Migrants board a container ship of Danish shipping company Maersk Line on Saturday after they were rescued from a shipwrecked vessel at sea. Photo: Danilo CAMPAILLA / Mission Lifeline e. V. / AFP

The world's leading container shipping company Danish Maersk Line on Saturday said one of its vessels rescued 113 migrants off the coast of southern Italy.

The container ship called Alexander Maersk changed its course after picking up a stress signal on early Friday, Mikkel Elbek Linnet, a spokesman at Maersk Line, told AFP. He could neither specify where exactly the migrants were rescued nor when the stress signal was picked up.

The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Rome).

The Maersk container's move to rescue the migrants is part of "an ancient code of conduct," according to Linnet.

"It's not the first time...they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years," he told AFP.

Italy's new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships -- Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, -- would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation "into their legal status".</s>COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The container ship Alexander Maersk picked up 113 migrants from a boat off southern Italy early on Friday, Maersk Line, part of A. P. Moller-Maersk, said on Saturday.

The ship had received a request from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre to change its course late on Thursday and picked up the migrants at around 04.30 Friday morning local time, a spokesman from the company told Reuters.

The ship is now south of Sicily awaiting further instructions from the authorities. The people on board are relatively well, taking into consideration their situation, the spokesman said.</s>The container ship Alexander Maersk picked up 113 migrants from a boat off southern Italy early on Friday, Maersk Line, part of A P Moller-Maersk , said on Saturday. The ship had received a request from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre to change its course late on Thursday and picked up the migrants at around 04.30 Friday morning local time, a spokesman from the company told Reuters. The ship is now south of Sicily awaiting further instructions from the authorities. The people on board are relatively well, taking into consideration their situation, the spokesman said.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>The container ship called Alexander Maersk changed its course after picking up a stress signal on early Friday, Mikkel Elbek Linnet, a spokesman at Maersk Line, told AFP. He could neither specify where exactly the migrants were rescued nor when the stress signal was picked up.

The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Rome).

The Maersk container's move to rescue the migrants is part of "an ancient code of conduct," according to Linnet.

"It's not the first time...they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years," he told AFP.

Italy's new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships -- Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, -- would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation "into their legal status".</s>The world’s leading container shipping company Danish Maersk Line on Saturday said one of its vessels rescued 113 migrants off the coast of southern Italy.

The container ship called Alexander Maersk changed its course after picking up a distress signal early Friday, Mikkel Elbek Linnet, spokesman at Maersk Line, told AFP.

He did not specify where exactly the migrants were rescued.

The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Rome).

The Maersk container’s move to rescue the migrants is part of “an ancient code of conduct,” according to Linnet.

“It’s not the first time… they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years,” he told AFP.

Italy’s new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships — Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, — would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation “into their legal status”.</s>COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The container ship Alexander Maersk picked up 113 migrants from a boat off southern Italy early on Friday, Maersk Line, part of A. P. Moller-Maersk, said on Saturday.

The ship had received a request from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre to change its course late on Thursday and picked up the migrants at around 04.30 Friday morning local time, a spokesman from the company told Reuters.

The ship is now south of Sicily awaiting further instructions from the authorities. The people on board are relatively well, taking into consideration their situation, the spokesman said.</s>COPENHAGEN, June 23 (Reuters) - The container ship Alexander Maersk picked up 113 migrants from a boat off southern Italy early on Friday, Maersk Line, part of A. P. Moller-Maersk , said on Saturday.

The ship had received a request from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre to change its course late on Thursday and picked up the migrants at around 04.30 Friday morning local time, a spokesman from the company told Reuters.

The ship is now south of Sicily awaiting further instructions from the authorities. The people on board are relatively well, taking into consideration their situation, the spokesman said. (Reporting by Teis Jensen Editing by Alexander Smith)</s>COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The container ship Alexander Maersk picked up 113 migrants from a boat off southern Italy early on Friday, Maersk Line, part of A. P. Moller-Maersk, said on Saturday.

The ship had received a request from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre to change its course late on Thursday and picked up the migrants at around 04.30 Friday morning local time, a spokesman from the company told Reuters.

The ship is now south of Sicily awaiting further instructions from the authorities. The people on board are relatively well, taking into consideration their situation, the spokesman said.</s>The world’s leading container shipping company Danish Maersk Line on Saturday said one of its vessels rescued 113 migrants off the coast of southern Italy.

The container ship called Alexander Maersk changed its course after picking up a distress signal early Friday, Mikkel Elbek Linnet, spokesman at Maersk Line, told AFP.

He did not specify where exactly the migrants were rescued.

The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

The Maersk container’s move to rescue the migrants is part of “an ancient code of conduct,” according to Linnet.

“It’s not the first time… they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years,” he told AFP.

Italy’s new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships — Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, — would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation “into their legal status”.
Maersk Line reveals one of their container ships yesterday responded to a distress call from a migrant boat off the Italian coast, rescuing 113 people.