The plight of rescue ship Aquarius highlights the horrific consequences of failed migration policies The plight of Aquarius, the rescue ship carrying 629 migrants, stands as a potent reminder of the dire failings of European migration policy. No matter that the ship carried seven pregnant women and more than a hundred unaccompanied children rescued at sea as they tried to make the desperate, dangerous crossing from Libya to Italy. First Italy, then Malta, refused the ship entry to their ports. Eventually, Spain offered to let it dock in the port of Valencia, four days away in harsh sailing conditions.