While this may seem logical, given that the warmest ocean water is often located near the Equator, the answer is actually No.
Aside from warm water, hurricanes also need certain atmospheric forces to allow them to rotate and strengthen. One of these is the Coriolis effect an apparent turning of winds to the right of their anticipated path, thanks to the rotation of the Earth. Since the Coriolis effect only occurs away from the Equator, hurricanes can't form directly on the Equator's latitude (zero degrees).
---D.M.
