(CNN) The migrant rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3 was stopped outside the island of Lampedusa by Italian authorities on Wednesday after it defied an order from Rome blocking it from coming ashore.

The German-owned ship, which flies under the Dutch flag, had been stranded in the Mediterranean Sea for two weeks.

Facing an increasingly desperate situation on board, the captain of the boat said she had decided to ignore Italy's decree and head to port.

"I know what I'm risking," Carola Rackete said on Twitter . "But the 42 survivors I have on board are exhausted. I'm taking them to safety."

And, given Italy's increasingly hard-line stance on immigration, the risks are high.

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