Transportation Workers Identification Credential

The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is a vital security measure that will ensure individuals who pose a threat do not gain unescorted access to secure areas of the nation's maritime transportation system.

TWIC was established by Congress through the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) and is administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and U.S. Coast Guard. TWICs are tamper-resistant biometric credentials that will be issued to workers who require unescorted access to secure areas of ports, vessels, outer continental shelf facilities and all credentialed merchant mariners. It is anticipated that more than 750,000 workers including longshoremen, truckers, port employees and others will be required to obtain a TWIC.

Enrollment and issuance of TWIC cards on October 16, 2007 and will continue 2008 and beyond. To obtain a TWIC, an individual must provide biographic and biometric information such as fingerprints, be digitally photographed and successfully pass a TSA security threat assessment.

As of Sept. 25, 2008, licensed captains will need to apply for and obtain a Transportation Workers Identification Credential.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration has announced that Dec. 30, 2008, is the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program compliance date for owners and operators of facilities located within the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Zones of Baltimore, Md., Delaware Bay, Mobile, Ala., Lower Mississippi River, Ohio Valley, Pittsburgh, Pa., and San Diego, Calif.

Ports affected by the Dec. 30, 2008, deadline include, among others, Annapolis, Md., Philadelphia, Pa., Camden, N.J., Gulfport, Miss., Memphis, Tenn., Cincinnati, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pa., and San Diego, Calif.

The Coast Guard plans to announce those additional ports scheduled for the compliance phase of the TWIC Program in coming weeks. Compliance will be phased in by Captain of the Port Zones between Oct. 15, 2008, and April 15, 2009, after which all ports must be in compliance and all credentialed mariners must be in possession of a TWIC card.
A framework showing expected compliance dates by Captain of the Port Zone and related information is available on the U.S. Coast Guard's Homeport Web site at http://homeport.uscg.mil/twic.

"Beginning compliance is one more step in our effort to prevent persons who are a threat from gaining access to secure areas of port facilities," sait TWIC Program Director Maurine Fanguy of the Transportation Security Administration. "We encourage workers to enroll as soon as possible to ensure their cards are in hand in the coming months."

Mariners may use their valid Coast Guard-issued merchant mariner's document, license or certificate of registry and a valid photo ID to be eligible for unescorted access in secure areas of any facility regulated under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 that has a TWIC compliance date earlier than April 15, 2009. Also, owners and operators of vessels and outer continental shelf facilities must implement access control procedures using TWIC by April 15, 2009.

Owners and operators of facilities regulated under MTSA are responsible for notifying employees of their personal responsibility to apply for and maintain a TWIC. The TWIC final rule, published Jan. 25, 2007, also requires owners and operators of MTSA regulated facilities to inform employees of the deadlines and methods for TWIC application.

TWIC was established in the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act to serve as an identification program for all Coast Guard credentialed mariners and personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas within a port. The program is progressing steadily and had opened 147 fixed enrollment centers and dozens of mobile sites nationwide. More than 454,000 workers have enrolled to date and thousands more are processed each week.

Additional information can be found at www.tsa.gov/twic.