LONDON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The 36th extraordinary session of the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Thursday called for establishing a humanitarian maritime framework to facilitate the safe evacuation of merchant vessels currently confined within the Gulf region.

The meeting, held at the IMO headquarters in London, adopted a decision to encourage the establishment of a framework such as a maritime safety corridor to facilitate the safe evacuation of merchant vessels from high-risk and affected areas to safer locations on a voluntary basis.

According to the decision, the proposed framework aims to protect the lives of seafarers and ensure that vessels willing to make use of it can continue commercial operations while avoiding military attacks and safeguarding the marine environment.

The meeting requested the secretary-general to work with relevant parties to take immediate steps to initiate the framework, keep member states informed of developments, and report progress to a future session of the council.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said that, in line with the council's decision, he will immediately look into technical, operational and diplomatic conversations, and his first outreach will be to countries in the Gulf region.

The IMO will also assess the situation of vessels currently stranded in the region, in order to help determine priorities for assistance, he said.

Moreover, the meeting urged an immediate halt to attacks on commercial vessels and emphasized the need to ensure the continuous provision of essential supplies, including water, food and fuel, to ships unable to leave the region.

According to data provided by the IMO, since the outbreak of the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, at least seven seafarers have been killed in attacks on merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz area, with several others seriously injured. Around 20,000 seafarers remain stranded aboard ships in the region. ■