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Posted by Allen Newton
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1 April, 2026
PILBARA ports, mining and gas industries are slowly getting back on their feet after Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle swept past the region on 26 March.
Pilbara Ports is continuing to conduct condition inspections of its facilities at the Port of Dampier and the Port of Ashburton.
The Port of Dampier reopened on 28 March, but significant damage was identified across Pilbara Ports general cargo precinct, and all general cargo import operations remain suspended.
An update from Pilbara Ports said the Dampier Cargo Wharf and adjacent floating deck facility and RoRo ramp remain inoperable due to structural damage. All general cargo imports remain suspended.
The Bulk Liquids Berth is operable, and fuel imports are not affected.
“Further engineering assessments, including underwater inspections and marine surveys will continue over the next few days. These assessments will inform when safe general cargo import operations can resume,” the report said.
The Port of Ashburton also reopened on 28 March, but the Cargo Wharf remains closed. “Engineering teams are now able to access the port, and inspections will be carried out over the next few days,” the report said.
The Port of Varanus Island re-opened on 28 March. Its operations are not impacted.
Iron ore export terminals are mostly back online, but Dampier’s general cargo shutdown is the biggest supply‑chain constraint, affecting project cargo, chemicals, mining consumables and containerised freight.
Three of Rio’s four Pilbara iron ore terminals have resumed ship loading. Cape Lambert A is still under repair but expected to restart soon.
BHP and Fortescue reported no significant impacts to mining operations, while Mineral Resources activated its cyclone plan and marine operations at Ashburton were suspended for safety.
Mining is largely operational, with the main constraints now being fuel supply and port access, not mine‑site damage.
Gas and LNG were the most disrupted with Cyclone Narelle causing outages across four major gas projects, representing almost two‑thirds of WA’s domestic gas supply.
Chevron’s Gorgon LNG train went offline after 159 km/hr winds hit Barrow Island and Wheatstone’s offshore platform was knocked offline with LNG and domestic gas suspended.
Woodside’s North West Shelf/Karratha Gas Plant also experienced a production interruption and Santos’ Varanus Island operations were halted by 180 km/h winds.
Gas is the most severely impacted sector, with multiple LNG trains offline and no firm restart timelines with analysts warning of global LNG tightness and domestic supply pressure.
