UPDATE: Search called off for elderly man after cruise ship fall

The search for an elderly man who fell overboard on a Sydney-bound cruise ship has been called off, with authorities saying it's unlikely he survived.

The ship, the Sun Princess, was completing a 13-day cruise to New Zealand and was set to dock at White Bay at 7.30am.

CCTV footage from the Sun Princess cruise liner shows the 84-year-old falling into the water from a height of about 25 meters at about 8.40pm.

The liner was about 175 nautical miles from Sydney when he fell.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says the man is very unlikely to have survived the fall.

"Advice also indicated that the man would not have been able to survive in the water for an extended period of time given his age, clothing and weather conditions at the time of the incident," AMSA said in a statement.

Sea conditions in the area were rough with 25-30 knot winds and swells of up to three metres.

Another passenger, Barry, called 2UE from a satellite phone soon after the ship turned around.

"It seems that we've lost a passenger overboard," he said.

Princess Cruises released a statement regarding the incident.

If you or someone you know requires assistance, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

FULL STATEMENT

Princess Cruises confirms that an 84-year-old male passenger was reported missing early today onboard Sun Princess, which was on the way to Sydney completing a 13-day New Zealand cruise.

A thorough search of Sun Princess was conducted but the passenger could not be located.

The Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) in Canberra was contacted and Sun Princess turned around and retraced its path off the coast of New South Wales.

Sun Princess was scheduled to arrive in Sydney this morning.

She will continue its search efforts until released by the RCC.

Sun Princess’ arrival in Sydney will be delayed and the next cruise will be impacted. 

We are contacting guests to advise them of this change.

Additional reporting by AAP