SYDNEY (Reuters) – Western Australia’s ports of Dampier, Ashburton, Varanus Island, and Cape Preston West were shut, the ports’ operator said on Sunday, as tropical cyclone Sean developed off the state’s vast Pilbara iron ore region.
Pilbara Ports said on its website that it closed the ports at 8 p.m. local time on Saturday on concerns about weather off the coast of the Pilbara, an iron-ore rich area twice the size of the United Kingdom.
“The system is expected to continue to intensify during Monday and is forecast to intensify into a category 3 cyclone,” the port operator said. The nation’s weather forecaster categorises a category 3 cyclone as one of mid-severity.
The weather forecaster on Sunday issued a tropical cyclone alert for the Pilbara coast, warning of wind gusts to 120 kmh (75 mph) in the region from Sean, currently a category one cyclone.
“From Monday onwards, the cyclone is forecast to turn towards the southwest, while remaining over open waters. By this time, the cyclone is forecast to begin moving away from the coast,” it said.
The closures come after Pilbara Ports on Saturday shut the region’s iron ore hub of Port Hedland on cyclone concerns, ordering “all port inner anchorages” to leave by 6 p.m. local time.
Port Hedland, located about 1,301 km (808 miles) north of state capital Perth, is the world’s biggest export point for iron ore and is used by miners including BHP Group BHP.AX Fortescue FMG.AX and billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.
Pilbara Ports did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Port Hedland remained closed on Sunday.
(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry)
