1994 when the introduction of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) gave approval to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This convention grants the state sovereign rights over the seabed, its subsoil and the water adjacent to the seabed within the 200 nautical mile limit. Negotiations are taking place that could see the influence of coastal states extended beyond the 200 nautical miles of EEZs. Part VI of UNCLOS concerns a coastal state's continental shelf out to from the coastline. In 2007, Ireland became the first country to gain approval for the extension of its continental shelf, to the west of the island, and now has responsibility for an area of some – an increase of 100 per cent. Among the tasks mandated to the NSDS include the following; Search and recovery Underwater survey Explosive ordnance disposal Underwater engineering Military diving training EU Navfor Med In July 2017, the Irish government agreed to allowing the Naval Service to join other EU member state navies in Operation Sophia (the EU operation focused on refugee smuggling in the Mediterranean). Since 2015 the Irish Navy has had bilateral agreement called Operation Pontus with the Italian Navy in regards to Mediterranean search and rescue operations. In order for Ireland to join the mission it required the passing of the so-called "triple lock system". This requires cabinet, Dáil and UN approval. In its previous stance the Irish Navy was limited in its remit and sourcing of intelligence due to its lack of participation in EU Navfor Med. There was also a lack of force protection in the event of an attack on Irish vessels but this changed with the go-ahead for EU participation. Assets Until 2014, all Naval Service vessels had been named with (mainly female) names taken from Celtic mythology and Irish folklore. However, the four newest in the fleet, LÉ Samuel Beckett (commissioned 17 May 2014), LÉ James Joyce (commissioned in September 2015), LÉ William Butler Yeats (commissioned 17 October 2016) and LÉ George Bernard Shaw (commissioned 30 April 2019) take their names from Irish literary figures. The ship prefix LÉ stands for Long Éireannach, "Irish Ship" in the Irish language. Current fleet Other assets The Naval Service also operates smaller training vessels and rigid-hulled inflatable boats. Air assets to support naval patrols are provided by the Air Corps with their two CASA CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft and