Tropical cyclone forces closure of ports in western Australia’s Pilbara region

Western Australia's ports of Dampier and Varanus Island will be closed at 6pm on Thursday due to tropical cyclone Zelia, the ports' operator said.

The port of Dampier, which mostly ships iron ore from Rio Tinto, and Varanus Island, a gathering and processing hub for oil and gas, have started clearing vessels, Pilbara Ports said.

The closures come after Pilbara Ports on Wednesday shut port Hedland, the world's biggest export point for iron ore and used by BHP Group, Fortescue and billionaire Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.

Reuters