A SEAFOOD supplier has launched a purpose-built scallop vessel thanks to a funding package from Royal Bank of Scotland.

Eternal Light is the first vessel Whitelink Seafoods has commissioned to be built from scratch and drew on 40 years’ experience to input and advise on the design, technology and facilities required on-board. The new vessel creates an additional 15 jobs for Fraserburgh and the surrounding community.

Eternal Light is the latest addition to the Whitelink fleet that the Royal Bank of Scotland has helped the business to finance in the last five years.

Andrew Sutherland, director of Whitelink Seafoods, said: “The support provided by Royal Bank of Scotland to our business has been incredible. We are immensely proud of the work we have put in to Eternal Light and the opportunity to build a vessel tailored to our own needs.

Gregor Stewart, relationship director at Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “We’re once again proud to support Whitelink Seafoods in its latest business venture.

“The construction of its purposebuilt vessel shows the growth and confidence in the fishing industry of Scotland.”

Established in 1974 by James and Marie Sutherland in Fraserburgh, Whitelink Seafoods has since grown to employ more than 200 staff in Scotland, and the company also has operations in England, France, Germany, Iceland and Spain.