Singapore (Platts)--31Jan2011/525 am EST/1025 GMT
The New York Star, an LR-sized clean tanker ferrying naphtha, managed to escaped unscathed following a weekend pirate attack in the Indian Ocean, according to Russian news agency Ria Novosti on Sunday. The vessel was carrying 55,000 mt of naphtha and making its way from Saudi Arabia to Asia when it was attacked by Somali pirates, who managed to board the ship but was unable to take control as the crew had locked themselves in a safe room. Ria Novosti reported that the pirate's attack was scuppered when a Dutch frigate came to the New York Star's aid. Shipping broker reports last listed Noble as the charterer of the New York Star with a loading laycan of January 15 from the Red Sea with its final destination in Japan. But this could not be confirmed with a company source declining comment Monday morning. Naphtha from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastline can be exported from either Yanbu or Jeddah, but trading sources said that due to the cargo's size, the parcel should have originated from Yanbu, making it likely to be A180 spec material, which is a light naphtha grade. "Usually [Saudi Arabia's] Jeddah cargoes are only 15,000 mt, so this should be from the Yanbu side," a trader said Monday. "It makes sense for it to go to Japan because end-users are short on paraffins there," he said, adding that the cargo is likely a term parcel which Noble had taken delivery of. Light naphtha, which has a high paraffinic content of at least 80%, is favored for use as a cracking feedstock in North Asia for the production of downstream petrochemical products. A180 naphtha is the most expensive of the five naphtha grades offered by Saudi Aramco in its H1 2011 term contract. The Middle Eastern giant fixed premiums for light naphtha at $17/mt to Aramco's formula, versus the $14-16/mt for the other four grades, which are A310 from Jeddah, A310 from Ras Tanura, chemical feed naphtha from Jubail, and treated naphtha from Rabigh. Aramco's formula takes an average of CFR Japan naphtha assessments by Platts and Petroleum Argus, minus a freight component.--Clarice Chiam, clarice_chiam@platts.comSimilar stories appear in Clean Tankerwire. See more information at http://bit.ly/CleanTankerwire