MURMANSK, September 26 (RAPSI) - Greenpeace activist Roman Dolgov suspected of having committed acts of maritime piracy has been detained for two months, RIA Novosti reported from the courtroom on Thursday.

Photographer Denis Sinyakov was also detained until November 24, Greenpeace wrote earlier on its Twitter account.

Defense lawyers said that they will appeal the court's decision.

The Arctic Sunrise ship was seized by Russian border guards Thursday in international waters, within Russia's exclusive economic zone, a day after two Greenpeace activists scaled the Prirazlomnoye drilling rig in the Pechora Sea, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea. Greenpeace claimed that the ship was held under armed guard.

Russian investigators said the vessel was involved in maritime piracy, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and that an investigation would be conducted to consider the allegations. The ship is expected to arrive in the Russian port of Murmansk on Tuesday.

Media reports claim that some 30 people, including six Britons and one American, were on board the vessel.

The Leninsky District Court of Murmansk will impose a pre-trial restraint for the activists on Thursday.

The platform, owned by Gazprom Neft Shelf, a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, is the first ice-resistant stationary oil platform in the world set to produce offshore Arctic oil.

Greenpeace and other environmental groups oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic because they say that it is currently impossible to sufficiently clean up potential oil spills in the region, and that such drilling cannot be economically viable without state subsidies.