Coast Guard To Enforce Port Security Program In Tampa

TAMPA - The Coast Guard will begin enforcement Tuesday of a federal security identification badge and background program at Tampa, St. Petersburg and Manatee seaports to allow workers unescorted access to 68 port facilities.

More than 13,000 people doing business on the ports have applied for Transportation Worker Identification Credential, or TWIC, cards and 9,000 have been issued, with the remainder being processed, Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close said.

The program has been implemented at about half the ports nationwide and also is scheduled to be phased in at Miami, Key West, New Orleans and St. Louis on Tuesday, Close said.

The background checks are to ensure people traveling to secure sites on the seaports have not participated in transportation-related incidents, such as illegally transporting explosives, or other serious criminal incidents.

The Coast Guard views the program as an incremental security improvement, Close said. Without a badge, those seeking access to businesses on the port must be escorted.

The card costs the individual or employer $132.50 for processing.

The program is similar to a state of Florida program for an in-depth background check that was mandated before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and implemented shortly afterward.

Port tenants in Florida hope the state program eventually can be merged with the federal program to save employers the costs of obtaining cards.

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