Malta to let rescue boat dock with 141 migrants aboard

VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — Malta on Tuesday agreed to let a private rescue ship dock on the island, with the 141 migrants it is carrying to be distributed among five fellow European Union nations in what was described as a "responsibility-sharing exercise." Migrants on board the MV Aquarius, in the Mediterranean Sea, between Malta and Linosa

"Malta will be making a concession allowing the vessel to enter its ports, despite having no legal obligation to do so," a government statement said. “Malta will serve as a logistical base and all of the reportedly 141 migrants on board will be distributed amongst France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain.”



The UK was not named in the statement, despite calls by the Italian government for Britain to take in the passengers because the Aquarius was sailing under the flag of the British territory of Gibraltar. "Spain has coordinated a pioneering agreement with six countries to share the hosting of the people on the Aquarius... Spain will take 60 people," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on Twitter. Frédéric Penard, director of operations at SOS Méditerranée, told a news conference: "Maybe European states have finally understood that this concerns our common border at the south of Europe, that this is a problem for the 28 member states, and that we can't avoid responsibility and should work together." This is the second time that the Aquarius has been stranded in the Mediterranean, back in June the ship, was offered safe haven by Spain’s new Socialist government after being turned away by Italy and Malta with 630 people on board.
Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Luxembourg agree to take in 141 migrants, 67 of them unaccompanied children, who were rescued on Friday by the MV Aquarius; Malta allows the ship to dock.