San Pedro Bay Ports Open New Enrollment Site for Federal Security Credential
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Port of Los Angeles worked together to open an additional enrollment site recently on Terminal Island in an effort to facilitate enrollment for the Los Angeles/Long Beach port worker, mariner and trucker communities into the federal Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program.
The new registration site -- at Berth 206, near the dividing line between the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach -- is now open and is expected to speed the TWIC enrollment process by providing an additional registration site that is convenient for truckers and other workers at the two ports.
"The addition of a third enrollment center in the LA/Long Beach region provides more resources to an area dedicated to preventing persons who pose a threat from gaining access to secure areas of port facilities," said Maurine Fanguy, TWIC program director for TSA. "We encourage workers to utilize the new facility and enroll in this important security program as soon as possible."
As part of the TWIC program, tamper-resistant biometric credentials are being issued to truckers, longshore workers and others who need unescorted access to secure areas of the two ports.
Established by Congress through the Maritime Transportation Security Act, the TWIC program is part of an effort to ensure that the nation's ports are secure against people who could pose a security threat. To obtain a TWIC, an individual must provide a digital photograph along with biometric information, such as fingerprints. He or she must also pass a security threat assessment, which includes a criminal background check, conducted by the TSA.
The new TWIC registration site joins more than 130 other sites in the United States. Ultimately, the program will be rolled out to 147 enrollment centers and will vet more than 1.2 million maritime transportation system workers through April 2009.
An estimated 68,000 truckers, longshore workers, terminal employees and other workers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will be required to obtain a TWIC. Pre-enrollment for TWIC online at www.tsa.gov/twic or the Coast Guard's Homeport site http://homeport.uscg.mil is encouraged to speed up the process by allowing workers to provide biographic information and schedule a time to complete the application process in person.
The Terminal Island site will be open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Workers can also register for a TWIC credential in San Pedro at 1931 N. Gaffey St., Suite B; or in Long Beach, at 301 E. Ocean Boulevard, Suite 500.