Following a request by the German government, the Maltese Government decided to allow the migrants picked up by German vessel MV Alan Kurdi in Malta, the government said in a statement,

The German government, together with the European Commission, made arrangements for all 40 persons on board to be immediately distributed amongst a number of European Union Member States.  None of the said migrants will remain in Malta, the government said.

The migrants will be taken on board an Armed Forces of Malta vessel outside Maltese territorial waters.

The NGO Sea-Eye had earlier asked Malta to offer a safe port to a group of 40 migrants currently stranded on board the rescue vessel Alan Kurdi knowing full well that the migrants should disembark in Lampedusa.

The migrants were rescued on Wednesday evening but have been refused permission to disembark in Lampedusa, the nearest safe port to the location where the rescue took place.

In a video uploaded to Twitter, Einsatzleiter Barbara Held, who is on board the ship, said that the conditions on the ship were good, but the situation could not be maintained for long.

#AlanKurdi is waiting around 20 miles before #Malta for a political solution. The ship has been banned from entering territorial waters. Mr. @JosephMuscat_JM, please support a quick, merciful solution for our 40 survivors. #saveLives #togetherforrescue pic.twitter.com/b25oX7i8MO

— sea-eye (@seaeyeorg) August 3, 2019

“We are currently 20 miles off the Maltese coast as Italy has rejected us several times, although they should be obliged to designate Lampedusa as our next safe port,” Held said.

“We are fully aware that the responsibility lies not with Malta but with Italy. Malta has already achieved a great deal in recent years by hosting refugees for over a decade. That is why we hope for a humanitarian solution and hope Malta will receive these people and that European states will fulfil their responsibilities and ensure that our guests are distributed to safe countries.”

The NGO said that it had set course for Malta after being denied entry into Lampedusa on Thursday night.