Five boatloads of Sri Lankan asylum seekers, totalling 36 people, have been unloaded from the Australian customs ship Oceanic Viking.
They are expected onshore at Tanjung Pinang, on the Indonesian island of Bintan, in about two hours before being transferred to a local detention centre.
The 56 ethnic tamils aboard the Oceanic Viking are to be transferred by ferry to the shore.
They appeared to be in good spirits despite having earlier refused to leave the vessel in a month-long stoush with Australian officials.
Wearing life jackets and helmets, the first seven men to be unloaded appeared nervous but healthy leaving the ship.
The others smiled and waved to those on board the small wooden fishing boats which surrounded the massive steel-hulled customs ship.
They were taken in small groups of six or seven on to a small customs runabout and transferred to a waiting ferry which will travel 10 nautical miles to the port town of Tanjung Pinang.
From there they will be taken to Tanjung Pinang immigration detention centre, where they will be reunited with their 22 compatriots who left the ship last Friday.
Indonesian immigration officials and their Australian counterparts have been aboard the customs vessel most of the morning readying the asylum seekers with the proper health checks and documentation.
