Search for man overboard called off

The search for an elderly man who fell from a cruise ship into rough seas has been called off, with authorities saying it's unlikely he survived.

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.

The Sun Princess said in a statement the ship turned around and retraced its path off the coast of the state after its crew performed a thorough check of the vessel.

In October last year an elderly man went missing from the deck of the same cruise ship while it was off the northern Australian coast.

The cruise liner had been scheduled to arrive in Sydney this morning, but it will be delayed and the next cruise will be impacted, Princess Cruises said in a statement.