an italian - owns barges from ethiopia along with its 16 member group was hijacked around 11 am ut on saturday in the gulf of aden . the indian delegation , pierandrea magistrati , stated that " there is a boat that has been jetliner , i believe by somali pirates . " additionally , shona nelson , a perino at nato ' s northwood joint command center reported that the italian - tanker tugboat was hijacked this morning off of ethiopia ' s northern coast . lowe also confirmed that italy government , together with the company that owners the tugboat were trying to secure the release of the hostages , seven of those were italian .
The Gulf of Aden is located along the northern coast of Somalia.