Rome, Jun 26 (EFE).- The captain of German NGO vessel Sea Watch on Wednesday decided to enter into Italian waters citing a situation of emergency for the 42 migrants on board and thus risks punitive measures as the move breaches orders from Italy's far-right interior minister not to grant port access to the boat. In a statement, Carola Rakete, 31 said the migrants "can't take it anymore," and that she had, therefore, made the decision to navigate towards the Italian island of Lampedusa, where the ship had been circling around for the past two weeks. "I decided to enter the port of Lampedusa. I know what I'm risking, but the 42 survivors I have on board are exhausted. I'm taking them to safety," she said. The decision comes 24 hours after the European Court of Human Rights rejected the migrants’ appeal that would have forced Italian authorities to grant them safe harbor. SeaWatch said the European Union had failed it. The captain and crew could now face a 50,000 euro fine ($56,805), the vessel’s confiscation and criminal prosecution in Italy. For that reason, the NGO is inviting people to donate to its cause. The Dutch-flagged vessel rescued 53 people – 39 men, nine women, two small children and three unaccompanied minors – from the Mediterranean Sea on June 12. Three days later, the Italian Coast Guard carried out an inspection of the boat and decided to evacuate 12 people who were at risk of medical issues. Addressing his followers on Facebook, Italy's notoriously anti-immigration interior minister Matteo Salvini said the captain "will pay the consequences." "Immigration cannot be dealt with using illegal ships: we are ready to block any kind of illegality,” he continued. He also took aim at the governments of Germany and Holland for "not caring" about what boats flying their flags or charted by NGOs from their country do. According to Salvini, Italy was "not a travel agency and the national borders do not depend on what a captain wants to do." He said he would use all tools at his disposal to impede SeaWatch3's access to Lampedusa. "Italy cannot be the point of arrival for those who decide to unload immigrants and become the accomplice of the traffickers who, with the money from migration, buy arms and drugs," he said. "I will not give my authorization for the disembarkation," he added in a post on Facebook. According to Italian media, Italian coast guard vessels were heading out to meet the NGO vessel.EFE ccg/jt/ch -- EPA-EFE Multimedia Desk, Madrid +34 913 467 493