UPDATE: The moment an elderly man fell 25 metres from a cruise ship was caught on a CCTV camera.
The search for the 84-year-old passenger who fell overboard the cruise ship, which was travelling from Auckland to Sydney in the Tasman Sea, was called off this afternoon.
CCTV footage from the Sun Princess showed the man falling 25 metres into the water, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.
The AMSA ended the search for the 84-year-old cruise ship passenger after expert medical advice suggested the man could not survive falling overboard.
The Sun Princess was now returning to Sydney.
The man went overboard the Sun Princess about 10.40pm NZT yesterday at a point about 320km east of Sydney.
The ship turned back this morning but there was no sign of the man.
AMSA also sent a Dornier search and rescue aircraft to the search area.
"There have been no sightings of the man during the search," AMSA said this afternoon.
"Expert medical advice received by AMSA indicated the man was very unlikely to have survived when he entered the water given the height. The advice also indicated that the man would not have been able to survive in the water...given his age, clothing and weather conditions at the time of the incident," AMSA said.
"Sea conditions in the area were rough with swells up to three metres.
"In consultation with the Master of the Sun Princess, the operating company and the next of kin, the search effort has concluded."
10.43am: An elderly man is feared to have gone overboard from a cruise ship returning to Australia from a New Zealand cruise.
The 84-year-old man was reported missing from the Sun Princess early today.
The cruise liner had been due to arrive in Sydney this morning from a 13-day New Zealand cruise. It left Tauranga waters three days ago after local school students performed for passengers.
Mount Maunganui Intermediate music students performed aboard the Sun Princess on Friday as a thank you for the piano the ship donated to the school last year.
The Princess Cruises ship returned to sea today to look for the missing man, following a thorough search by crew onboard.
An Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesman said a plane was also searching for the man.
Spokesman Mal Larson said he believed the man went overboard in rough conditions and 2-3 metre swells.
"Given his age and the conditions we think the chances of survivability are low," he said.
Mr Larson said the search plane was expected to refuel in the next 40 minutes.
"We'll reassess things then," he said.
Princess Cruises said in a statement the ship had turned around and retraced its path off the coast of the state after its crew performed a thorough check of the vessel.
"Sun Princess' arrival in Sydney will be delayed and the next cruise will be impacted," Princess Cruises said in a statement.
The Sun Princess was one of the largest cruise ships in the world when it was launched in 1995.
The Bermuda-registerted ship, which was refurbished four years ago, has 1011 cabins and a crew of 924 staff.