Italian authorities have allowed a group of 37 African refugees to disembark from a ship which has been lying off the coast of Sicily.
The German-registered aid vessel rescued the group from a leaking dinghy last month.
It is thought they were fleeing the Darfur region of western Sudan, where over a million people have been displaced by violence.
Earlier, two Italian doctors boarded the vessel and Italy's Interior Ministry said anyone in need of care would be taken to local hospitals.
Italy had previously refused to let the ship dock, saying the Africans were closer to Malta than Italy when they were picked up and should therefore have applied for asylum there.
