San Diego port begins TWIC enrollment

San Diego port begins TWIC enrollment Port of San Diego workers began enrolling Friday in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Worker Identification Credential program.
   The federal TWIC program, established by Congress in 2002 through the Maritime Transportation Security Act, requires workers seeking unescorted entry into the nation's ports to apply for the TWIC credential, receive a thorough federal background check, be cleared by DHS and display the TWIC card when entering port facilities. Workers are required to pay just over $132 for the card.
   Workers in the San Diego area can sign up for the program at the TWIC enrollment center at 1025 W. Laurel St., San Diego. Workers are able to pre-enroll for TWIC online at www.tsa.gov/twic or the Coast Guard’s Homeport site, homeport.uscg.mil.
   Pre-enrolling speeds up the process by allowing workers to provide biographic information and schedule a time to complete the application process in person. This eliminates waiting at enrollment centers and reduces the time it takes to enroll each individual.
   DHS, through the Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard, began a phased enrollment at different locations throughout the nation in October 2007.
   San Diego is the 84th port to begin enrollment according to the DHS schedule. The agency plans to have all 147 ports included in the program begin enrollment by the end of September.
   Enrollment during the second quarter will begin at the California ports of Benicia, Port Hueneme, Sacramento, and San Francisco; Coos Bay, Ore.; and the Washington ports of Longview, Pasco and Vancouver.
   The DHS has estimated that more than 1 million workers with unescorted access to secure areas are expected to apply for TWIC by the end of 2008. However, Coast Guard estimates earlier this year suggest that as many as 1.5 million workers will need to have a TWIC card.