A giant cruise ship that holds thousands of passengers is sailing around the English Channel looking for a crew member who went overboard

• A crew member on an AIDA cruise ship went overboard in the English Channel on Sunday.
• Trackers show the AIDAperla moving in a "search pattern" through the English Channel.

A massive German cruise ship is sailing back and forth around the English Channel, searching for a crew member the captain believes fell overboard early Sunday morning.

The UK Coastguard said that it is coordinating the search with a helicopter, Coastguard aircraft, and lifeboats.

The German cruise ship, called the AIDAperla, was en route from Hamburg to Rotterdam when the man fell overboard, according to Sky News.

The company said in a statement to Sky News that the captain "immediately initiated all necessary rescue measures in close coordination with the local authorities." A search of the ship confirmed that the crew member was missing, the company told Sky News.

Cruise Hive's cruise ship tracker shows that the ship is now moving in a "search pattern," circling in the English Channel.

The AIDAperla is one of 13 ships in the AIDA cruise line, which serves the German-speaking market and is owned by the Carnival Corporation, according to its website.

The AIDAperla is one of the largest vessels in the fleet. The ship weighs 124,100 gross tons and has a passenger capacity of 3,400 and a crew capacity of 900.

The ship is scheduled to arrive in La Coruna, Spain, on October 23, but it's unclear if the arrival will be delayed due to the search, according to Cruise Hive.