People could be heard chanting from a ship as it sits in a Sicilian dock.
Two migrant rescue boats are being refused permission to disembark in Italy.
Over the weekend, two rescue vessels carrying a large group of migrants tried to dock in Catania, Sicily.
Most were allowed to leave the ships, but 35 men on the Humanity 1 and another 215 on the Geo Barents were told they would have to stay on board.
Both boats - as well as two more which remain at sea - have reported that people are sleeping on floors and decks.
They added that fever-inducing infections and scabies are spreading, while food and medical supplies are running low. Some migrants have been on the ships for more than two weeks.
Cries of "help us" could be heard coming from the Geo Barents, as the standoff between the rescue ships and the Italian government continued
ROME, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Migrants from one of four charity rescue boats that Italy has denied safe port to, were allowed to disembark on Tuesday after a week at sea, the German group that operates the ship said.
The Rise Above boat docked in the port of Reggio Calabria, in the toe of Italy, shortly after dawn and the 89 people it had picked up in the Mediterranean were let ashore.
"We are relieved that the rescued people are finally safe on land," the German charity Mission Lifeline, which runs the Rise Above, said in a statement, condemning what it called an "undignified political game" that had kept them at sea.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's two-week-old administration has moved swiftly to impose a crackdown on boat migration, telling charity vessels that regularly ply the Mediterranean to take rescued people to other countries.