PARIS (AP) — Two officials in France are urging national authorities to allow docking access to a boat carrying 141 migrants rescued last week in the Mediterranean Sea, stressing humanitarian concerns.

The ship, Aquarius, is operated by French groups. It is currently situated between Malta and the Italian island of Lampedusa, with Italy's new anti-migrant government refusing to let it dock.

The director of the port of Sete near Montpellier, Jean-Claude Gayssot, told Europe-1 Tuesday: "there are emergency situations and you have to deal with them."

Jean-Guy Talamoni, the president of Corsica's local assembly, told BFM-TV the evening before, "it's an obligation to help people in danger."

The boat needs the authorization of French authorities to enter any port. French President Emmanuel Macron has not yet commented.

This story has been corrected to reflect that Gayssot spoke to Europe-1 and Talamoni to BFM-TV, not the other way around.