Amsterdam  - A Dutch civil youth court is due to decide on Friday whether to suspend the custodial rights of Laura Dekker's parents and appoint a legal custodian to stop the teenager from sailing solo around the world.

The suit was brought by Dutch youth protection services, which argue the teen's basic needs would not be met while she is out alone at sea.

Thirteen-year-old Laura is expected to leave the Netherlands on September 1 for a two-year voyage around the world in her boat Guppy.

Dekker's parents formally requested the local authorities several months ago to permit their daughter to miss school for two years.

When permission was denied and the parents announced they would still support their daughter's plans to sail solo around the world, youth protection services launched an investigation and eventually filed a suit in an emergency procedure.

Laura Dekker lives with her father on his boat near Wijk bij Duurstede in the central Netherlands. She has Dutch, German and New Zealand nationality.

On Monday, Laura's father Dick Dekker requested the local municipality to remove his daughter from the population registry because she would settle in New Zealand.

Wijk bij Duurstede officials, however, said they would not remove her from the registry until after the court decision had been handed down.

Speaking to the German Press Agency dpa on Thursday, court spokesman Paul van Daalen said Laura would "most likely not be present in court when it issued its ruling."

The girl's attorney Peter de Lange declined to exclude the possibility that Laura would set sail before the court ruling was announced. (dpa)