New ID card required at N.C. ports
In North Carolina, TWIC cards will be required at the Morehead City and Wilmington ports.
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. -- A new credential will be required beginning Saturday to enter a North Carolina port.
The Transportation Security Administration is requiring that anyone going into the port have a Transportation Workers Identification Credential, or TWIC card, which also requires the owner to pass an FBI background check.
"It's another tool in our security toolbox," said North Carolina State Ports Authority director of security Doug Campen.
By 2009, TWIC cards will be a requirement across the nation. In North Carolina, they will be required at the Morehead City and Wilmington ports, but not at inland port terminals in Charlotte and Greensboro.
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These cards are just the latest in an effort to beef up security at ports. Since 2001, ports in Morehead City and Wilmington have received $9.5 million in grants for added security.
"[We've added] fencing and lighting and cameras and access controls," Campen explained.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, port security has been in the spotlight because workers deal with international ships and cargo every day.
"We look at seaports as our border,” Campen said. “They're just as much a border as the Mexican border or the Canadian border"
The official North Carolina compliance deadline for TWIC cards is Nov. 28, but the State Ports Authority set Nov. 1 as a soft deadline to work out any problems beforehand.