Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)

Notice To Sea Link® Holders And Trucking Company Representatives

As you know, federal law requires the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) for all workers, including drayage and truck drivers, that need access to secure or restricted areas of maritime facilities. Drivers that do not have a valid TWIC will be denied access to the marine terminals. According to our SEA LINK ® records, over 10,000 of the active drivers in the Port of New York and New Jersey have a TWIC that will expire this year. Drivers will be suspended the day their TWIC expires if they do not return to the SEA LINK ® and register their new TWIC with the Port Authority.

Drivers have two options. You can replace your expiring TWIC with a with a three-year extended expiration date (EED) TWIC for a reduced fee of $60. This option is available only to U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals whose TWICs will expire on or before December 31, 2014. TWIC holders who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals or individuals who are eligible but do not wish to use the EED TWIC option may renew their expiring TWIC by completing the standard enrollment process for a five-year TWIC, which includes an enrollment fee of $129.75.

To obtain an EED TWIC, eligible individuals will need to call the TWIC Help Desk at 1-866-347-8942 and make one trip to an enrollment center of their choosing to pick-up and activate the card. To obtain a regular TWIC, individuals must enroll in person at an enrollment center of your choosing. You should plan to start the renewal process no less than two months before your current expiration date. Once again, you must register your new TWIC with the SEA LINK ® or your privileges will be suspended the day your old TWIC expires.

For more information please contact the TWIC Help Desk at 1-866-347-8942 or reference www.tsa.gov/twic.

NOTICE TO ALL TRUCKERS

Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) Care and Handling Instructions

The Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) is essential to your ability to work in a secure area of a maritime facility or vessel and therefore must be properly cared for. We have received numerous reports of damaged TWICs, which will cost you $60 to replace. Therefore, you are reminded to treat your TWIC with care as the technology imbedded in the TWIC can be damaged if it is not handled correctly.

Please use the following guidelines to protect your TWIC:

• Do not punch a hole in the TWIC to hang it on a lanyard. You will damage the antenna and obstruct security features on the card.
• Do not bend the TWIC or leave it in your back pocket unprotected.
• While you may utilize a protective case, be sure that it is not a tamper proof case that prohibits the TWIC from being removed for proper visual inspection.
• Do not leave your TWIC in direct sunlight for extended periods of time (i.e. hanging on your rearview mirror). It will melt and damage the chip.
• Do not place any stickers, photos or tape on your TWIC as they will obscure security features from visual inspection

You are also reminded not to present a photocopy in place of an actual TWIC; doing so may lead to criminal prosecution. You must present your original TWIC for inspection when requesting unescorted access to a secure or restricted area of a marine terminal or vessel.

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Truck Drivers Are Not Authorized To Escort Anyone On The Marine Terminals

Please advise your drivers they are not allowed to bring driver trainees*, children, spouses, friends or relatives to the marine terminals. The US Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection prohibit unauthorized passengers in truck cabs when entering marine terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Everyone who needs access to the restricted areas of marine terminals must have a TWIC in his or her possession. There are no exceptions. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in an arrest for criminal trespassing and/or the suspension of your SeaLink privileges.

Additionally, for safety reasons, passengers cannot be dropped off outside the terminal gates while you or your driver are inside the terminal.

Please make sure that all of your drivers are aware of these requirements and the consequences for non-compliance. We appreciate your cooperation and assistance in keeping our ports secure.

*Check with terminal operators for their policies. Driver trainees with a valid TWIC may be admitted with advanced notification.

See this announcement in Spanish

What is TWIC?

The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is an identification card required by federal law for workers to gain unescorted access to areas of Coast Guard-regulated maritime facilities that are designated as secure or restricted. Everyone whose work regularly brings them to and from the landside of the Port of New York and New Jersey – including stevedores, equipment operators, contractors, drayage and truck drivers, and Coast Guard-credentialed merchant mariners – must have a TWIC.

This means that if you regularly require access to the Port Authority public berths, container terminals, bulk terminals, cruise ship terminals, or other critical port infrastructure as designated, you need a TWIC (the only exceptions are federal officials, law enforcement, or emergency workers engaged in official duties).

U.S. Mariners holding a Merchant Mariner Document or a Merchant Mariner License must obtain a TWIC. Foreign mariners are not eligible.

A TWIC alone does not grant unconditional access to Port facilities. To enter Port facilities, you must have:

• a TWIC
  
• a business reason to enter a facility
  
• an employer- or trade association-issued identification card (or a SeaLink identification card if you are a truck driver)
  
• registered your TWIC with the Port Authority's Physical Access Control System (or SeaLink if you are a truck driver)
  

While at the facility, you must always display your TWIC on your outermost garment, above the waistline. Upon request from the TSA, Coast Guard, or other official, you must be prepared to present your TWIC, key in your PIN and verify your fingerprints. Failure to comply could result in a $25,000 fine.
If you do not have your TWIC – including if it's lost or stolen – you will be denied access to the facility. If you do lose your TWIC, please immediately notify the Port Authority by sending an email to PAMarSec@panynj.gov or calling 212-435-4282.

Occasional visitors to Port facilities may do so without getting a TWIC, provided they have an authorized escort. If you visit Port facilities with an escort eight or more times in a year, you will be required to get a TWIC.

How to Obtain Your TWIC

TWIC is administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guard. Please visit the official TWIC site for detailed information on the application process.

The process involves three steps:

1. Make an appointment with an enrollment center by calling 866 DHS-TWIC (347-8942), online, or just walk in to your nearest enrollment center. To find the enrollment center nearest you, click here
2. Visit the enrollment center. You will be photographed and fingerprinted, and a background check will be run. You must bring correct identification documents. For a list of acceptable documentation, click here
3. You'll be notified by e-mail or phone when your TWIC is ready. You must pick up your TWIC at the enrollment center at which you originally applied. When you come in, your identity will be verified, you will select a 6-8 digit personal identification number (PIN), and your card will be activated. Please remember your PIN and which fingerprints were used to activate your TWIC. You must know both to gain access to Port facilities.

TWIC and SeaLink

Anyone with a SeaLink identification must also have a TWIC. You must register your TWIC with the Port Authority at the office; TWIC registration is free. Click here for location and hours of the SeaLink office

If You Forget Your TWIC PIN

If you received your TWIC after October 21, 2008, go to the nearest enrollment center (walk-ins welcome) and reset the PIN on the spot. Then go to the SeaLink office to re-register your TWIC.

If you received your TWIC before October 21, 2008 and have forgotten the PIN you chose during activation:

• Go to the SeaLink office or your local enrollment center and try to figure it out. You have 10 tries to get it right. The PIN will be between 6-8 digits.
• If you aren't successful, immediately call the TSA Help Desk at 866 347-8942 and ask for a replacement TWIC. Hold on to your original TWIC; you will need to turn it in when you receive your new TWIC.

Reporting a Lost, Stolen, or Damaged TWIC

Report a lost, stolen, or damaged TWIC to the TWIC Help Desk at 866 DHS-TWIC (866 347-8942), or in person at a TWIC enrollment center.  Please also report it to the Port Authority by calling or e-mailing our Maritime Security Coordinator, at 212 435-4282 or PAMarSec@panynj.gov.

Replacement of a lost, stolen, or damaged card is $60.

Your replacement card will be sent to the TWIC enrollment center at which you first enrolled. It can take up to two weeks to process. You will be notified when the card is ready for pick-up.

After you apply for a replacement card, you may be granted seven days of unescorted access to a facility, at the facility's discretion, if you meet the following criteria:

• The facility's security staff knows that you have a TWIC;
• You previously had unescorted access; and
• You have a ticket number issued for your replacement card as proof that replacement is in process.
• You can present another form of acceptable identification.

You may be granted additional time at the sole discretion of the Coast Guard Captain of the Port.

Suspension of Access Privileges

The Port Authority reserves the right to suspend access to Port facilities to anyone convicted of a crime specified in subrule 34-078 of PAMT Tariff FMC Schedule No. PA 10.

Escorting non-TWIC Holders

On a case by case basis, the Port Authority will permit individuals without TWIC to access the Port Authority Public Berths accompanied by an authorized escort. All escorts must be approved as such in advance, and must complete a three-hour Maritime Security Awareness training course provided by the Port Authority.

To apply for TWIC Escort Sponsorship and Privileges, click here

For detailed procedures about escorting non-TWIC holders at Port Authority Public Berths, click here

Each terminal operator has their own escort procedures.

For a description of our container terminal operators' procedures, click here.

You are also reminded not to present a photocopy in place of an actual TWIC; doing so may lead to criminal prosecution. You must present your original TWIC for inspection when requesting unescorted access to a secure or restricted area of a marine terminal or vessel.