A message in blue marker says, “God works slowly but never late.”
Sana, another member of the IFRC crew, told them how they would be dealt with.
Only one of the Bangladeshis spoke English well enough to translate for the others.
Many soon fell asleep, as Ocean Viking was told to head to Ortona, a port on Italy's Adriatic coast.
Under a new policy introduced by the far-right government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, rescue ships must conduct only one operation at a time and then go straight to a designated port.
The journey to Ortona would take more than two days. Then action will be taken against the men.
This month Rome designated Bangladesh a “safe country”, meaning any asylum claims they make could be difficult.
But escaping by sea is a big step.
According to the UN's International Organization for Migration, 622 migrants have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean since January, confirming that the route is one of the most dangerous for migrants in the world.