Port Hedland strike expands, yet BHP claims minimal shipping impact

More workers joined a strike at BHP's Port Hedland operations in Western Australia on Sunday, a union spokesperson said, in the first major industrial action at the iron-ore export hub in a quarter-century.

On the second of the planned two days of stoppage, some 100 workers downed tools at the world's biggest export hub for iron ore at 05:30 (21:30 GMT), taking the total involved to around 150, the spokesperson said.

Sunday's 24-hour stoppage by the three unions of the Combined BHP Ports Unions, which represents some of BHP's workforce of more than 800 people at the port, followed a 24-hour ship-loading halt on Saturday.

Melbourne-based BHP, which ships some $80 million worth of iron ore daily through the port, said vessels continued to be loaded on Sunday amid the strike.