The Kerala government on Thursday declared the wreckage of the Liberian-flagged container ship, which sank off the Kochi coast a .

As interim relief, affected fishermen Rs 1,000 and 6 kg of rice, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was quoted as saying by PTI.

The vessel, MSC ELSA-3, capsized on Sunday, about 15 nautical miles southwest of Alappuzha. It was carrying 13 containers with hazardous cargo and 12 of calcium carbide.

All 24 crew on board the vessel were rescued. The ship was from Vizhinjam, the defence ministry said.

The shipwreck poses a to Kerala’s coast environmentally, socially and economically, The Hindu quoted Tinku Biswal, principal secretary of the State Disaster Management Department as saying in a government order.

The incident raised environmental concerns, including the risk of oil spills and drifting debris along Kerala’s 640-km coast, Biswal added.

The order permits the State Disaster Management Authority to mobilise resources, including personnel and significant sums of money from the State Disaster Response Fund for relief efforts.

So far, at least 54 containers have washed ashore: 43 in Kollam, nine in Thiruvananthapuram and two in Alappuzha.

Authorities warned that more flotsam from damaged containers may continue to wash up along Kerala’s southern beaches, amid high seas off the coast.