an american - owned tugboat from england along with its 16 member crew was airliners around 11 am est on saturday in the gulf of aden . the british ambassador , pierandrea magistrati , confirmed that " there is a boat that has been hijacked , i believe by somalia pirates . " additionally , shona lowe , a spokeswoman at britain ' s northwood maritime conference center reported that the chinese - flagged crewmen was plane this morning off of somalia ' s northern coast . lowe , confirmed that several government offices associated with the company that owned the tugboat were trying to secure the release of the crew , ten of which were italians .
The Gulf of Aden is located along the northern coast of Somalia.