An American-owned tugboat from Italy along with its 16 member crew was hijacked around 11 am EST on Saturday in the Gulf of Aden.  The Italian Ambassador, Pierandrea Magistrati, confirmed that "there is a boat that has been hijacked, I believe by Somali pirates." Additionally, Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman at NATO's Northwood maritime command center reported that the Italian-flagged tugboat was hijacked this morning off of Somalia's northern coast.  Lowe also confirmed that Italian government officials along with the company that owned the tugboat were trying to secure the release of the crew, ten of which were Italians.