A Dutch teen sailor locked in a battle with the state over a plan to sail solo around the world travelled to the Caribbean to buy a boat and set off on a voyage, her lawyer told a court Wednesday.

Judges are deciding whether to strip custody from the father of 14-year-old Laura Dekker after she violated a court order barring her from attempting the round-the-world yacht trip.

"She was going to buy a boat, which still needed some work done on it, and then set sail," Peter de Lange, cited by Dutch news agency ANP, told the Utrecht court.

The hearing came after the sailing enthusiast returned to the Netherlands Tuesday under police escort from the Caribbean, where she had travelled in breach of the court's ruling.

The teen sailor hopes to become the youngest person to complete the voyage.

But a Dutch children's court ruled in October to place her under the care of child protection services until July, citing fears for her safety, barring her from setting off for at least eight months.

The court is now to rule whether to definitively remove Laura from the custody of her father Dirk Dekker, who has backed her sailing ambitions. A ruling was expected late Wednesday.

'Cutting classes at school'

Laura, who currently lives with her father near Utrecht, was reported missing Friday and found Sunday on the Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Maarten.

Her spokeswoman said she caught a plane alone from Paris.

"Laura left because child protection services were threatening to remove her from her father's care," spokeswoman Mariska Woertman said.

"She was cutting classes at school because she was sick of having to report to social services all the time."

The teen planned to set out on Guppy, her 8.3-metre-long Hurley 800 in September, financed by sponsors, while pursuing her education by Internet correspondence and keeping in touch with her family via satellite phone.

Hearings in the custody case were initially set to begin Tuesday but were adjourned after the teenager's lawyer challenged the court's impartiality. The move was dismissed by the court.

- AFP