Conservationists in central Queensland have expressed outrage that bulk carriers can travel from Gladstone to Cairns without a marine pilot to guide them through the Great Barrier Reef.

The Chinese-registered 230-metre long bulk coal carrier, Shen Neng 1, ran aground on a reef on Saturday, about 70 kilometres east of Great Keppel Island.

An unknown quantity of oil has leaked from a ruptured fuel tank on the vessel.

Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman Ian Herbert said the incident - which follows a large oil spill from the container carrier Pacific Adventurer, which polluted Moreton Island and Sunshine Coast beaches in March 2009 - will not be the last.

"We can be certain that this is a sign of things to come," Mr Herbet said this morning.