The woman is thought to have fallen off before the Ulysses set sail

Emergency crews were alerted after a pile of clothing was found on the outer deck of Irish Ferries' Ulyssees at around 0300 BST when it was still docked at Holyhead ready to sail to Dublin.

The RNLI all-weather lifeboat - joined by a cliff rescue team - called off their extensive search late on Friday morning after failing to find any sign of the passenger.

When scouring the beach and the ferry port terminal, a spokesman for the RNLI said they "feared the worst".

"We have covered the whole area thoroughly and come up with nothing," he added.

Just a few hours after they abandoned the search, a body was discovered by a fishing boat, two miles from the Kish Lighthouse near Dublin.

North Wales Police - who said the missing woman was her 30s and Irish - are continuing to investigate her disappearance.

The Ulysses, which is able to carry 2,000 passengers and more than 1,300 cars, set sail for Ireland after a 30 minute delay.