Sea-Watch 3 given permission to move closer to Malta in view of adverse conditions – No permission for disembarkation yet

The Sea-Watch 3, which has 32 rescued migrants on board, was on Wednesday given permission to move closer to Malta so that the vessel could take shelter from bad weather that is closing in on the islands, The Malta Independent can confirm.

The vessel, operated by the German NGO Sea-Watch, rescued the migrants following a distress call on 22 December, 12 days ago, and has been stranded at sea ever since as no nation has acceded to their request for a safe port to disembark the migrants.

Sea-Watch was initially confined to sitting 24 nautical miles outside of Malta however, given the bad weather that is approaching the islands and the area around it, permission for the boat to move to within 12 nautical miles of Malta was granted on Wednesday.

There are four women, three unaccompanied minors, two young children and a baby amongst the 32 rescued migrants onboard the Sea-Watch 3, along with 22 crew members.