Cyclone Seroja: Mid West exporters wait for restart

Mid West exporters face an anxious wait to learn when port operations will resume as authorities assess the damage left behind in the wake of Cyclone Seroja. The destructive system has left a trail of destruction across the region after making landfall last night, taking out Carnarvon’s famous One Mile Jetty and ripping roofs off homes and businesses in Kalbarri. Mid West Ports acting chief executive Damian Tully said before the cyclone struck that staff had made every effort to ensure the safety and security of people and its assets. The port is the region’s hub for grain and resource exports, with grain handler and exporter CBH and miners Iluka Resources, Karara Mining, Mt Gibson Iron, Fenix Resources and GWR Group among its customers. It is not yet known if the facility escaped damage after wind gusts of up to 120km/h tore through the city. About half a dozen cargo vessels remain stationed at sea to the south. SEROJA STRIKES The West Australian understands hundreds of workers at Karara Mining’s Mid West magnetite operation 200km south-east of Geraldton were evacuated over the weekend ahead of the cyclone’s arrival. It remains unclear whether the site sustained any damage. The company, controlled by Chinese steelmaker Ansteel, has been contacted for comment. The West Australian also understands Iluka Resources evacuated workers from some of its sites over the weekend but they returned this morning. Production from the mineral sands miner’s Cataby, Eneabba and Narngulu sites is expected to resume when power is restored. The cyclone is expected to create further headaches for grain handler and exporter CBH, which was already facing delays to shipments from the port at what is its busiest time of the year. CBH last week revealed it had missed multiple shipping commitments because of a shortage of train and truck drivers. Chief operations manager Ben Macnamara told The West Australian that Geraldton’s performance was trailing behind other ports and CBH was concerned for the forecast over the next four to six weeks. Another issue, specific to Geraldton, was reduced availability of fumigatable storage. Mid West Ports and CBH have been contacted for comment. Seroja has now been downgraded to a tropical low but a red alert remains in place for Kalbarri and Northampton. Residents in those areas are urged to stay home for now. “There will be powerlines down, there will be other structures that are unsteady,” Emergency Services Minister Reece Whitby told Perth radio 6PR. “It will take time to go through town-sites, and communities to make sure everything is safe, to make sure powerlines don’t represent a threat to peoples lives.” An all-clear has been issued for Geraldton and the shires of Carnamah, Coorow, Chapman Valley, Irwin, Mingenew, Morawa, Perenjori, Shark Bay and Three Springs. Western Power said more than 31,500 customers had lost power in Kalbarri, Geraldton, Northampton, Dongara, Port Denison and Mullewa.