The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon near the German island of Rügen, when a person fell into the sea from the Skania ferry, operated by Unity Line, which was sailing from Ystad in southern Sweden to Świnoujście in north-western Poland.
Rescue services from Poland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden were dispatched to the area.
The operation began at around 4.15pm local time and continued until approximately 7.30pm, but no one was found.
Poland’s national broadcaster Polskie Radio reported the incident, citing findings by local broadcaster Radio Szczecin.
The statement was later confirmed by an operations inspector from Poland’s Maritime Search and Rescue Service, who told the Polish Radio English Section: "This is an operation led by the German authorities, and all inormation on the matter comes from the German side."
According to portal Gospodarkamorska.pl, another Unity Line ferry, the Polonia, which was near the German port of Sassnitz, also took part in the rescue and search operation coordinated by the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (SAR).
Swedish and Danish units were also involved, and aerial searches were conducted. Sea conditions were reported to be difficult at the time.
At 6.21pm, the German SAR authorities decided to release the Skania and Polonia ferries, which returned to their ports.
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Source: Polish Radio English Section/Radio Szczecin/PR24/SAR/gospodarkamorska.pl