Transportation Worker Credential Comes to Tacoma

More than a million workers with unescorted access to secure areas of US ports are expected to be enrolled in the TWIC program by the end of 2008. The ports of Tacoma, Honolulu, and Baton Rouge are the latest to join.

"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).

"TWIC will be a crucial part of our multi-layered risk-based approach to maritime security," added Coast Guard Commander Mark McCadden, chief of prevention at Sector Seattle.

The Port of Tacoma is the seventh largest container port in North America, handling an estimated $35.6 billion in annual trade and 2.1 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs).