THE Spanish government said today that a charity refugee-rescue ship with more than 100 shipwrecked people aboard currently moored off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa could dock in the Balearic islands.

The Open Arms, operated by the Spanish charity of the same name, has been forced to remain at sea without a safe port to disembark the refugees that it rescued 19 days ago from off the Libyan coast.

On Sunday, Spain said the ship could bring the migrants to the southern port of Algeciras but the charity said it was “absolutely unrealistic” to travel that far because of the “humanitarian emergency” on board.