COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The container ship Alexander Maersk picked up 113 migrants from a boat off southern Italy early on Friday, Maersk Line, part of A. P. Moller-Maersk, said on Saturday.

The ship had received a request from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre to change its course late on Thursday and picked up the migrants at around 04.30 Friday morning local time, a spokesman from the company told Reuters.

The ship is now south of Sicily awaiting further instructions from the authorities. The people on board are relatively well, taking into consideration their situation, the spokesman said.