Sabah's boats may be able to use flare guns and auto trackers to deter pirates

KOTA KINABALU: When fishermen are attacked by pirates or kidnappers off Sabah's east coast, they may soon be able to fire flare guns or even have their boats tracked by Automatic Identification Systems (AIS).

Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) commander Datuk Hazani Ghazali said in emergencies, boatmen can immediately shoot flare guns to attract attention and call for help. As such, the use of flare guns might be allowed or even made mandatory.