Life at sea aboard a migrant rescue ship

Around 30 nautical miles off the coast of Italy's Sicily, 99 migrants are awaiting an update on their future after days at sea as nearby nations discuss who should receive them.

Migrants on board the Open Arms Uno rescue boat watch as the Italian Guardia Costiera arrives to transfer Mohamed, who is suffering from an intestinal hemorrhage, to the island of Lampedusa, in the central Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 19, 2022.

Spanish charity Open Arms on Aug. 17 rescued 101 mainly Egyptian male migrants in a rickety wooden boat off the Tunisian coast that had been adrift since at least Aug. 16

Migrants are helped aboard the Open Arms Uno rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 17, 2022.

One of the men needed urgent medical attention and was allowed to disembark in Italy with his companion.

Nurse Marta Jover prepares an injection for Mohamed, a migrant who is suffering from an intestinal hemorrhage, on the rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 19, 2022.

However, the rest of the migrants were told to remain onboard the Open Arms Uno rescue vessel while it sought permission from either Italy, Malta or Spain to disembark.

Migrants rest on board the rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 19, 2022.

David Llado, head of mission on the Open Arms Uno, told Reuters Malta had rejected a request to dock and Italy told the Spanish-flagged ship to sort out the situation via Spanish state channels.

Italian Guardia Costiera members shift Mohamed, a migrant suffering from an intestinal hemorrhage, onto another boat in the Mediterranean Sea near the island of Lampedusa, Aug. 19, 2022.

With a capacity to carry up to 1,000 people, the vessel found the migrants while patrolling the deadliest migration route in the central Mediterranean.

Migrants rest on board the Open Arms Uno rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 19, 2022.

But the situation on deck was "worsening by the hour," Llato said. "Tension is increasing rapidly due to the uncertainty around why we are not being given a port to disembark all these people."

A migrant looks at his mobile phone on board the Open Arms Uno rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 18, 2022.

"Please do something. We are hurt, weak and we are sick," said one of the migrants, 19-year-old Rasel Miah.

Migrants rest on board the Open Arms Uno rescue boat in the central Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 18, 2022.

The Italian government declined to comment while the Spanish Transport Ministry said that it had not received any request from Open Arms to dock in a Spanish port.

Staff members prepare to transfer Mohamed, who is suffering from an intestinal hemorrhage, to a coast guard boat in the Mediterranean Sea, close to the island of Lampedusa, Italy, Aug. 19, 2022.

Italian media reported that some 1,200 migrants reached Italy on Wednesday in four different boats, including one NGO boat.

Migrants rest on board the Open Arms Uno rescue boat, in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 18, 2022.

An official, who declined to be named, said Italy was dealing with a large number of recent arrivals and was trying to process them as quickly as it could.

Migrants wait in a boat during a search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 17, 2022.

One of the lifeguards on board the rescue vessel recalled finding the migrants, noting that they were "showing signs of dehydration."

Migrants dance on board the Open Arms Uno rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 18, 2022.

"They had been sailing for a day and were already adrift. We were able to find them quickly and they are now safely on board the Open Arms," Mauro Di Si told Reuters.

A migrant is helped aboard the Open Arms Uno rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 17, 2022.

Built in Norway in 2000, the ship was donated by Argentine-Italian filmmaker and philanthropist Enrique Pineyro, and is one of the largest maritime rescue vessels in Europe.

Migrants dance on the Open Arms Uno rescue boat, Aug. 18, 2022.

Nearly 25,000 people have lost their lives or disappeared since 2014 trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, including more than 1,100 so far this year, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

A migrant out looks at the sea from the Open Arms Uno rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 18, 2022.