Updated 4pm with latest details

Malta is ready to allow the rescue ship Lifeline, stuck in international waters with more 234 migrants aboard, into its harbours provided the asylum seekers are distributed among "willing" EU member states.

The ship has been idle off Malta for five days after picking up the migrants  between Libya and Lampedusa. Both Italy and Malta had refused to let it in, and lashed out at the captain for ignoring orders to let the Libyan coastguard pick the migrants. 

A possible solution to the standoff was broached in discussions on Monday between French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said.

"A European solution may be to have the ship dock in Malta. It is the solution that seems to be shaping up at the moment," Griveaux told RTL radio.

"France would then be ready to send a team there to study individual (asylum) requests," he said.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte discussed the issue on Tuesday.

Migrants are seen on the ship Lifeline while the Malta Armed Forces arrive to send aid.

By Tuesday afternoon, four EU states - Italy, Malta, France and Portugal - confirmed they are willing to take on the group of rescued asylum seekers, sources told Times of Malta.

Three other EU countries - Germany, the Netherlands and Spain - are also "evaluating" the case, Malta said, as the impasse over the fate of the migrants persists.

In a statement, the government said the diplomatic effort by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as well as the European institutions is leading to an ad hoc agreement to distribute the migrants on board the MV Lifeline amongst a number of willing member states.

NGO risks sanction

The Maltese government pledged that should the vessel enters Maltese ports, there will be investigations and possible action taken against the NGO, after it "ignored instructions given in accordance to international rules by the Italian authorities, which led to this situation."

It would be the first time that an NGO conducting sea rescues would face official investigations in Malta. 

"We want to prevent the escalation into a humanitarian crisis by means of sharing of responsibility by a number of willing member states," a government spokesman said.  "The second [priority] is to carry out investigations and explore actions that can be taken in regards to the actions of the said vessel."

The announcement came hours after a sick passenger was evacuated to Malta from the Lifeline on Monday night by the Armed Forces of Malta.

Second standoff resolved

Earlier on Tuesday, another standoff was resolved when the Italian authorities allowed a cargo ship carrying 106 migrants to dock at Pozzallo. It had been awaiting instructions outside the harbour for several days. 

Leaders of the European Union failed on Sunday to come up with a joint position to tackle migration and will try again at a summit at the end of this week.

Earlier this month, a Doctors without Borders vessel, the Aquarius was stranded with 600 migrants onboard before it was accepted by Spain.