TWIC to start at six more ports

TWIC to start at six more ports    Workers at six more ports can begin applying for their Transportation Worker Identification Credential this month, according to the latest schedule from the Transportation Security Administration.
   The TSA said that enrollment will begin in Hilo, Hawaii on Jan. 3; International Falls, Mont., Morehead City, N.C., and Huntington, W.Va. on Jan. 16; and Port Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 17.
   The TSA, which is managing the program along with the U.S. Coast Guard, began enrollment and card issuance at the Port of Wilmington, Del., in mid-October. The agency is gradually adding ports to keep the process manageable and expects to have the program running at all ports by the end of the 2008.
   Merchant mariners and others who seek unescorted access to secure areas of a maritime facility must have a fingerprint-based card that identifies them and proves they have undergone a federal background check.