The RNLI are appealing to businesses for aid to build a new £200,000 life-saving facility in Fraserburgh.
The lifeboat charity has said that a new pontoon is desperately needed in the harbour to protect crewmen and causalities coming on and off the vessel.
Currently, at high tide the crew are forced to clamber over handrailing to get about the all-weather Willie and May Gall Trent Class lifeboat.
The vessel is prone to damage in rough weather when it is rocked against the harbour wall.
Now the charity says action is needed. Fraserburgh’s full time coxswain and mechanic Vic Sutherland said: “For boarding and disembarking a pontoon will make a big, big difference, irrespective of the state of the tide.
“It gives us a platform to step on to before coming up the stairs or stepping onboard.”
Mr Sutherland explained that the new facility would make transferring casualties off the lifeboat “safer and more comfortable” in all weather conditions.
He added “If it’s been raining heavily, the handrails and staircase are wet, or they can be icy, and that is obviously an issue as the crew go to and from the lifeboat.”
The cost of the new facility is more than £400,000 and the RNLI is asking businesses if they will consider financing £200,000 of that cost.
The charity aims to have the pontoon installed next year, with funding in place by the end of 2015.
Ross Martin, RNLI corporate partnerships boss, said: “Meeting the needs of such a vital lifesaving project in the community is an attractive prospect for companies, who could either make a corporate donation or involve their employees in fundraising towards the project.
“It’s a chance for a company to develop a real legacy and form a lasting bond with their local lifeboat station.”