Western Australia's Dampier iron ore port shuts ahead of Tropical Cyclone Damien

Sydney — Western Australia's iron ore port of Dampier was closed at midday local time (0400 GMT) due to the approach of Tropical Cyclone Damien, while Port Hedland 250 km away has begun clearing vessels, the Pilbara Ports Authority said Friday.

Category 2 Tropical Cyclone Damien was located 320 kilometers north-northwest of Port Hedland moving southwest at 11 kilometers/hour and was expected to intensify overnight to Category 3 as it turns towards the Pilbara coast, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said early Friday.

BOM ranks cyclones on a scale of one to five, with five the strongest.

"Gales are forecast to develop along the Pilbara coast between Wallal Downs and Mardie including Port Hedland, Karratha and Dampier from as early as Friday evening. Destructive winds with wind gusts to 150 km/hour are likely to develop during Saturday morning as the cyclone approaches the coast," BOM said in a statement.

Dampier port, a major export port for Rio Tinto, shipped 70.1 million mt of iron ore over July-December, Pilbara Ports Authority data showed.

Port Hedland, used by BHP, FMG and Roy Hill, shipped 515.35 million mt of iron ore in 2019, 436.4 million mt of it to China, separate Pilbara Ports Authority data showed.