TWIC
Debunking the TWIC Myths and misunderstandings. Verifiable facts about Licensed Captains and the Transportation Worker Identification Credential.
There just seems to be so much confusion and mis-information about the TWIC issue for Captains that I put this page together to provide some answers and web resources to help licensed captains separate the facts from bullshit. I provide an official source and/or a web link to support everything I say. Feel free to pass this link on to your friends, and leave comments below.
MYTH #1: I will only need a TWIC if my job requires me to enter secured areas. WRONG! Everyone who holds a USCG credential (which includes Masters Licenses, OUPV Licenses, Engineers, ABs, Licensed Mates, Pilots, and MMDs) has to get TWIC’ed. I’ll explain why your need for a TWIC is not directly related to entry to secure areas further down; for now you can see this USCG bulletin:
TWIC Information Bulletin Feb 2009
or read the actual Federal Code, 46CFR10.113 duplicated in its entirety below:
CFR Title 46: Shipping
PART 10 LICENSING OF MARITIME PERSONNEL
Subpart A-General
§10.113 Transportation Worker Identification Credential. By *September 25, 2008 all mariners holding an active License, Certificate of Registry or STCW endorsement issued under this part must hold a valid Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) issued by the Transportation Security Administration under 49 CFR part 1572. Failure to obtain or hold a valid TWIC may serve as a basis for suspension or revocation of a mariner’s license, COR or STCW endorsement under 46 U.S.C. 7702 and 7703. (*the deadline has been extended to April 15, 2009)
MYTH #2: I don’t need to get a TWIC until I renew my license. Nope, sorry. The deadline to get your TWIC is April 15, 2009. This deadline is not just from some bureaucrat’s memo, it’s the law as stated above in 46CFR10.113. Failure to obtain or hold a valid TWIC may serve as a basis for suspension or revocation of a mariner’s license… Now, what part of suspension or revocation are you willing to risk? Please note that the law says holding an active license, not using or renewing. My take: if there is a valid, unexpired USCG License with your name on it, you must get a TWIC by the deadline, or face the consequences.
MYTH #3: I don’t need to get a TWIC because I have a 6-Pac license. Untrue! The 6-Pac, officially known as an OUPV, is a USCG LICENSE. It amazes me that anyone can be confused about this, becasue if you have a OUPV, just look at the top of it, where is says LICENSE! ALL Licensed Mariners have to get TWIC’ed: see myths #1 and #2.
MYTH #4: I don’t need a TWIC if I’m not using my license. This one is very tricky, because some people point to the concept of Acting Under the Authority as a possible loophole for not TWICing if you don’t use your license. So, let’s walk through that idea and see where it goes. The CFR that says you gotta have a TWIC (shown above) references 46 U.S.C. 7702 and 7703- these are the laws that give the USCG the authority to suspend or revoke your license. 46USC7703 describes the actual bases for suspension or revocation, reprinted below, and we need to examine this code closely. (note: be careful not to get confused between the CFRs and the USC.)
USC TITLE 46–SHIPPING
Subtitle II–Vessels and Seamen
Part E–Merchant Seamen Licenses, Certificates, and Documents
CHAPTER 77–SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION
§7703. Bases for suspension or revocation
A license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner’s document issued by the Secretary may be suspended or revoked if the holder–
(1) when acting under the authority of that license, certificate, or document– (emphasis mine)
–(a) has violated or fails to comply with this subtitle, a regulation prescribed under this subtitle, or any other law or regulation intended to promote marine safety or to protect navigable waters; or
–(b) has committed an act of misconduct or negligence;
(2) Is convicted an offense that would prevent the issuance or renewal of a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner’s document;
(3) Within the 3 year period preceding the initiation of the suspension or revocation proceeding is convicted of an offense described in section 30304 (drunk driving)
(4) Has committed an act of has committed an act of incompetence relating to the operation of a vessel; or
(5) is a security risk that poses a threat to the safety or security of a vessel or a public or commercial structure located within or adjacent to the marine environment.
So, the logic follows that a failure to obtain your TWIC by the deadline would appear to fall under a failure to comply….with any other law…as in #1(a). The problem is that your failure to comply would have to occur while you were acting under the authority of your license, meaning that folks who aren’t using their license would somehow be insulated or exempt from attempts to revoke or suspend their license under 46USC7703.
While #1 above clearly states that the violations listed in (a) or (b) must occur while acting under the authority, be sure to read the entire law. The other bases, 2-5, have no such acting under the authority restriction. Is it possible that a failure to get your TWIC by the deadline could mean you’re a security risk under #5? I can’t answer that, but I think it’s a safe bet. Attempts to get the USCG to commit one way or the other were answered this way:
We will not provide comprehensive details of how, when, and where we will conduct enforcement of the TWIC requirement among merchant mariners. Enforcement of the TWIC regulations could occur as a result of TWIC verifications conducted by CG personnel, either at random boardings, during scheduled annual MTSA spot checks, during the course of a marine casualty investigation or vessel inspection, and/or during the CG-credential renewal process. Additionally, we will have the capacity to proactively determine whether a mariner has applied for, received, or been denied, a TWIC.
Bottom line on this: your license will be useless without a TWIC. If you intend to keep your license, the very best approach will be to get TWIC’ed before the deadline.
MYTH #5: The US Coast Guard is in charge of the TWIC program. Thats technically incorrect; The Transportation Worker Identification Credential was mandated by Congress as part of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The MTSA basically names the TSA as the agency that will oversee the TWIC program, but with USCG cooperation. Both the TSA and USCG are part of the Dept of Homeland Security (DHS). The TWIC will be required for lots of people other than mariners: From the TSA FAQs page:
An estimated one million individuals will be required to obtain a TWIC. This includes Coast Guard-credentialed merchant mariners, port facility employees, longshoremen, truck drivers, and others requiring unescorted access to secure areas of maritime facilities and vessels regulated by MTSA.
So, its not just a USCG ID card; truck drivers, forklift drivers, shipwelders….all will have to get TWICs, and they sure won’t be getting TWIC’ed by the USCG.
MYTH #6: The TWIC is just a security clearance card, so why does every mariner have to get one? This is probably the source of much of the confusion. The TWIC is not just a security clearance, it is proof of a TSA background check, and it will be for ALL transportation workers who need secure access, not just mariners. Conceivably, this could include railroad workers, bus drivers, maybe even taxi cab drivers. TWIC enrollment ensures security by verifying identity, immigration and criminal records. When the TWIC was conceived, it made sense to begin with port security. As the USCG is the overall agency controlling port security, they had a huge stake in the program development. Somewhere along the way, a very smart guy at USCG headquarters realized that the TWIC was about to duplicate what the USCG has been doing for years: identity proof and criminal background checks. You know, when you get or renew your license, you have to get fingerprinted, and your file is checked against drivers license databases and the FBI files for criminal activity. So, the TWIC means the USCG can get out of identity tracking, fingerprinting and background checks – and focus on issuing licenses and patrolling the coast. The rest will become a function of the TWIC, with the burden of identity confirmation, background checks and record keeping assumed by the TSA. Here is a portion of the the USCG’s Notice of Proposed Rule Making as published in the US Federal Register January 25 2007,
All credentialed merchant mariners are required by 46 U.S.C. 70105 and the TWIC rule to apply for and obtain a TWIC. To apply for a TWIC, a mariner must appear in person at a TWIC enrollment center to be fingerprinted, photographed and show proof of identification. The new TWIC application requirements are duplicative for mariners [because] currently, all mariners applying for a merchant mariner’s document (MMD), merchant mariner’s license (license) and/or certificate of registry (COR) must appear in person at a Coast Guard Regional Examination Center (REC) to be fingerprinted by and show proof of identification to an REC employee. The appearance requirement in the TWIC rule is less burdensome on mariners, however, because there will be over 25 TWIC enrollment centers verses the 17 RECs. This rule proposes to remove the requirement that mariners appear at a REC. As proposed in this SNPRM, once a mariner appears in person to apply for their TWIC, they can complete their entire MMC application process by mail unless an examination is required. Also, since TSA will be verifying the identity of and conducting a security threat assessment for all TWIC applicants, this rulemaking also proposes to remove the Coast Guard security and identity vetting requirements for mariners. This proposed rulemaking would remove those application requirements made duplicative by the TWIC rule.
The proof that #6 is a myth is contained in the text I highlighted in boldface within the quote above. This proposed rule change has not gone into effect yet, but it will. Once that happens, the TWIC will become the only way the USCG knows that you have passed the necessary security checks that qualify you to hold a USCG License in the first place, which is why you gotta have a TWIC.
UPDATES: There is a motion in Congress to get some captains out of the TWIC requirement. My sources that are “in the know” tell me that this bill is like a snow ball in hell: doesn’t have a chance.