass drownings in the Mediterranean, at the peak of Europe’s worst migration crisis since World War II.</s>Spain offered Monday to take in a ship stranded in the Mediterranean with 629 migrants aboard after Italy and Malta refused to let the vessel dock in their ports.

The migrants, including pregnant women and scores of children, were saved by the French charity SOS Mediterranee on Saturday.

They were taken on board its ship Aquarius, which is now between Malta and Sicily.

But Malta and Italy — whose new populist government has vowed a tough new stance on immigration — have both refused to take the migrants in, triggering concern in the international community about their plight.

Spain’s new Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez agreed to allow the ship to dock in its eastern port of Valencia.

“The prime minister has given instructions for Spain to honour international commitments on humanitarian crises and announced that the country will receive the ship Aquarius,” his office said in a statement.

“It is our obligation to help to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and to offer a safe port to these people.”

The UN had called on Malta and Italy to immediately allow the boat to dock, describing the situation as “an urgent humanitarian imperative”.

It suggested that the hundreds on board “are running out of provisions.”

The EU and the bloc’s biggest member state Germany made similar pleas.

“The priority of both the Italian and Maltese authorities should be ensuring these people receive the care they need,” European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters, calling for a “swift resolution”.

Italy’s refusal to take in the migrants is the first sign of the new government’s hardened stance on immigration.

Its far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini showed no sign of backing down on Monday.

“Saving lives is a duty, turning Italy into a huge refugee camp is not. Italy is done bending over backwards and obeying, this time THERE IS SOMEONE WHO SAYS NO,” he wrote on Twitter followed by the hashtag #closethedoors.

The Maltese government insisted it was “acting in full conformity with its international obligations”.

SOS Mediterranee tweeted late Sunday that the Aquarius had received instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre to stand by in its current position 35 nautical miles from Italy and 27 nautical miles from Malta.

“We haven’t moved since last night, people are starting to wonder why we’ve stopped,” journalist Anelise Borges, who is aboard the Aquarius, said in a tweet.

MSF Sea (Doctors Without Borders) said the medical situation of those on board was “stable for now but unnecessary delay to disembarkation in safe port puts vulnerable patients at risk.”

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Sunday that Rome had sent two patrol ships with doctors on board “ready to intervene and ensure the health of anyone on board the Aquarius who might have the need”.

The migrants were rescued in six separate night-time operations in the central Mediterranean on Saturday.

“The people we saved yesterday were in a difficult condition, at least 50 were at risk of drowning. We need to have an idea of what port to go to, something that up to now we haven’t had,” Aquarius crew member Alessandro Porro told news channel Sky TG24 on Sunday.

The French organisation said those brought on board included 123 unaccompanied minors, 11 small children and the seven pregnant women.

Under EU rules migrants must apply for asylum in the European country where they first arrive.

That has put pressure on Italy and Greece, the entry points for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia since 2015.

Some in Italy have offered to take in migrants. The mayor of Taranto, Rinaldo Melucci said the southern port city was “ready to embrace every life in danger”.

Naples mayor Luigi de Magistris said on Twitter that “if a minister without a heart leaves pregnant women, children, old people, human beings to die, the port of Naples is ready to welcome them”.

EU leaders in December had set an end-June deadline for an overhaul of rules to create a permanent mechanism to deal with migrants in the event of a new emergency.

The summer of 2016 saw a surge in mass drownings in the Mediterranean, at the peak of Europe’s worst migration crisis since World War II.</s>Spain stepped up Monday and offered to take in a rescue ship carrying more than 600 migrants after Italy and Malta refused. The diplomatic standoff left the migrants stranded in the Mediterranean Sea and revealed the brass-knuckled negotiating tactics of Italy's new anti-immigrant government.

Italy and Malta quickly thanked Spain's new Socialist prime minister for the offer to receive aid group SOS Mediterranee's ship at the port of Valencia. But it wasn't certain if the voyage was feasible given the distance and how long the rescue vessel had been at sea.

The Aquarius on Monday was more than 750 nautical miles from Valencia and said it had received no instructions yet to head to Spain.

"It means that we need at least two more days of sailing, which is not possible today with 629 people on board," SOS Mediterranee Maritime Operations Manager Antoine Laurent said.

The U.N. refugee agency, the European Union, Germany and humanitarian groups had all demanded that the Mediterranean countries put their domestic politics aside and urgently consider the plight of the 629 migrants, among them more than 100 children, pregnant women and people suffering from hypothermia.

"The duty of a democratic government is not to look away" in a humanitarian crisis, said Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, who also offered her port as a potential solution to the standoff.

Doctors Without Borders, which has staff aboard the Aquarius, said the rescued migrants were stable for now but that food and water on the ship would run out by Monday night. It said some of the passengers were suffering from water in their lungs as well as chemical burns caused when gasoline mixes with seawater. Seven are pregnant.

"The team is still a bit calm and we know the situation is stable but it cannot run" forever, SOS Mediterranee's Laurent said.

Despite the diplomatic pressure, Italy and Malta held firm, with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini clearly using the high seas drama as a pretext to force the hand of Italy's European neighbors. Italy has long demanded that the EU change its migration policy and make good on promises to accept more refugees, saying that Italy has been left alone to coordinate rescues and accept tens of thousands of migrants a year for asylum processing.

"Enough!" Salvini said Monday. "Saving lives is a duty, but transforming Italy into an enormous refugee camp isn't."

He tweeted: #Chiudiamoiporti. "We're closing the ports."

Satisfied with Spain's offer, Salvini later told reporters the standoff with Malta was "an important first signal" that Italy would no longer tolerate being left alone to accept and process would-be refugees. He vowed to also cut the funding Italy provides migrants as they wait to be processed.

"Apparently raising your voice pays off," he said.

The migrants had been rescued from flimsy smugglers' boats in the Mediterranean during a series of operations Saturday by Italian naval ships, cargo vessels and the Aquarius itself. All passengers were offloaded to the Aquarius to be taken to land.

Italy argued that Malta should accept the Aquarius because Malta was the safest, closest port to the ship. Malta said Italy coordinated the rescues and that the tiny island nation — which in the last few years has only accepted a few hundred migrants — has had nothing to do with it.

Maltese Premier Joseph Muscat accused Italy of violating international norms governing sea rescues and said its stance risked "creating a dangerous situation for all those involved."

Spain's new Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, ordered authorities in Valencia to open the port, saying "it's our duty to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and offer a secure port for these people."

But it wasn't clear if the offer would be taken up given that the trip would expose the migrants to several days more on the sea.

Laurent, of SOS Mediterranee, acknowledged Spain's offer of solidarity but said it wasn't up to the Rome-based rescue coordination center run by the Italian coast guard. And he said the logistics and time counted against setting a course for Spain.

"We would need a resupply at sea which is not so easy to organize so we urge Italy to find a solution very soon close to our position," he told The Associated Press in Paris.

Still, both Muscat and new Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte readily thanked Spain for the offer, with Conte saying "it goes in the direction of solidarity."

As the rhetoric intensified, the Aquarius remained on standby in the Mediterranean Sea with its 629 passengers, including 123 unaccompanied minors. The ship said it had been ordered by Italy's coast guard late Sunday to remain 35 miles off Italy and 27 miles from Malta, and there it remained Monday.

A doctor on the ship, Dr. David Beversluis, said there were no medical emergencies onboard but one passenger had to be revived after he was rescued.

"When the boat broke, a man sank in front of the eyes of the rescuers, who managed to catch him and revive him once out of the water. He is now out of danger," Beversluis said. "All the survivors are exhausted and dehydrated because they spent many hours adrift in these boats."

Almost a quarter of the migrant survivors hail from Sudan, the group said.

Doctors Without Borders tweeted a video of some of the women aboard the ship praying Monday morning, saying they were unaware of the diplomatic fight being waged over their fate.

"Thank you, Lord," the women sang.

The standoff marked the first inevitable clash over migrant policy with League leader Salvini, who is now running Italy's Interior Ministry. Salvini campaigned on an anti-immigrant platform that included a vow to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants already in Italy, even though experts doubt such mass deportations are feasible or financially viable.

Malta, for its part, has consistently refused to take in migrants, citing its small size and limited capacities. The island nation has reduced the number of migrants it has taken in over the past decade, from a high of 2,775 in 2008 to just 23 last year, according to U.N. statistics.

Salvini pointed to Malta's unwillingness to help in accusing Europe as a whole of leaving Italy on its own to deal with the refugee crisis. He noted that other European countries are very much involved in migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean — including a German aid group currently off the coast Libya — but no country is stepping up to actually take in the migrants once they are plucked from boats or the sea.</s>Spain says it will allow a rescue ship carrying more than 600 migrants picked up in the Mediterranean to dock in the eastern port of Valencia, after Italy's new prime minister, who also leads the right-wing League party, ordered Italy’s ports to refuse entry to the rescue ship. The Aquarius rescue ship run by European charity SOS Mediterranee has been drifting in international waters with 629 migrants on board. More from Sabina Castlefranco in Rome.</s>Italy and Malta thanked Spain’s new Socialist prime minister for the offer to receive the SOS Mediterranee rescue ship Aquarius at the port of Valencia. But it wasn’t immediately clear if such a voyage was feasible given the distances involved — the ship is now more than 1,400 kilometres from Valencia.

ROME—Spain stepped up Monday and offered to take in a rescue ship carrying more than 600 migrants after Italy and Malta refused. The diplomatic standoff had left the migrants stranded at sea and revealed the brass-knuckled negotiating tactics of Italy’s new anti-immigrant government.

“The duty of a democratic government is not to look away” in a humanitarian crisis, said Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, who also offered her port as a potential solution to the standoff.

The UN refugee agency, the European Union, Germany and humanitarian groups had all demanded that the Mediterranean countries put their domestic politics aside and urgently consider the plight of the rescued migrants, which included children, pregnant women and people suffering from hypothermia.

The Aquarius said it had received no instructions yet to head to Spain.

But Italy and Malta held firm despite the heavy diplomatic pressure, with Italy’s new interior minister, Matteo Salvini, clearly using the high seas drama as a pretext to force the hand of Italy’s European neighbours. Italy has long demanded that the EU change its migration policy and make good on promises to accept more refugees, saying that Italy has been left alone to co-ordinate rescues and accept tens of thousands of migrants a year for asylum processing.

Doctors Without Borders, which has staff aboard the Aquarius, said the rescued migrants were stable for now but that food and water on the ship would run out by Monday night. It said some of the passengers were suffering from water in their lungs as well as chemical burns caused when gasoline mixes with seawater. Seven are pregnant.

The migrants had been rescued from flimsy smugglers’ boats in the Mediterranean during a series of operations Saturday by Italian maritime ships, cargo vessels and the Aquarius itself. All passengers were off-loaded to the Aquarius to be taken to land.

Italy claimed that Malta should accept the Aquarius because Malta was the safest, closest port to the ship. Malta said Italy co-ordinated the rescues and that it has had nothing to do with it.

Maltese Premier Joseph Muscat accused Italy of violating international norms governing sea rescues and said its stance risked “creating a dangerous situation for all those involved.”

Spain’s new Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, ordered authorities in Valencia to open the port, saying “it’s our duty to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and offer a secure port for these people.”

But it wasn’t clear if the offer would be taken up given that the trip would expose the migrants to several days more on the sea.

Still, both Muscat and new Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte readily thanked Spain for the offer, with Conte saying “it goes in the direction of solidarity.”

As the rhetoric intensified, the Aquarius remained on standby in the Mediterranean Sea with its 629 passengers, including 123 unaccompanied minors. The ship said it had been ordered by Italy’s coast guard late Sunday to remain 56 kilometres off Italy and 43 kilometres from Malta, and there it remained Monday.

Despite the firm “no” from Italy’s national government, several Italian mayors offered to let the ship dock in their ports, including the left-leaning or centrist mayors of Naples, Reggio Calabria and Crotone.

A doctor on the ship, Dr. David Beversluis, said there were no medical emergencies onboard but one passenger had to be revived after he was rescued.

“When the boat broke, a man sank in front of the eyes of the rescuers, who managed to catch him and revive him once out of the water. He is now out of danger,” Beversluis said. “All the survivors are exhausted and dehydrated because they spent many hours adrift in these boats.”

Almost a quarter of the migrant survivors hail from Sudan, the group said.

Doctors Without Borders tweeted a video of some of the women aboard the ship praying Monday morning, saying they were unaware of the diplomatic fight being waged over their fate.

The standoff marked the first inevitable clash over migrant policy with League leader Salvini, who is now running Italy’s Interior Ministry. Salvini campaigned on an anti-immigrant platform that included a vow to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants already in Italy, even though experts doubt such mass deportations are feasible or financially viable.

Malta, for its part, has consistently refused to take in migrants, citing its small size and limited capacities. The island nation has reduced the number of migrants it has taken in over the past decade, from a high of 2,775 in 2008 to just 23 last year, according to UN statistics.

Salvini pointed to Malta’s unwillingness to help in accusing Europe as a whole of leaving Italy on its own to deal with the refugee crisis. He noted that other European countries are very much involved in migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean — including a German aid group currently off the coast Libya — but no country is stepping up to actually take in the migrants once they are plucked from boats or the sea.

“Italy has stopped bowing our heads and obeying,” Salvini said in a Facebook post. “This time we say no.”

The standoff is actually the third migrant dispute in recent weeks, after Italy’s outgoing government refused to let humanitarian aid groups dock in Italian ports until the ships’ flag nations had formally requested permission. Those incidents delayed the migrants’ arrival, but they ultimately made it to Italy.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announces that he will allow a migrant vessel carrying 629 rescued migrants, including children and pregnant women, to dock in Valencia after Malta and Italy both refused the vessel.