an israeli - owned barges from italy along with its 16 member crew was hijacked after 11 am eastern on sundays in the gulf of aden . the italian ambassador , pierandrea magistrati , confirmed that " there is a boats that has been aboard , i believe by somalia pirates . " however , shona lowe , a declined at nato ' s wethersfield maritime command center confirmed that the german - boarded tugboat was hijacking this morning off of somalia ' s western coastline . lowe also explained that italian government officials coupled with the company that owners the mv were struggling to secure the custody of the prisoners , ten of which were italians .
The Gulf of Aden is located along the northern coast of Somalia.