By Nate Jones
Staff Writer
It’s a good thing the Maine Tourism Association is predicting this summer will be a strong tourist season, as Maine’s launch tenders, private fishing, sailing and sightseeing boat operators as well as charter boat captains and their crews could need the extra money this winter.
As part of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, a law aimed at increasing the security of U.S. ports and harbors, the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guard have collaborated to create a new security measure called a Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC). Every Coast Guard licensed merchant mariner is required to obtain a TWIC ­– at the cost of $150 – by April 15, 2009. Mariners are advised to send in their applications a minimum of 90 days prior to the deadline, making Jan. 17, 2009, the cutoff date to comply with the regulation.
“TWIC is a vital security measure that will ensure that only individuals who meet the eligibility requirements and do not pose a threat are authorized to have unescorted access to secure areas of the nation’s maritime transportation system,” said TSA Public Affairs representative Greg Soule.
In May, the TSA announced they were pushing the original TWIC compliance date of September 2008 – mariners would have had to apply last week to receive their TWIC on time – to April 2009. Secure facilities will still require those individuals granted unescorted access to obtain a TWIC by September, Welch said.
Any Maine resident who currently holds a Coast Guard license, certificate of registry or merchant mariners document, is required to obtain a TWIC. According to enrollment records dated May 29, roughly 2,000 have registered in the TWIC program at enrollment sites in Portland and Bangor. Of those, 827 had registered as merchant mariners, 141 as secure facility employees and 70 as vessel crew – others are registered as longshoremen, rail workers or truck drivers.
For the past six years, Abbey Cross has managed the launch at Centerboard Yacht Club in South Portland. She has her Coast Guard Launch Operator license and now manages four other launch operators at the marina. Cross said she was unaware any of the launch operators had already applied for a TWIC.
“I’ve never heard of it,” she said.
Cross said she doubted the facility would continue to employ any merchant mariner not in compliance with the program and part of the $600 cost in possible application fees could fall on the marina’s shoulders.
“I think if it was mandatory Centerboard would pick up some of [the cost],” she said.
Cross said launch operators are already restricted by their duties at the marina and their current Coast Guard licenses.
“We pretty much stick to the mooring field,” she said. “We can only carry six passengers.”
Marge Keller, general manager of First Chance Whalewatch in Kennebunkport said she was unaware of the program despite recent conversations with a Coast Guard representative.
“Doesn’t seem to me it’s been very well publicized,” she said.
While Keller initially said she wasn’t sure whether the captains or their employer would be responsible for the cost associated with a TWIC application, she later learned several of the captains employed by the company already applied for their TWIC and paid for the application themselves. Keller said she wasn’t sure how much a TWIC card reader would cost, but expected the facility would have to foot the bill.
Neither Cross or Keller were familiar with the TWIC program or its requirements before being contacted for this article, and both believed the licensed mariners associated with their organizations would not require unescorted access to a secure area as part of their normal occupational requirements.
Coast Guard Chief Michael Wireman, stationed at the South Portland base, said he hosted several TWIC informational meetings in the greater Portland area in the past year. At least a dozen licensed captains attended the meetings, many of whom had already begun the application process, he said.
Some captains who are aware of the TWIC, such as Captain Robert Odlin with Maine Fishing and Diving Charters in Scarborough, are hoping the card will consolidate the numerous credentials they are currently required to possess. Odlin said he wasn’t overly concerned about the TWIC, as his merchant mariner license already requires him to possess a photo ID he called a “Z-card.”
“No big deal, hopefully keep the harbors safer,” he said.
John Groundwater, President of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) – a national group representing more than 4,000 large and small passenger vessel operations –said merchant mariners were an easy target for the Coast Guard to include in the program as they are already required to obtain multiple credentials, pass a federal background check and enroll in drug testing programs.
“The U.S. code says very explicitly everybody must have a TWIC,” said Ed Welch, the association’s legislative director. “The Coast Guard has no discretion; it doesn’t matter if you’re working on a vessel with two passengers or 200.”
Passenger Vessel Association Director of Safety, Security and Risk Management Beth Gedney said some mariners believe the new April 2009 compliance date is the Coast Guard’s reaction to TWIC enrollment numbers being far below initial estimates.
“The seven month extension is a direct result of collaboration with industry and honors our commitment to provide an 18-month enrollment period,” Soule said.
To obtain their TWIC – a biometric smart card designed by Lockheed Martin – mariners must register at one of 117 enrollment centers throughout the country, where they will be fingerprinted and allow the TSA and the Coast Guard to conduct an extensive criminal background check, regardless of the class of their license or occupation.
“TWIC represents one of the world’s most advanced interoperable biometric credentials that is a vital part of our layered security approach,” Soule said. “TSA conducts a thorough threat assessment on each applicant, so the government and the maritime stakeholders have a high level of confidence in the workers who have unescorted access to secure areas.”
Up to 90 days and $132.50 later the card arrives in the mail, unless the applicant has been deemed a threat to national security.
The PVA is endorsing a new amendment to the bill titled H.R. 2830, which, if passed by the Senate, could alter the TWIC program so captains operating vessels with less than 150 passengers and some crewmembers of tanker towing vessels could be exempt from the TWIC program.
“We were concerned about the potential for mariners to not be able to work,” Groundwater said.
Welch said although the bill has not yet been placed on the Senate schedule, he believes with local and national support H.R. 2830 “has a fighting chance” to pass before the April 2009 compliance date.
“The TWIC must be implemented in a manner that does not unnecessarily impede legitimate business or impose an undue burden on charter boat operators who do not require access to secure areas.  I will continue to work with the Department of Homeland Security to develop a solution that will ensure the security of our ports without imposing a burden on these Maine small businesses,” said Sen. Susan Collins .
Gedney said H.R. 2830 was “only half the battle” in keeping the TWIC program affordable for small businesses, as TSA and the Coast Guard may also require card readers at public docks and marinas.
“There are more regulations coming,” she said. “We knew TWIC was coming, and when it did come we wanted to make sure it was fair and equitable. We’d like to think they have our best interests in mind, but I don’t think the Coast Guard knows what they’re trying to do.”