The Netherlands has started a lawsuit against Russia over the arrests of 30 Greenpeace activists last month, Xinhua reported Friday citing local media.
Both countries will now start a procedure to find three judges or lawyers for a verdict in the case.
If this procedure does not work out, the Netherlands will go to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg.
The Arctic Sunrise ship was boarded Sep 19 south of Nova Zembla by the Russian security personnel after protests on an Arctic oil rig owned by Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom.
Thirty crew members, including two Dutchmen, were arrested and indicted for piracy. According to Russian law they could be imprisoned for up to 15 years.
According to Greenpeace, the ship was overpowered in international waters while the Russians say that it happened in an exclusive economic zone where they are responsible for safety.
