TSA publishes final rule on TWIC; all U.S. mariners must obtain security credential by September 2008

TSA publishes final rule on TWIC; all U.S. mariners must obtain security credential by September 2008

The Transportation Security Administration Jan. 25 published the final rulemaking on the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). Within 20 months, American mariners will have to have obtained a TWIC for use as security identification, and TWIC access control procedures will be implemented aboard U.S. vessels.

Information about the location and accessibility of TWIC enrollment centers is not yet available. The TSA is expected to issue information about TWIC enrollment center locations in upcoming notices and on its Web site at: www.tsa.gov/twic.

The TWIC rulemaking seeks to apply the mandate of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, requiring transportation industry workers to obtain security credentials incorporating biometric data for access to secure areas of ports and vessels. The rulemaking further seeks to meet the expedited timeline for instituting such a system under the SAFE Port Act of 2006.

Under the TWIC rulemaking, all American personnel seeking unescorted access to secure areas aboard affected vessels, and all Coast Guard credentialed merchant mariners, must possess a TWIC.

The final rule does not include the requirements and parameters for TWIC card readers at port facilities or aboard U.S. vessels. Those requirements will be addressed in a future publication by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Although the card reader requirements are not being applied now, the Coast Guard will institute periodic unannounced checks to confirm the identities of people holding TWIC cards, according to the TSA.

The rule goes into effect on March 26, 2007, and will be implemented in phases. However, the requirements to possess a TWIC and to restrict access to secure areas of ports, maritime facilities and U.S. vessels will not be implemented until the affected personnel or facilities are notified by the Department of Homeland Security.

All personnel seeking unescorted access to secure areas aboard affected vessels, and all Coast Guard credentialed merchant mariners, must possess a TWIC by Sept. 25, 2008, at the latest.

In the interim period, mariners should renew expiring merchant mariner documents under the existing procedures. If, prior to obtaining a TWIC, a mariner needs access to a secure area at which TWIC access requirements have been implemented, a valid merchant mariner document and a second form of identification will be accepted, according to Coast Guard Spokesperson Angela McArdle.

Questions regarding the TWIC program can be sent to the Coast Guard by e-mail at: uscg-twic-helpdesk@uscg.mil. The phone number for the TSA TWIC help desk is: (877) 687-2243.

The final rule on the TWIC was published in conjunction with the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking on the merchant mariner credential (MMC). Under the new documentation system set forth in the publications, American mariners would eventually carry a TWIC as a security identification card and an MMC as proof of qualifications and endorsements.

The TSA is accepting comments on only one portion of the TWIC final rule, pertaining to the fee for replacing lost or stolen TWIC cards. The complete 114-page document as published Jan. 25 in the Federal Register is available on the American Maritime Officers Web site at: www.amo-union.org/twic-final.pdf.

Comments on the above noted section of the final rule must be received on or before Feb. 26, 2007. Comments should be submitted under docket number TSA-2006-24191. Please see the complete PDF document on the AMO Web site for instructions on submitting comments.

For questions related to TSA standards, contact: Greg Fisher, Transportation Security Administration, (571) 227-4545 / credentialing@dhs.gov

For legal questions, contact Christine Beyer, Transportation Security Administration, (571) 227-2657 / FAX: (571) 227-1380 / Christine.Beyer@dhs.gov.

For questions concerning the Coast Guard provisions of the TWIC rule, contact LCDR Jonathan Maiorine, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, (877) 687-2243.

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