Hundreds of people waited on the Halifax waterfront Monday morning for the return of HMCS Ville de Quebec.

A Cyclone helicopter fly-by marked the arrival of the ship, which was accompanied on the mission by a Cyclone from 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, which is based at 12 Wing Shearwater.

The return marks the completion of a deployment overseas on Operation Reassurance in the eastern Mediterranean.

Mattias Bell was one of many children waiting on the dockside for the return of a parent.

“My dad's coming home and he's been away for six months,” said Mattias Bell.

His dad, Matthew Bell, is a crew member aboard HMCS Ville de Quebec.

“It is a long time, but it makes a big difference when you have people you work with who seem to care about you and you have a lot of respect for them,” said Bell as he held his other son in his arms. “What we do has a lot of value in my opinion, and with the reception that we get when we come home, makes it worth it.”

This was the first deployment using the new Cyclone helicopters on an overseas mission. According to the ship's commanding officer, the Cyclone flew more than 500 hours during its 170 sorties on the deployment.

The deployment included participation in NATO's largest exercise since the end of the Cold War, Operation Trident Juncture, which was performed off the coast of Norway.