Broken record proves Port can handle more ore
One company has broken its old record for the biggest single shipment of iron ore, and said it is proof Port Hedland can handle large loads.
Fortescue Metals Group has seen 263, 962 tonnes of iron ore depart on a single ship bound for China over the weekend. The figure is the company’s largest ever iron ore delivery and is currently worth around $35 million.
The previous record was 263,023 tonnes of iron ore, set in November. In that month alone about 28 million tonnes of iron ore disembarked from Port Hedland.
FMG chief executive Nev Power has used to massive load to argue against claims that the Port does not have adequate capacity for expanding needs.
Mr Power says with better planning and logistics, more than 150 million tonnes more could leave the WA terminal.
“The reality is the Pilbara is not constrained by Port Hedland,” Power said.
“I know we've heard all that, the squawking and so on from lots of people that say it's the lack of port capacity that's stopping development. But Utah Point is probably running at 50 per cent utilisation, the port overall is running way under that, and there's lots and lots of opportunity.”