Port workers, long shore workers, truckers and others working within the Port of Milwaukee began enrolling today in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program.
The program's goal is to ensure that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a security threat.
Nationwide, more than 1 million workers with unescorted access to secure areas will apply for TWIC during the rest of 2007 and 2008.
"We opened enrollment today, which is one more step in our effort to prevent persons who are a threat from gaining access to secure areas of port facilities," said Maurine Fanguy, the TWIC program director for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). "We appreciate the support of our partners at the Port of Milwaukee for helping to make one of the world's most advanced interoperable biometric systems a reality."
More than twenty ports have begun enrollment since the program began Oct. 16. By the end of the week, twenty-nine ports will be actively enrolling workers. Ultimately, fixed enrollment centers will be in place at 147 ports, along with mobile enrollment centers at dozens of other locations as needed.
The Milwaukee enrollment center is located in the Chase Commerce Center at 3073 S. Chase Ave., Building 28.
"TWIC will be a crucial part of our multi-layered risk based approach to maritime security," said Coast Guard Commander Richard Reinemann. "It will strengthen security and access control to the port and on thousands of other maritime facilities and vessels."
Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan has worked closely with the maritime industry, including waterfront facility operators, licensed mariners and port representatives, over the past year in preparation for the TWIC enrollment roll-out.
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