But the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg also rejected the Italian government’s request that the two men, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, be released.

The case dates from 2012, when the marines fired “warning shots” at a fishing boat from Dolphin Tanker's 104,000-dwt Enrica Lexie (built 2008), believing it to a be pirate vessel

The tribunal ruled that an international arbitration hearing will be held in The Hague to rule on the dispute, Reuters said.

Girone