More than 400 family members and friends, serenaded by a Royal Marine Band, crowded onto the jetty at HM Naval Base Plymouth in the freezing wind as the warship came in. Privileged to be second down the gangway onto the jetty (after the Captain, Commander Mike Utley) was Chef Philip Thompson, aged 24, who knelt down on the ground and proposed to his partner Miranda Woodhouse, 25, who gave birth to their first child while he was away.

The highly public proposal was accepted and his shipmates aboard all cheered in approval as Miranda burst into tears of joy. Chef Thompson said:

"I was so nervous about asking her. Obviously I was confident she would say yes, but there was always a nagging doubt - what would I do if she said no, especially in front of hundreds of my mates on the ship and the other families?"

Thanks to the Royal Navy, Chef Thompson was flown home to Halifax to see his new son Mackenzie who was born on 30 July 2007 when the ship was in mid-deployment. The proud father said:

"I had a long time to think about proposing. Becoming a father seemed the ideal time to ask her and we have been together for four and a half years. The deployment has been eventful at sea as well as with what's been happening to me personally. The ship has been very busy seizing illegal drugs and with disaster relief."

The deployment to the Caribbean and North Atlantic included a multi-national exercise off the east coast of America, assisting in Belize with the aftermath of Hurricane Dean and preventing seven tonnes of cocaine from reaching its destination. The ship travelled 34,908 nautical miles.

Another three new-born babies greeting their Royal Navy fathers also made the Christmas homecoming for HMS Portland extra special.

Leading Seaman David Smith, aged 27, met his new-born baby, Ethan, aged four and a half months, on the jetty as well as his fiancée Katrina Bleschschmidt. She said:

"It's fantastic to have my new family together for Christmas. David came home for the birth, but this is extra special."

Leading Seaman Smith added:

"It's been extra hard to leave my new son and come back to the ship but the deployment was so successful it made life easier."

Petty Officer Engineer Nathan Sexon, 37, was greeted by his daughter Millie (born five months ago while he was at sea) and his wife Helen, 29. He also flew home for the birth. He said:

"Having a baby makes this deployment especially memorable but then we also had double operations in hurricane relief and drug seizures. We achieved our goals in a big way."

In Belize in August, 40 members of the ship's company went ashore by helicopter to assist in the disaster relief effort following the impact of Hurricane Dean. They replaced roofs on over 100 houses, cleared roads, repaired electrical supplies and the team included HMS Portland's doctor, who was able to conduct a clinic for the locals.

In late October, HMS Portland was conducting a routine anti-narcotics patrol when she discovered a suspicious looking fishing vessel. As the vessel was approached she increased in speed and the crew were seen throwing packages over the side. Once it was clear she could not escape, the vessel stopped and a total of 3.5 tonnes of cocaine was discovered onboard. Together with previous disruptions, this made a total of seven tonnes of cocaine that HMS Portland prevented from reaching its intended market.

Commanding Officer, Commander Mike Utley, was met by his daughters Harriet, 8, Beatrice, 1, Isabelle, 6, and Emily, 2, and his wife Charlotte. He paid tribute to his family for their support:

"If it wasn't for my family, especially my wife, I would not have been able to contribute so much to the job I love. I am also hugely proud of my ship's company. This has been a highly professional and therefore successful deployment with two operations which we should all be rightly proud of."