After receiving more than 1,900 comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking concerning the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration apparently will make at least two changes.According to a mid-August communication from the TSA’s office of legislative affairs, many of the comments “voiced concern regarding card and reader technology, analysis of economic impact, potential negative impacts to commerce, and uncertainty as to how TWIC requirements for facilities and vessels could be met. After a review of these comments, TSA and the Coast Guard have concluded that facility and vessel owners and operators will not be required to purchase or install card readers during the first phase of the TWIC implementation. The requirement to purchase and install card readers will not be implemented until the public is afforded further opportunity to comment on that aspect of the TWIC program, and the details of this approach will be explained in the next rulemaking.”
Indications last month were that the comment period will be extended only for this particular component of the proposed regulations.
Meanwhile, the DHS recently released portions of a report stating that following an audit of various potential parts of the TWIC system, the agency has “determined that significant security vulnerabilities existed relative to the TWIC prototype systems, documentation and program management. Furthermore, we are raising a number of additional program and security-related concerns that we identified during the course of our fieldwork. Due to the number and significance of the weaknesses identified, TWIC prototype systems are vulnerable to various internal and external security threats.
“The security-related issues identified may threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive TWIC data,” the report continues. “Until remedied, the significant security weaknesses jeopardize the certification and accreditation of the systems prior to full implantation of the TWIC program.”
A PDF version of the report, in redacted form, is available on the internet at the following address: http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/OIGr_06-47_Jul06.pdf
Despite the concerns, the federal government intends to issue a follow-up rulemaking providing guidelines for the background check process and TWIC issuance so that the first credentials may be issued by the end of this year. (Under the proposed rulemaking, mariners wouldn’t be required to secure a TWIC until 18 months after the final rules are issued. The final regulations had not been published as of late August, as this issue of the Seafarers LOG was going to press.)
Less certain is the fate of the proposed Merchant Mariner Qualification Credential (MMC), which is intended to eventually take the place of a z-card or merchant mariner document (MMD). The MMC—as proposed, a paper document—was outlined in a concurrent proposed rulemaking in May, at the same time the proposed regulations were issued for the TWIC.
As reported in detail in last month’s LOG, the SIU formally submitted comments on both proposed rulemakings. The union emphasized that it fully supports the goal of effective security aboard ship and in port, but has serious concerns about certain aspects of the proposals for both the TWIC and the MMC.
Essentially, the SIU—both individually and also along with other maritime unions including the AMO, MEBA and MM&P— recommended that a biometric identifier be added to the existing merchant mariner document, in accordance with requirements of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, and that such a modified card should be recognized as both a TWIC and an MMC. The rationale for such a proposal is simple: Mariners already undergo strict background checks equal to or greater than those proposed for the TWIC and MMC programs, and the merchant mariner document itself is a proven, time-tested credential.
In a joint statement to Congress July 20, the aforementioned unions recommended that the proposed revised MMD should allow mariners access to their vessels docked at any port facility in the United States; that the Coast Guard should continue to be the sole agency responsible for vetting and credentialing merchant mariners; and that licensed deck and engine officers should still receive a license that may be displayed aboard ship for inspection purposes.
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