Australia's maritime union has accused the Federal Government of being too slow to provide guidelines to the industry on how to deal with potential coronavirus cases entering the country's ports.

Key points: The Department of Health released protocols on coronavirus for the shipping industry

The Department of Health released protocols on coronavirus for the shipping industry There are no reports so far of coronavirus cases on foreign vessels that have docked in Australia

There are no reports so far of coronavirus cases on foreign vessels that have docked in Australia But a coal carrier is anchored off Queensland with a sick crew member

The Department of Health last night released protocols to the shipping industry on dealing with the highly infectious disease, more than two weeks after additional biosecurity measures were put in place at Sydney airport to meet passengers flying from China's Wuhan.

The release comes as a coal carrier is anchored off Queensland with a sick seafarer onboard.

Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin said the Government had "no excuse" for the delay.

"We interact with the crews' ships themselves, so we have been asking: 'Where are the filters? Where is the explanation? What's the protocol? What are the procedures?' and there is nobody at the helm," Mr Crumlin said.

The Government announced on February 1 that foreign arrivals from mainland China would not be allowed into Australia.

Under the newly released marine guidelines, similar restrictions would apply to vessels that left China on or after that date.

Mr Crumlin said the Government should have been treating shipping ports as a critical interface for exposure sooner.

"Merchant shipping — China is our second-largest customer for everything we do.

"There's no shipping policy and this is I guess an extension of that, [it] is a policy vacuum."

Safety information published on Wednesday for marine pilots meeting ships recommended they wear surgical masks and gloves while on board.

Queensland and New South Wales have gone further.

Maritime Safety Queensland will not allow ships to enter a Queensland pilotage area if they left, or transited through, mainland China on or after February 1, 2020.

Similarly, Port Authority of New South Wales employees will not board vessels where coronavirus is present, and pilotage services for ships will be delayed.

'Our voices are being heard'

Ports Australia welcomed the release of a single guideline for the nation's shipping sector.

"Ships have been leaving all parts of the world, including China, for the last couple of weeks and heading not just here but in other directions," Ports Australia chief executive Mike Gallagher said.

"We have for some time been ensuring that our voices are being heard in relation to this and that's evident in the amount of information that is now being distributed."

To date, there are no reports of coronavirus cases on board foreign vessels that have docked in Australia.

However, on Thursday, a foreign trading vessel was anchored off the coast of Gladstone with an ill crew member.

They were placed in isolation after undergoing testing for coronavirus.

A seafarer who had been living and working on a cargo ship was last week diagnosed in Singapore.

The 56-year-old Chinese national had travelled from Wuhan in Hubei province.

Wuhan is a major river port and a shipping thoroughfare connecting central China with the rest of the world.