Three Practising Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) licensed pilots are at the helm of Hydro Pilots Australia. Hailing from a diverse range of backgrounds, all three are experienced shipmasters and have accumulated more than 1,000 Hydrographers Passage reef transits between them.

They established Hydro Pilots in 1996 after identifying a demand for marine pilots specialised in navigating Hydrographers Passage and is now dedicated to offering a professional and exclusive marine pilotage service.

The company's operations office and hangar, housing their Bell 206BIII IFR Jetranger and Agusta A109C IFR helicopters, are located at the Mackay Airport. It is from there that all Marine Pilot transfers are conducted.

The operations office is accessible 24 hours a day and includes up-to-date communications facilities. Phone contact is diverted to the duty officer after normal office hours.

Hydro Pilots clients enjoy a variety of services that are unique in the field of marine pilot services. They include:

• Mackay based operations
• Helicopter charter operations
• Specialised pilotage
• Superior technology

At no extra cost, the company offers clients the additional service of transferring ship's mail and documents to vessels receiving a marine pilot at Blossom Bank or disembarking a marine pilot once the vessel has anchored at Hay Point.

Hydro Pilots also supply a Master's information pack to every vessel, which includes the following:

• Customs and quarantine document data disks
• Reefrep and Ausrep booklet
• Ship helicopter transfer book
• Reef guidebook
• National plan booklet