TWIC Enforcement
Approaches

NORFOLK, Va. - The Department of Homeland Security's TWIC program enforcement deadline is approaching. TWIC stands for Transportation Workers Identification Credential and if you're job means you've got to have access to the Port of Virginia, you need to have one by Tuesday January, 13.

It's anything but a quick process. Fingerprints, pictures and for most, a very long wait.

U.S. Coast Guard Captain Patrick Trapp says the program will be simply another layer of protection for not just employees, but also the goods that come in and out of the Port of Virginia.

"The Coast Guard is responsible for the enforcement action of the TWIC process," said Trapp.

The enforcement deadline is Tuesday, January 13 and that enforcement, if you're not prepared, could include taking an unexpected, unpaid day off.

"If you don't have your TWIC on Tuesday you're in a difficult spot because you will be denied entry into port," said Port Security Director Ed Merkle.

Merkle says part of the cards operation relies on an RFID computer chip containing an arsenal of information.

"The intent is to match you to the card itself," said Merkle.

And the TWIC cards, like all technology has its faults and that could make the enforcement deadline a little bumpy.

"We're having a difficult time pulling information out of the card itself," Merkle told WAVY.com.

And that wasn't an an easy thing to hear for a Longshoreman we met named Travis Brown.

"I am here to pick up. I applied six months ago."

Wednesday, Brown sat for hours waiting to get his card.

"I think they could have come up with a better method for getting the cards to us quicker," Brown told us.

Port workers had to put out $132 bucks for their TWIC. So far, about 17-thousand have applied.

Remember: The enforcement date is Tuesday, January 13.