Unalaska, AK – The Transportation Security Administration will soon require mariners and other dock workers in Unalaska to have Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) cards. The cards will be necessary to get unescorted access to secure areas of places like fuel docks and processing plants. Bret Farrell of the Marine Exchange of Alaska is working to inform people of these new regulations. He says at least 400 people in Unalaska will need the cards.

All Coast Guard Licensed Mariners must have the cards by April 15, 2009. All non-mariners who need access must have them by February 2009. Emergency response workers can enter secure areas without the cards.

To get a TWIC card, you must go to an enrollment center in person for fingerprinting and background checks then return in person about 8 weeks later to pick up the card. Cards cost $132, though you can get a discount if you already have an approved background check. But Farrell says this may not be worth it.

"The possible draw back to taking that discount is that the TWIC card, which is normally good for 5 years, would then expire on the date that your HAZMAT endorsement expires or the date that your merchant mariners license expires," he says.

A mobile enrollment center will be at the Unalaska Public Library starting Tuesday, July 8 until July 18. It will return in late summer or early fall to issue the cards. If you need a TWIC card and do not go to the mobile center, you'll have to travel to Anchorage to apply for and pick up the card.