Post by HardTimeTrucker on Nov 27, 2008 14:08:26 GMT -5
IDs for Port Workers Required as of Friday
JANNETTE PIPPIN
November 26, 2008
MOREHEAD CITY - Truck drivers, longshoremen and other maritime workers headed for state ports at Morehead City and Wilmington better have their TWIC card.
The Transportation Worker Identification Credential cards are a new port security measure, and a federally mandated deadline requiring their use begins in this area on Friday.
After months of making port workers and customers aware of the need for the TWIC cards, the N.C. State Ports Authority is switching from education to enforcement efforts.
"For the past four months we have aggressively promoted TWIC enrollment and we have seen great success," said Ports Authority Safety and Security Director Doug Campen. "We are ready to ensure compliance with the TWIC program on November 28 - on schedule."
The Transportation Security Administration's TWIC program was established to ensure that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a security threat.
The requirement covers all port employees, longshoremen, tenants and their employees, truck drivers, delivery drivers, shipping agents and other customer representatives. Anyone who needs to drive through the gate at either port must have both a Ports Authority ID/Access Card to swipe on the card readers and a TWIC card to show to the gate officers.
Anyone who does not have the required TWIC card as of Friday will be turned away and will not be allowed to enter the port.
The Ports Authority will be closed Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday so little traffic is expected at the ports as the enforcement deadline takes effect.
The Ports Authority enacted a self-imposed deadline for TWIC cards on Nov. 1. While no one was turned away from the port under that deadline, there was increased emphasis on educating those who didn't have a TWIC card.
It also allowed the Ports Authority to practice its procedures.
"We were able to check where we were and where we needed to be," said Communications Director Karen Fox.
Since January, Coast Guard Captains of the Port in North Carolina have been working with port facilities in an effort to make the transition to the new requirements as seamless as possible.
"The additional national security measures provided by the TWIC enhance our collective ability to deter access to areas where persons could cause harm. Port facility owners, truckers, vendors, contractors and other port stakeholders have demonstrated a tremendous effort to obtain these credentials," said Capt. David Lersch, chief of the Coast Guard Fifth District Prevention Division, in a news release. "Working together our goal is to promote the safe and secure flow of commerce through these ports."
The TWIC requirements are being phased in, with a national final compliance date of April 15, 2009.
The Coast Guard will conduct routine announced and unannounced spot checks to ensure that owners and operators of Maritime Transportation Security Act-regulated facilities are complying with the TWIC regulations.
A total of 663,472 people have been enrolled in the TWIC program nationwide, with 419,479 cards issued to date, according to the TSA.
For those who do not yet have a card, two enrollment centers remain open in North Carolina.
In the Morehead City area, an enrollment center is located at 311 Atlantic Beach Causeway in Atlantic Beach. The Wilmington center is located at 5704 Oleander Drive, Suite 107.
As of Nov. 14, there were 2,002 individuals enrolled at the Port of Morehead City site and 4,137 at the Port of Wilmington location.
Both centers will be closed today for the Thanksgiving holiday.
For more information on the TWIC program or to pre-enroll online, go to www.tsa.gov/twic.
Staff writer Jannette Pippin can be reached at jpippin@freedomenc.com or 910-382-2559.