Adds information about the reopening of other ports
Australian port authority Pilbara Ports resumed operations at Port Hedland at 12:00 Sydney time (04:00 GMT) on 8 February because Cyclone Mitchell passed the area. Port Hedland is a major iron ore export hub in Western Australia (WA).
Pilbara Ports reopened the ports of Ashburton, Cape Preston West, Dampier and Varanus Island at 08:00 Syndey time on 9 February, it said today.
The port authority cleared all berths at the export hubs, which handle LNG and iron ore exports, because of expected cyclonic weather on 6 February.
Cyclone Mitchell has passed WA's iron ore-rich Pilbara region and moved to the southern part of the state, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
Australian producers shipped 51mn t of ore out of Port Hedland in December 2025, up by 9.1pc on the year because of increased Chinese and South Korean shipments.
No ships have left Port Hedland since 5 February, when the Liberian-flagged Marine Claudia left with 109,883t of iron ore lumps, data from marine tracker Kpler show. Some 15 ships are currently at Port Hedland.
The Japanese-flagged Midnight Dream is expected to leave Port Hedland at around 21:50 Sydney time today, loaded with 173,986t of BHP ore, data from Kpler show.
