“With TWIC, you have 1. 4 million people — a fully vetted work force — that
you’re comfortable with, that is out there every day, so you have the whole
set of eyes and ears out there, adding that layer of security.”
CMDR. DAVID W. MURK, CHIEF OF CARGO AND FACILITIES AT THE COAST GUARD’S PORT AND FACILITY ACTIVITIES OFFICE
“Once they are done testing, Coast Guard personnel
will be able to do biometric checks with hand-held
readers in the course of their inspections while they are
out on vessels and in facilities,” Murk said. “So, until
we can get a final rule out, we will have the ability to
spot check cards as we are doing our inspections until
we can get the readers installed by industry at facilities
and vessels.”
Kiefer and Murk said the Coast Guard’s National
Maritime Center (NMC) was instrumental in support-
ing their outreach efforts in rolling
out the TWIC program.
Based in Martinsburg, W.Va., the
NMC conducts all the testing, evaluation and issuance of license documents and credentials to U.S.
mariners. As a result of TWIC,
NMC and TSA have dovetailed
their efforts, they said, so that
information collected at TWIC
sites now is shared with NMC.
“Because we are all one department, we’ve brought all that
together and combined efforts and
[use] the TWIC sites,” said Kiefer,
adding that the agencies have consolidated security screening of
licensed mariners such as fingerprinting and data collection, efforts
there were historically conducted
by NMC.
Cowley said the TSA takes very
seriously the privacy of the individuals who are enrolling in the
TWIC program, and wants to convey to the applicant that the information is protected. He said the
data collected through the background checks performed on every
TWIC applicant is shared with the
NMC in an effort to streamline
data-management efforts with the
Department of Homeland Security.
“We provide the information at
enrollment to NMC, so they don’t
have to collect it again. It is an efficiency thing,”
Cowley said.
U.S. COAST GUARD
Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarrod Bohler, left, and Petty Officer 3rd
Class Justin Biss talk with a truck driver about his TWIC as he attempts to enter
the port of Jacksonville, Fla., Dec. 5, 2008. The Coast Guard is responsible for the
enforcement of the new TWIC requirements.
