First Workers Apply for Security Credential

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• Oct 18, 2007

Workers at the Port of Wilmington, Del., are the first to enroll in the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Worker Identification Credential program. Credential holders include port workers, longshoremen, truckers and many others who have unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels. Workers with a TWIC card have received a thorough background check and have been determined to not be a security threat.

As many as 5,000 workers are expected to enroll at the Port of Wilmington, which is only a small beginning to the more than 1 million workers expected to enroll nationwide.

TWIC is expected to prevent individuals who might be a threat from gaining access to secure areas. At the Port of Wilmington, workers also have enrolled via use of an advanced interoperable biometric system.

TWIC is essential and a crucial part of a multi-layered security operation to mitigate risk aimed at maritime security. Like any other port in the United States, the Port of Wilmington provides overnight access to 200 million North American consumers and is one of the nation’s top ports for banana imports. It also is the gateway for imports of fresh fruit and juice concentrates. The port is responsible for more than 19,000 jobs and $409 million in business revenue, including $28 million in annual local taxes.