
Hungary's anti-immigrant Prime Minister Viktor Orban has praised the decision of the new Italian government to reject a rescue vessel carrying 629 migrants from docking at an Italian port.

The Aquarius, which has more than 130 children and seven pregnant women on board, has been stuck off the coast of Sicily since Saturday, after both Italy and Malta denied them access to their ports.

Orban said his initial reaction to the news was a sigh of 'Finally!', calling Italy's decision to turn away the Aquarius a 'great moment which may truly bring changes in Europe's migration policies.'

Yesterday, Spain offered a safe harbour in Valencia, but the Aquarius has not yet begun the four-day sail there, and the charities on the ship has slammed Italy for putting the health of the migrants at risk by not letting them dock.

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Heading over: Charity workers appear to show a map to some of the 629 migrants on the Aquarius, which still has not begun its journey towards Valencia in Spain where it has been offered a safe port

Tension on board: Charity workers speak to some of the migrants aboard the Aquarius, where tension has reportedly been running high after the migrants found out that they have not been moving for three days

Praise and critique: Hungary's anti-immigrant Prime Minister Viktor Orban calling Italy's decision to turn away the Aquarius a 'great moment', while French President Emmanuel Macron slammed it as cynical and irresponsible

Italy's move has also been criticised by French President Emmanuel Macron, who branded it cynical and irresponsible to turn away the migrants.

Government spokesman Benjamin Grivaux reported Macron's comments today, saying the President had welcomed Spain's humanitarian gesture and said: 'If any ship was closer to France's shores, it could obviously dock on the French coast'.

More than 16 hours after Spain made its offer, the Aquarius, operated by charities SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders, has not yet set off towards Valencia, and tensions are reportedly high among the passengers.

Charity workers on the Aquarius said the rescued migrants were becoming 'increasingly anxious and desperate', after being told they are still not moving, three days after being rescued.

SOS Mediterranee said Tuesday that some of the some passengers are now being transferred onto Italian navy ships 'for security reasons' because of deteriorating weather conditions on the voyage to Valencia.

The Aquarius has been stuck off the coast of Sicily since Saturday, after both Italy and Malta denied them access to their ports

Waiting game: One day after Spain offered to let the ship dock in Valencia, the Aquarius, which has 629 migrants on board, is still drifting at sea close to Malta, awaiting instructions over how to proceed

Discussion: This photo posted by SOS Mediterranee on it's Twitter account, shows stranded migrants aboard Aquarius

Adrift: The Aquarius was left 'on standby' between the Italian island of Sicily and Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, before being allowed to dock in Valencia, Spain, but has yet to begin the journey

A spokesperson for the charity said an approaching storm would bring with it waves of over 2 metres (6.5 ft) making any trip to Spain highly uncomfortable.

The local government in Valencia had said the Red Cross is preparing to provide shelter and medical assistance upon arrival, with other Spanish regions and cities offering to provide longer term support.

Doctors Without Borders, which has medical staff on the Aquarius, has slammed the Italian government for forcing the migrants to embark on a four-day journey to Spain, rather than letting them disembark immediately in Italy.

After calling for 'people's safety to come before politics,' they said the migrants are too 'exhausted and stressed' for another four days at sea to go to Spain.

Lunchtime: Stranded migrants receive help from SOS Mediterranee and MSF (Doctors Without Borders) NGOs

Help: A Maltese maritime officer, right, distributing packs of mineral water to a crew member of the Aquarius ship, in the Mediterranean Sea

The aid group said it is particularly concerned about the condition of patients who had to be resuscitated after rescue, saying they could develop 'significant pulmonary issues after swallowing sea water.'

Doctors without Borders said that to continue the sea journey to Valencia, Spain 'would mean already exhausted people rescued at sea would have to endure four more days exposed to the elements on the deck, in an overcrowded boat well over maximum capacity.'

It added: 'The better option would be to disembark the rescued people in the nearest port after which they can be transferred to Spain or other safe countries for further care and legal processing.'

The Aquarius rescued hundreds of migrants, including 134 children and seven pregnant women, trying to cross the Mediterranean from Libya on Saturday, in a mission coordinated by Italy's coast guard - meaning the charities relied on them to find a safe port to dock in.

Stuck at sea: Some of the 629 migrants rescued on Saturday are seen on the Aquarius, a ship run by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders in the Mediterranean

Another of the multiple rescue operations which were carried out on Saturday shows dozens of migrants crammed onto a boat being transferred onto a smaller rescue vessel for transportation to the Aquarius

People hold life jackets as they protest during an anti-racist demonstration against the decision of Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, to close the Italian ports to the NGO ship with 629 migrants on board on June 11, 2018 in Rome, Italy

But Italy's new, far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, looking to make good on election campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, closed Italy's ports to the Aquarius.

He argued that Malta, which is closer to Libya, should take on the migrants, but the Maltese government refused, saying that they had no legal responsibility for the people onboard, causing a two-day deadlock.

After both the UN and the EU put pressure on the two nations to solve the situation, Italy appealed for a fellow EU country to receive the asylum-seekers, to which Spain responded and offered a safe port in Valencia.

The standoff came ahead of a European Union summit later this month which is due to consider changes to asylum law to better share the burden of incoming migrants.

More than 1.8 million have entered Europe since 2014, with more than 600,000 arriving in Italy alone.