Their two years of �intense� maritime activity in the Gulf ended in late January, but it was only yesterday that HMS Ramsey and HMS Blyth finally arrived home at Faslane. (With video)

Their two years of "intense" maritime activity in the Gulf ended in late January, but it was only yesterday that HMS Ramsey and HMS Blyth finally arrived home at Faslane.

A cluster of excited family and friends gathered on the quayside at HM Naval Base Clyde to welcome home the crew of the Royal Navy mine-hunters after seven months at sea.

In between the handing-over of the operational baton on January 26 to two other Mine Countermeasure Vessels, HMS Grimsby and Pembroke, and yesterday's exultant arrival lay a 6500-mile journey.

The Navy is delighted with the success of its project, which involves sending the ships out long-term, and rotating the crews by air.

The Sandown-class vessels have advanced manoeuvrability, which allows them 360-degree movement in treacherous waters.

Captain Steve Garrett, the captain of the Faslane Flotilla, said: "It is important for people to realise what an important role these small ships have, despite their size. They do a tremendous job.

"They are made of glass-reinforced plastic so that they don't trigger today's sophisticated mines and can therefore go where other ships cannot, clearing the way so the bigger ships of the Fleet can go in."

The ships were involved in key strategic work to clear minefields left over from previous Gulf Wars.

Rear Admiral Martin Alabaster, who boarded the mine-hunters to welcome them back, said: "The ships have had a fairly demanding passage. These are quite small ships and it's a long way from the Gulf - they've been at sea, stopping occasionally for fuel, for some 42 days, and the weather has not been kind to them these last 10 days.

"So they'll be pleased to be back: it's quite a long way to travel in a small ship.

"They have been doing very important work, surveying the shipping routes particularly in the northern Gulf, making sure they're clear of mines or other unexploded ordnance.

"They've also been training the Iraqi Navy to operate their new patrol boats. In the long term we're very keen that the Iraqis should be able to look after their own security, so helping to train their Navy is something we regard as important."

Ramsey's commanding officer, Lt Cdr Nick Borbone, paid his own tribute, saying: "What they have achieved in the past two-and-a-half years is testament to the dedication and professionalism of the eight different crews that have been involved in the deployment since its inception.

"It is a huge privilege for us to return the ships home to Faslane after a job well done."

Happy to be home was Lt Steve White, 33, a mine clearance diving officer - "underwater bomb disposal, effectively".

Lt White, who lives in Glasgow's west end, said HMS Ramsey's modern technology included sonar and remote-controlled mine-disposal vehicles. "The sonar is almost like a conker that hangs underneath the ship and looks onto the sea-bed. If it sees something we will take a closer look at it.

"Perhaps we might look at it from various angles, and once we think it looks like quite a strong contact, we will either send a diver down to look at it, or use a vehicle."

Once the ships had docked in the bright, cold sunshine at Faslane, the rest of the day belonged to the crews and their families.

One Blyth crew member, communications and information specialist Paul Gray, greeted his family and said: "We're going to have a wee mini-Christmas. We're all going out for a nice meal, taking the kids out. I'm looking forward to that. They've got a few surprises that they don't know about, down in the ship."

On board HMS Ramsey, Able Rating Catriona Monaghan, 26, from Arbroath, was one of only three women working alongside 34 men.

"I give as good as I get," she said. "But they're a great bunch of lads."

She said she was looking forward to seeing family and friends, doing some shopping and having a good night out in "civvies"..