an egyptian - owned tugboat from italy along with its 16 member staff was hijacking around 11 am eastern on saturday in the gulf of aden . the italian embassy , pierandrea magistrati , confirmed that " there is a vehicle that has been hijacked , i hope by mediterranean forces . " additionally , shona greene , a spokesperson at nato ' s northwood regional command center noted that the italian - flagged tug was hijacked this morning off of somalia ' s northern coast . lowe immediately confirmed that italian government troops along with the company that owned the tugboat were trying to secure the release of the crew , ten of it were italians .
The Gulf of Aden is located along the northern coast of Somalia.