CANBERRA: The ports of Hedland and Dampier have reopened following closure because of a cyclone Stan, which has weakened to a tropical low. At Port Hedland, the inner and outer anchorages were opened on Sunday following a total closure of 65.8 hours, while the inner harbour reopened after being closed for 48.8 hours, the Pilbara Ports Authority said in a statement.
At Dampier, port facilities and anchorages also opened on January 31, while port operations at Ashburton were unaffected. The ports are important for iron ore exports, with Port Hedland accounting for about 30% of the global seaborne trade. It handled a record annual throughput of 447m tonnes in the 2014-2015 period.
