A tense stand-off with migrants on a German boxship has continued on Thursday as neither Italy nor Malta can agree who should take the increasingly desperate Bangladeshis.

Klingenberg Schiffahrts' 670-teu Marina (built 2003) is 21 km off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa after rescuing 76 men and three women on 3 May at the behest of Maltese authorities.