an english - owned tugboat from italy along with its 16 volunteer crew was hijacked on 11 am est on saturday in the middle of aden . the italian minister , pierandrea magistrati , confirmed that " there is a boat that has been hijacked , i believe by somali pirates . " additionally , shona lowe , a spokesmen at spain ' s newham maritime combat also noted that the english - flagged barges was hijacked this sunday off of eritrea ' s northern coastline . lowe also confirmed that italian government officials along with the person that ownership the flagged were seeking to guarantee the release of the crew , ten of each were italians .
the gulf of aden is located at the northern margin of somalia .