Port of San Diego Workers Begin Enrollment for Federal Port Security Credential
March 21, 2008
TSA Public Affairs:
571-227-2829
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Port and longshore workers, truckers and others at the Port of San Diego are now able to enroll 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.
"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 Port of San Diego for helping to make one of the world's most advanced interoperable biometric systems a reality."
More than 1 million workers with unescorted access to secure areas are expected to apply for TWIC by the end of 2008. More than 80 ports have begun enrollment in the nationwide program. Ultimately, fixed enrollment centers will be in place at 147 ports along with mobile enrollment centers at dozens of other locations as needed.
"A tremendous amount of planning has been done in preparation for this critical phase of the TWIC program," said Coast Guard Commander Danny LeBlanc. "The Coast Guard is committed to working closely with TSA and our local industry partners to assure a successful transition into the program."
The TWIC enrollment center for the Port of San Diego is at 1025 W. Laurel Street, San Diego, CA 92101-1299. Workers 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.
Workers are now able to enroll for TWIC at several California ports, including Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Oakland-Embarcadero, Oakland-Shell Martinez and Richmond.
