Port Hedland is one of the largest iron ore loading ports in the world and the largest in Australia. In 2011 it had the largest bulk cargo throughput in Australia. With the neighboring ports of

Port Walcott Port Walcott, formerly known as Tien Tsin Harbour, is a large open water harbour located on the northwest coast of Western Australia, located near the town of Point Samson. History Before the port was established, the land was inhabited by t ...

and Dampier, Port Hedland is one of three major iron ore exporting ports in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

History

Named after Captain Hedland, the Master of a ship that anchored there in 1863,

Port Hedland A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

was first developed in order to service the needs of the local pastoral industry in East Pilbara. The first jetty was built in 1896, this was extended in 1908 after the discovery of gold in the

Marble Bar Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed ...

area. Until the 1930s the port was predominantly used to import goods and stores for the local industries and to export pearl, shell, wool, livestock, gold, tin and copper. With the end of WW2 the port began exporting significant amounts of manganese. The 1960s saw the development of the port by the iron ore and salt industries. Mount Goldsworthy Mining Associates, a company later absorbed by

BHP Billiton BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

, dredged an approach channel and turning basin for 65,000 DWT ships. Meanwhile, the Leslie Salt Company, from August 2001 Dampier Salt Limited (part of the Rio Tinto Group), built a land backed wharf and facilities to aid salt exports and fuel imports. Further dredging was performed after the Mount Newman Mining Company, a subsidiary of

, chose Port Hedland as its export port. The new works allowed for ships up to 120,000 DWT. Between the 1960s and today and extensive dredging and building has taken Port Hedland from a convenient anchorage to 15 berths capable of loading various ores and goods onto ships ranging from 25,000 DWT to 320,000 DWT. In 2005/06 Port Hedland became the first Australian port to export in excess of 100 million tonnes per year. In 2010/11 the port exported a record 199 million tonnes, making it the largest port by cargo tonnage in Australia.

Port authority

Port Hedland's harbour is managed by the Pilbara Port Authority, a state government instrumentality. The Port Authority's headquarters, control tower and heliport are at Mangrove Point, just to the west of The Esplanade at the western end of Port Hedland. The tugboat pen, customs office and public jetty are at nearby Laurentius Point. The harbour's wharves are located on both sides of the harbour – Finucane Island to the west and Port Hedland to the east.

Geography

The points are key references to the port and its composition. Mangrove and Laurentius points are already mentioned, Utah Point, and Anderson Point are located in the inner part of the harbour and exist within the complex of current berths.

Berths

Allocation of berths includes a ''commercial-in-confidence'' agreement between the PPA and BHP known as the Harriet Point agreement *Finucane Island berths - BHP berths FIA, FIB, FIC & FID, PPA Wharf 4 *Anderson Point berths - Fortescue Metals AP berths 1,2,3 and 4,5 (in South West Creek) *South West Creek - Roy Hill Stanley Point SP 1 & SP 2 *Inner Harbour berths - PPA Wharves 1,2 & 3 and BHP berths Nelson Point NPA, NPB, NPC, NPD

Gallery

Access by oceangoing vessels into and out of the harbour is via a narrow curved channel. The following series of images depicts a 225 m (246.1 yd) long

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, eco ...

, ''Darya Shanthi'', using the channel to enter the harbour. Visible in the foreground of each image is part of the harbour's system of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

s. File:Darya Shanthi arrives at Port Hedland, 2012 (1).JPG File:Darya Shanthi arrives at Port Hedland, 2012 (2).JPG File:Darya Shanthi arrives at Port Hedland, 2012 (3).JPG File:Darya Shanthi arrives at Port Hedland, 2012 (4).JPG

Port Statistics

References

External links

Port Hedland Port Authority – About the Port

Port Hedland Port Authority – Port Profile and Handbook
{{Iron ore railways in the Pilbara Port Hedland, Western Australia Ports and harbours of Western Australia Statutory agencies of Western Australia