A call was made to the coastguard about 02:00 following the incident which happened near Girdleness Lighthouse.
Aberdeen and Stonehaven Coastguard rescue teams, along with two lifeboats from Aberdeen and a helicopter, were involved in the search.
Coastguards later said the "extensive search" had been suspended at about 10:00.
Coastguard area commander Ross Greenhill told BBC Scotland: "Coastguards received a call from a vessel stating that one of their crew had gone overboard.
"They threw him a life ring and turned to try to rescue him but lost sight of him.
"The search was very good so had he been on the surface we are fairly sure he would have been found."
More than 10 vessels were involved in the search, including tugs, rig vessels, merchant vessels and fishing boats.
A large-scale search after a man fell overboard from a fishing boat south east of Aberdeen has been suspended.