ITALY’S authorities have given refugee rescue vessel the Ocean Viking permission to dock in one of the country’s ports, SOS Mediterranee, which operates the ship, said on Tuesday.

The French charity said that 113 people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea would be allowed to disembark.

The same vessel was at the centre of a confrontation between France and Italy in November, when Italy's new far-right government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blocked access to its ports.

The 230 migrants on board at the time were eventually allowed to disembark in France after spending weeks at sea.

On Tuesday, SOS Mediterranee said that the ship had been authorised to dock in Ravenna, north-eastern Italy, although it would take “four long days of navigation” to reach the port.

The migrants on board were rescued overnight on Monday in international waters close to Libya, as the ship carried out its first rescue operation since docking in France last month.

Among those rescued were 23 women, including some who were pregnant, according to the NGO, plus about 30 unaccompanied minors.

Nearly 2,000 refugees are said to have died or have gone missing this year in the Mediterranean, according to the International Organisation for Migration.