234 migrants remain waiting onboard rescue ship

A humanitarian group appealed on Friday to France for a safe port for 234 rescued migrants after more than two weeks of silence from Italy's new hard-right government, which has refused to offer four private rescue boats a safe harbor.

European aid group SOS Mediterranean said the situation on the ship it operates has reached "a critical limit."The Ocean Viking made the first rescue of its current mission 18 days ago; Italian authorities have ignored repeated requests for a port assignment.

Authorities directed two ships - the Geo Barents and the SOS Humanity - to a port in Sicily over the weekend for the purpose of identifying migrants they deemed "vulnerable."Passengers not considered vulnerable were not allowed to get off.