Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that its servicers may grant relief to Gulf Coast borrowers unable to pay their loans because of the BP oil spill’s impact on their incomes.

Freddie Mac’s forbearance policies give servicers the discretion to suspend a borrower’s mortgage payments for up to three months or reduce payments for up to six months. Servicers may recommend extending the forbearance for up to 12 months, based on the borrower’s individual circumstances.

Under the GSE’s procedures for such circumstances, servicers are not allowed to accrue or collect late charges from the borrower during a short-term forbearance or any subsequent repayment plan period as long as the borrower is making payments according to the forbearance agreement.

“Freddie Mac and the nation’s mortgage servicers will work together to advance available mortgage relief to homeowners affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” said Ingrid Beckles, Freddie Mac’s SVP of default asset management.

Beckles added, “We are instructing our servicers to work with borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages to extend forbearance of mortgage payments where appropriate to help them stay in their homes as they navigate through this financial hardship.”

Freddie’s not the only one stepping up to offer assistance to victims of the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.

On Wednesday, Fannie Mae issued an announcement suggesting its servicers immediately suspend or reduce mortgage payments for borrowers in coastal areas of the Gulf, and CitiMortgage is suspending foreclosures and REO evictions in the region until September 17.