Pilbara Ports Authority delivers 62.1 million tonnes of throughput for the month of March 2023.
Port Dampier handled a throughput of 14.7 million tonnes, which was a 21 per cent increase from March 2022.
Similar to Port Hedland, exports were overwhelmingly of iron ore at roughly 83 per cent of total exports. Liquified natural gas was the second most exported commodity at roughly 12 per cent of total exports.
As for imports, Port Dampier brought in 87,000 tonnes, an increase of 23 per cent from the same time last year. Petroleum made up roughly 81 per cent of total imports with general imports coming in second at 18.87 per cent.
This represents a three per cent increase compared to March 2022.
Port Hedland achieved a monthly throughput of 46.5 million tonnes, of which 45.8 million tonnes was exclusively iron ore exports. This figure represents a two per cent decrease from the same period last year.
Port Hedland imported a total of 189,000 tonnes, an impressive increase of 29 per cent on the same time last year.
Just this month, Port Hedland was forced to close due to Tropical Cyclone Ilsa crossed the Pilbara coast as a category five storm on April 13 at midnight.
Prior to Cyclone Ilsa, Port Hedland had not been forced to shut down since 2019, when tropical cyclone Veronica struck the coast in March of that same year.
But a late south-easterly change in the Cyclone Ilsa’s path meant that the port was spared the worst of the storm and reopened on April 14.
Following the reopening, Port Hedland came back strong and set a new 24-hour throughput record. The port saw 2.817 million tonnes of throughput, with 15 vessel movements, in just 24 hours.
The previous 24-hour throughput record of 2.573 million tonnes was achieved in December 2021.