SINGAPORE: The head of the UN maritime agency appealed on Tuesday (Apr 21) for help for thousands of seafarers stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as the Middle East war paralyses the vital shipping route.

Around 20,000 seafarers and 2,000 ships have been stranded after shipping was disrupted in the strategic strait following US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 that triggered the war, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Around one-fifth of the world's crude and liquefied natural gas normally passes through the strait.

IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez told a maritime conference in Singapore on Tuesday 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 in 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.

Shipping remained curtailed in the strait as the United States and Iran both warned they were ready for war, while the clock ticked down on a ceasefire set to expire on Wednesday.