SEJONG -- The South Korean shipping company of an ill-fated cargo ship that sank in the South Atlantic has reached a compensation agreement with the bereaved families of most missing crew members following the end of an on-site search, officials said Monday.

The Stellar Daisy, a 266,000-ton ore carrier with eight South Korean and 16 Filipino sailors on board, departed Rio de Janeiro on March 26 and was sailing off Uruguay when it made the distress call.

Only two Filipino crew members have been rescued by commercial ships passing the area.

Polaris Shipping, the operator of the missing vessel, said that it has agreed to give a certain amount of compensation and additional consolation money to families of 17 missing sailors and the two rescued crew. It refused to give detailed financial terms.

The five other families have been demanding the company to continue search efforts for their loved ones, the company added. The official search operation in the accident area ended on Wednesday last week.

"We hope we will reach an amicable settlement with the remaining bereaved families," said an official from Polaris Shipping. (Yonhap)