Tunisian man throws himself overboard

The relief is only temporary with some already cracking and mounting protests. As of early evening, there had been no fights.

But on Wednesday night a young man from Tunisia threw himself into the water and started to swim away in total desperation, unable to cope.

Some of those on the deck were singing and dancing, initially unaware he had gone overboard. When he was back safely on the deck, a loud cheer erupted.

The Tunisian had been among the first to be rescued by the Ocean Viking, helping out the crew with the new arrivals.

But he quickly withdrew into himself and became quiet as the days progressed.

"When do we arrive?" he queried this reporter on Thursday afternoon.

The question is asked by everyone, the crew included.

Without a port of safety, the people onboard are facing a possible disaster with the last of the food rations being handed out Friday.

"Authorities are informed every day of the quantity," said SOS Mediterranee's rescue coordinator Luisa Albera on Thursday morning.

"We have no place of safety. Until now we don't have information," she added.

On starboard side, we can see Sicily and a possible glimmer of hope.

But with survivors unable to charge their telephones and connect to the internet, they are all kept in the dark.

Rumours are beginning to spread that a consent form handed out by the crew for photos is actually a one-way ticket back to Libya.

The issue came to a head when a 14-year old Egyptian boy with striking green eyes started to cry after being approached by the crew.

He had apparently boarded with an older Egyptian man, who claimed to be his relative. It was not true, the child was alone.

The ruse had been uncovered by Sanad, an Arabic speaking member of SOS Mediterranée and the boy is now in safe hands.

But problems persist, and along with them, protest.

Among them are the women who on Wednesday demanded solutions and better conditions.

"We will throw ourselves in the water if no solution is found," Dahavia, a 38-year old Libyan, who is also two months pregnant, told EUobserver.

"We've seen war but we've never seen conditions like this," she said, via a translator.

"The space is not clean, we are eating the same food every day."

"We will never forget what we are living here today."

Dahavia along with her small family had arrived on Ocean Viking on 1 July.

Her disabled son is laying on the floor in the shelter, exhausted.

His mouth is partially open, his hands cupped awkwardly against his chest.

The staff later move him to a bed inside the medical module for greater comfort.

The same space has also been turned into a kindergarten to cater to the small children on board, some of them only infants.

They seem happy, oblivious to what is happening.

In the corner, the boys play Uno. Nearby, a four-year old African child is playing with coloured pencils.

And a 12-year old Libyan girl, who speaks English, is laughing with another. Inside the women's shelter, a baby is wrapped in a blanket.

After taking a snail's pace, Ocean Viking is now on the move as it continues to head north towards Sicily while staying in international waters.

With bad weather expected on Friday, the Norwegian-flagged vessel will remain east of Sicily to find some shelter.

Three-metre swells earlier this week triggered widespread bouts of sea sickness and misery.

The plan is to avoid a repeat at all costs, as they desperately await for a response on where to disembark 572 people.