TWIC in Effect April 14

The Port of Houston Authority announces that the implementation deadline for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential or TWIC is quickly approaching. The TWIC program aims to ensure that individuals who pose a threat do not gain unescorted access to secure areas of the nation's maritime transportation system. Those individuals who are required to have a TWIC must be in compliance by April 14, 2009.

The TWIC is a “smart card,” which contains the worker’s name, photo and biometric information (fingerprint template). To obtain a TWIC, an individual must successfully pass a security threat assessment conducted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which looks at criminal background, immigration status, terrorist watch list screening as well as mental capacity. It takes an average of about 21 days from application to receive the credential.

"Ensuring a safe and secure port is a top priority of the Port of Houston Authority,” says PHA Acting Executive Director Wade Battles. "And as part of that effort, we support the TWIC program. It is a needed credential to improve the security of MTSA (Maritime Transportation Security Act) facilities by providing individual background checks and a tamper-resistant identity credential.”

Individuals who are required to have a TWIC include certain PHA employees, longshoremen, truckers, steamship lines personnel, stevedores and vendors. Nationwide, nearly one million individuals have already enrolled in TWIC.

The TSA opened permanent enrollment centers for TWIC at 1717 Turning Basin Drive and at 1005 S. Broadway St. in LaPorte. Applicants are encouraged to pre-enroll online at www.tsa.gov/twic. Required identification includes one government-issued photo ID, such as an unexpired passport or unexpired permanent resident card, or two other types of documents, such as a driver’s license, a U.S. social security card, expired U.S. passport or birth certificate. Applicants who are determined not to be a security threat are notified by TSA when their TWIC is ready for pickup.

A TWIC will be required for unescorted access throughout PHA’s facilities. A TWIC will also be required for such access to the waterfront areas of PHA’s Turning Basin terminal (that is, all areas located on the waterfront side of the fence separating the upper and lower levels). People who do not have a TWIC but are authorized on occasion to go to one of the Port’s restricted areas may go as long as they are properly accompanied by an authorized escort and otherwise follow PHA’s current access rules.

The Coast Guard will conduct checks using handheld readers to confirm the identity of TWIC holders during regular inspections and unannounced spot checks.