The captain of the MV Lifeline migrant rescue ship, Claus Peter Reisch, has been given permission by a court to travel to Germany to visit his elderly mother.

Reisch, 57, has been charged with entering Maltese waters without permission and with vessel registration irregularities.

The ship was impounded after the Maltese government allowed it to disembark 233 migrants in Malta following a standoff with Italy. Eight other countries eventually agreed to share the migrants with Malta.

The decree was handed down this morning by Magistrate Joe Mifsud, who is hearing the case.

Reisch had initially been given bail but was told to stay in Malta until the case was heard. In the last sitting he had asked the court to allow him to visit his 93-year-old mother.

The magistrate, who yesterday made on on-site inspection on the vessel in Senglea, today accepted the captain’s request.