LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration announced Wednesday that April 14, 2009, is the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) compliance date for owners and operators of facilities located within the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Zone of Los Angeles-Long Beach, California.
TWIC was established in the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) and the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act to serve as an identification program for all Coast Guard credential mariners and personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas within a port. The program is progressing steadily; all fixed enrollment centers are open and dozens of mobile sites have been deployed nationwide. It is estimated that 68,000 individuals in the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Hueneme would need to be enrolled, and the latest Transportation Security Administration figures show that approximately 37,000 people have applied in the Los Angeles and Long Beach area. More than 567,000 workers have enrolled to date and thousands more are processed each week.
Owners and operators of facilities regulated under MTSA are responsible for notifying employees of their personal responsibility to apply for and maintain a TWIC. The TWIC final rule, published January 25, 2007, also requires owners and operators of MTSA regulated facilities to inform employees of the deadlines and methods for TWIC application.
Workers are encouraged to enroll as soon as possible for their TWIC and can pre-enroll online at www.tsa.gov/twic. Pre-enrollment speeds up the process to fully enroll in the TWIC program by allowing individuals to provide biographic information and to schedule a time to complete the application process in person, which eliminates waiting at the enrollment centers.
It can take six to eight weeks from the time of enrollment to the time that an applicant receives their TWIC, so port workers need to enroll as soon as possible to meet the facility April 14th and vessel April 15th enforcement dates.
The Coast Guard will be responsible for enforcing TWIC rules, and will be assisted by facility and vessel owners and local partners to achieve the security goals of the program. To ensure that all port facilities and vessels are complying with the TWIC requirements, Coast Guard personnel will conduct routine inspections and random spot checks.
Additional information and a framework showing expected compliance dates by Captain of the Port zone is available on the U.S. Coast Guard’s Homeport Web site at http://homeport.uscg.mil/twic. Captain of the Port zone maps with ports annotated are available on that Web site under General Information, COTP Zone Maps. You may also call 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) or 1-877-MTSA-AID (1-877-687-2243) for more information. For assistance via e-mail, please send queries to credentialing@dhs.gov.
The addresses for the four regional TWIC enrollment centers are:
301 E. Ocean Blvd. Suite 500, Long Beach CA, 90802
1931 N. Gaffey St. Suite B. San Pedro, CA 90737
1001 New Dock St. San Pedro, CA 90731
1251 N. Rice Ave. Oxnard CA, 93030
