Port of Pittsburgh Workers Begin Enrollment for Federal Security Credential
January 24, 2008
TSA Public Affairs
(617) 733-8437
PITTSBURGH - Port workers, longshoremen, truckers and others at the Port of Pittsburgh will begin enrolling today in the 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.
Thousands of workers are expected to enroll at the TWIC enrollment center in Pittsburgh at 701 North Point Drive, Suite 104. Nationwide, more than 1 million workers with unescorted access to secure areas will apply by the end of 2008.
"The start of enrollment 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, TWIC program director for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). "We appreciate the support of our partners at the Port of Pittsburgh for helping to make one of the world's most advanced interoperable biometric systems a reality."
Ultimately, TSA will establish fixed enrollment centers at 147 ports and will deploy mobile enrollment centers to dozens of other locations as needed.
"TWIC is a part of our multi-layered, risk-based approach to maritime security," said Coast Guard Cmdr. Steve Wischmann, captain of the Port, Pittsburgh. "The program will strengthen security and access control to vessels and waterfront facilities throughout the Port of Pittsburgh. I encourage prospective applicants to pre-enroll if possible, and to enroll as soon as possible in any event."
Workers at the Port of Pittsburgh are able to pre-enroll for TWIC online at www.tsa.gov/twic or the Coast Guard's Homeport site, http://homeport.uscg.mil. Pre-enrolling speeds up the process by allowing workers to provide biographic information and schedule a time to complete the application process in person. This eliminates waiting at enrollment centers and reduces the time it takes to enroll each individual.
For more information regarding TSA, please visit our Web site at www.tsa.gov.
