The fifth Croatian contingent which will be deployed within the NATO-led Sea Guardian mission in the Mediterranean was seen off on Monday from the Port of Lora in Split.

The Croatian contingent will be tasked with non-combatant operation of deterring possible threats.

The 33-strong crew on the “Vukovar” gunboat was seen off by the Croatian President and the armed forces’ Supreme Commander, Zoran Milanovic, who spoke about the importance of the sea for Croatia.

Defence Minister Mario Banozic said at the ceremony that the Croatian navy service-people had so far fulfilled all their tasks within the Sea Guardian mission in a timely and precise manner.

“One can always count on us,” the minister said.

Asked by the press whether the current crisis in Afghanistan could lead to the issuance of particular instructions for the Croatians in the Mediterranean, Banozic answered that during the term of the previous contingents “they came across certain groups of migrants who appeared on the open sea ” and this could also be expected now.

“The thing we can do is to provide help to those unfortunate people at sea,” the minister said.

The minister said that Croatia’s security agencies had obtained timely information about all the Croatian nationals in Afghanistan and they had been evacuated from that area on time.

Banozic said that he was hopeful that the scenario as was the migrant tide in 2015 would not recur and that efforts would be invested to solve the situation surrounding the migrant crisis on Afghan soil.

Navy commander, Rear Admiral Ivo Raffanelli, said that Croatia’s contingent, deployed to the Sea Guardian mission in the Mediterranean, contributed to global security and stability.