an american - owned tugboat from italy coupled with its 16 member personnel was hijacked after 11 am ce on fridays in the gulf of alba . the italian ambassador , pierandrea magistrati , confirmed that " there is a ferry that has been crashed , i believe by somali pirates . " additionally , shona dodd , a spokesman at spain ' s oakwood joint command centers reported that the italian - flagged tanker was hijacking this morning off of somalia ' s northern coast . lowe also confirmed that italian civilian officials along with the persons that ran the tugboat were trying to assure the release of the victims , 15 of it were somali .
The Gulf of Aden is located along the northern coast of Somalia.