Italian politician Tommaso Foti said that Malta’s reluctance to rescue migrants at sea is “beginning to become annoying” and he accused Malta of “pretending not to see” these boats in distress, il Giornale reported.

Foti, who heads the ruling right-wing Fratelli d’Italia grouping in Italy’s parliament, expressed his frustration at Malta’s inaction to rescue which is burdening and putting all the pressure on Italy to coordinate these rescues and take the migrants in.

Foti also referred to the case in Lampedusa, Sicily where nearly 1,000 migrants landed in Lampedusa on Easter Sunday.

Malta has only rescued one migrant this year, whereas Italy has rescued over 20,000, data collected by the UNHCR indicates.

Rescue NGOs have been accusing Malta of delaying rescues for boats in their Search and Rescue zone.

“Malta is choosing to wait for the boat to either reach the Italian SAR zone or be picked up by the Libyan authorities,” rescue hotline NGO Alarm Phone told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

There was also a vessel in distress with around 400 migrants on Tuesday, which rescue NGO Sea-Watch accused Malta of ordering two merchant vessels to not rescue the migrant boat, but only supply it with water and fuel.

The Armed Force of Malta replied by telling The Malta Independent that “no rescue was requested by the people on board.” In reaction, Alarm Phone condemned the AFM for “lying and denying responsibility!”

Since then, Alarm Phone reported that the boat drifted into Italy’s SAR zone and the Italian Coastguard set out to rescue the migrants.

Another boat with around 400 migrants has been spotted in Malta's SAR zone, Rescue NGO Sea-Watch reported on Tuesday evening. Questions have been sent to the Home Affairs Ministry and the AFM on this matter.