A group of migrants have been relocated to France as part of an ad hoc initiative that solved "the Ocean Viking standoff", Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Thursday. 

Dr Muscat shared a photo on Twitter of the migrants boarding a plane on Thursday morning.

"As pledged, France started fulfilling its pledge in the ad hoc initiative to solve the Ocean Viking standoff," he wrote. 

In August, some 356 people from the Ocean Viking were brought to Malta as part of EU relocation deal.

They had spent almost two weeks stuck between Malta and Lampedusa after the vessel was denied entry into the small Italian island.  

After discussions with France and Germany, Malta "agreed to be part of the solution in the Ocean Viking stalemate, which has 356 persons on board, without prejudice to its legal position," Dr Muscat had said at the time.

The migrants are all being relocated to France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Romania as part of a deal negotiated between the European Commission, France and Germany.

A group has already been moved to Germany as part of the deal.