The incident happened near the Canadian port of Halifax. Colleagues on the vessel spent five hours looking for him but failed to find anything.

The QM2 had been on a transatlantic voyage sailing from Southampton, BBC news reported.

The Cunard spokesperson said: “A search was carried out for a missing crew member on Queen Mary 2. It has been clearly established that the crew member went overboard.”

“The ship was off the coast of Newfoundland and, in association with local authorities, it carried out an extensive search of the area in which he went overboard but unfortunately there were no sightings.

“Having discussed this with experts ashore, there is no possibility that the crew member could have survived this long in the water and we therefore have to presume that he died in the water.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, which is being informed, as well as friends and his colleagues on board.”