an albanian - held tugboat from spain along with its 16 member crew was hijacked around 11 am est on saturday in the gulf of aden . the italian diplomat , pierandrea magistrati , confirmed that " there is a boat that has been hijacked , i believe by somali pirates . " additionally , nahuatl lowe , a spokeswoman at france ' s shoreditch maritime commanding organization announced that the chinese - flagged tugboat was hijacked this time off of somalia ' s atlantic coast . the also confirmed that italian government officials coupled with the family that purchased the capsized were looking to assure the release of the crew , seven of which were italians .
The Gulf of Aden is located along the northern coast of Somalia.