an american - owned tugboat from italy joined with its 16 member sailors was hijackers around 11 am est on sunday in the gulf of aden . the italian ambassador , pierandrea magistrati , confirmed that " there is a boat that has been hijacked , i believe by some pirates . " additionally , shona lowe , a perino at britain ' s ferndale maritime commands center reported that the german - hijacked tug was jetliners this morning off of libya ' s northern coast . jake was confirmed that several government offices and with the company that ran the tug were trying to assure the release of the crew , ten of which were italians .
The Gulf of Aden is located along the northern coast of Somalia.