HAMBURG: An international maritime court on Friday ordered Russia to release a Greenpeace ship and its 30-strong crew seized in mid-September in exchange for a 3.6-million-euro ($4.9-million) bond.

The German-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, based in the northern port city of Hamburg, also called on Moscow to allow the detainees to leave Russia on receipt of the bond.

The ruling by the tribunal, established by the United Nations to help settle maritime disputes between states, followed a complaint by the Netherlands.

The court ordered the Netherlands to pay the bond or other financial security.

Russian coastguards boarded the Dutch-flagged Arctic Sunrise icebreaker on Sept. 19, arresting the crew members, who included activists from 18 countries and two journalists, initially charging them with piracy.

The tribunal "ordered that the vessel Arctic Sunrise and all persons detained in connection with the dispute be released and allowed to leave the territory and maritime areas under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation upon the posting of a bond in the amount of 3.6 million euros," a statement summarizing the verdict said.

Moscow's angry response came after two Greenpeace activists scaled a state-owned Gazprom oil platform to protest at Russian oil exploration in the Arctic sparked an international outcry.