Alaska will be the testing grounds for a new process that, it’s hoped, will make it easier for mariners to obtain their federal Transportation Worker Identification Credentials, also called TWIC.
TWIC is a required security credential proving that workers with access to ports, docks and certain classes of vessels have undergone a background check.
Alaska Sen. Mark Begich announced the pilot program last week. He says that, if adopted, the one-stop process would help marine workers in Alaska, especially. There are limited TWIC enrollment centers, and some Alaskans have had to travel hundreds of miles, more than once, just to obtain their cards.
According to the senator’s office, the one-stop provision was introduced in a bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Begich and Republican senators from New Hampshire, Florida and Louisiana.
