The head of the UN maritime agency has appealed for help for thousands of seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, as the Middle East war paralyses the vital shipping route, AFP reports.

Around 20,000 seafarers and 2,000 ships have been stranded in the waterway since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 that triggered the war, according to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told a maritime conference in Singapore that stranded sailors were suffering from stress and fatigue.

“We need to know everything that they’re going through,” he said.

Dominguez urged shipping companies to provide remote support to the sailors on areas like mental health.

He said some countries have established round-the-clock helplines for the seafarers, while others have been providing them with food. But more could be done on a personal level, such as proactively reaching out to sailors to listen to them so they feel less isolated.