Another ship has been moved into place to take coal from the damaged Chinese coal carrier Shen Neng 1 anchored off Hervey Bay, off south-east Queensland.

The ship ran aground on Douglas Shoal on the Great Barrier Reef, east of Rockhampton, on the Easter weekend.

The Shen Neng 1 was refloated and towed to safe anchorage, first off Gladstone in central Queensland, and then transferred to waters off Hervey Bay further south.

About 19,000 tonnes of the ship's total coal cargo of 65,000 tonnes is being unloaded from the Shen Neng 1 so it can be then towed back to China.

Conservationists says the operation is endangering the Great Sandy Marine Park, but Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) says there have been no spills.

MSQ general manager Patrick Quirk says crews switched ships yesterday.

"The first ship has been loaded and she departed about midday Sunday," he said.

"She's heading off to China, going via Gladstone for customs clearance - that was the Clipper Mistral and the second ship, the Johanna C, is on site.

"She's anchored and she'll probably come alongside the Shen on Monday morning."

Mr Quirk says the MSQ is preparing the Shen Neng 1 for a deterioration in the weather later this week.

He says the damaged ship was moved a few nautical miles south-east in preparation for the weather change.

"The Johanna C is physically larger than the previous vessel and we're just bringing the Shen Neng into a more protected area," he said.

"She was still catching some of the swell from around Sandy Cape and we're just trying to get her a bit more protection from the swell.

"There is some heavy winds due later this week - 25 to 30 knot winds.

"It means we want to do everything we can to protect the operation from the elements."

Sourced from www.abc.net.au