TWIC was supposed to be rolled out today
The implemntation of TWIC continues to be delayed owing to technical glitches, but important business-related questions remain unanswered
Starting today, every longshoreman and dockside worker in the nation’s top ten ports was supposed to have a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), a state-of-the-art identification card. The total number of TWICs issued as of today, however, is zero. Frustration in the nation’s ports is growing as the federally mandated program — which has cost $99.4 million so far — falls further and further behind. Leslie Pappas of Delaware OnLine writes that the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, is still on track to be the first U.S. port to get the biometric cards, part of a security upgrade for more than 3,200 ports and marine facilities called for in the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002.
Eventually, between 750,000 to 1.5 million port workers nationwide will need a TWIC, a national ID with photo, fingerprint, computer chip, and bar code which would prove its holder had undergone an extensive employment, criminal, and terrorist background check. Any maritime worker requiring unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities would need the TWIC. Further down the road, every transportation worker in the U.S.— as many as twelve million people — might need to get one, too.
In 2006, the SAFE Ports Act set a timeline for the implementation of the TWIC program. The card roll-out has been delayed several months, but the final deadline for mariners — 25 September 2008 — is still in place. Mariners are worried that by the time they finally register, the system could be overwhelmed. Ports are concerned about how the program would affect seasonal workers or day laborers. They fear the card’s $137.25 cost will be too high for some. There are questions about what to do if workers are denied a TWIC — will they continue to be able to work aside a TWIC-holding escort?
