TWIC signup for Hueneme port to start May 1
U.S. homeland security officials said Friday that Transportation Worker Identification Credential enrollment for workers at the Port of Hueneme will begin May 1.
The Department of Homeland Security program requires all individuals needing unescorted access to port facilities have a TWIC identification card. Workers have 90 days from the start of enrollment to apply for the credential. To obtain the TWIC identification card, workers must pay a $132 application fee, be fingerprinted, and pass a federal background security check.
Established by Congress in 2002 through the Maritime Transportation Security Act, the TWIC program began implementation in January 2007 with the development of a biometric identification card and application process. In mid-October, 2007, the DHS working through the Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard, began phased enrollment. To date more than 85 ports have begun enrollment of workers in the plan and the TSA expects to have all 147 ports included in the program begin enrollment by the end of September.
The DHS originally estimated that more than 1 million workers were expected to apply for TWIC by the end of 2008, while Coast Guard estimates say it could be as high as 1.5 million workers.
TSA said less than 200,000 workers have already registered for the TWIC credential with another 250,000 maintaining a pre-enrollment status.
TWIC signup for Hueneme port to start May 1
