Pilbara ports brace & reopen after tropical cyclone Mitchell disrupts Iron Ore exports

Incidence

In early February 2026, Tropical Cyclone Mitchell developed off the northwest coast of Western Australia, tracking toward the Pilbara region, home to some of the most important export hubs for Australia’s mineral commodities. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) confirmed that Mitchell intensified into a Category 3 tropical cyclone, with wind gusts up to ~195 km/hr (121 mph) as it neared the Pilbara coast. Category 3 systems can cause significant structural damage, uproot trees and lead to power outages.

In anticipation of severe weather and for safety precautionary reasons, Pilbara Ports — including the world’s largest iron ore export facility Port Hedland — as well as the ports of Ashburton, Cape Preston West, Dampier, and Varanus Island were closed and evacuated starting on Saturday, 6 February 2026.

Mitchell was forecast to make landfall between Exmouth and Onslow, bringing heavy rainfall and gusty winds across a large swath of Western Australia’s coastline.

Impacts

Port operations & trade disruption

The temporary closure of these key export ports directly halted iron ore and LNG loading operations, a major concern for global commodity supply chains. Port Hedland alone handles tens of millions of tonnes of ore annually. Australian producers exported about 51 million tonnes from Hedland in December 2025, up over 9 % from the prior year, with strong Chinese and South Korean demand.

No vessels departed Port Hedland after 5 February due to the cyclone threat, and several dozen ships remained at anchor or alongside waiting for the weather to subside.

Recovery and resumption of operations

By 8 February 2026, Port Hedland had resumed operations as the cyclone passed to the south and weakened, demonstrating robust emergency planning and recovery capacity.

Other nearby ports - including Ashburton, Cape Preston West, Dampier and Varanus Island - remained closed initially but were expected to reopen once safety assessments were completed.