Longshoremen, truck drivers, crane operators and others reporting to work at the port of Hampton Roads today will need to come prepared with new security credentials and patience, port officials said Monday.
Today is the deadline for compliance with the federal Transportation Worker Identification Credential program. More than 14,000 workers throughout the region will have to present the new high-tech ID cards to access more than 50 regulated facilities.
The port is prepared, but traffic still may pile up, said Ed Merkle, director of port security for the Virginia Port Authority.
"We are concerned that our gates are going to be strained," Merkle said. "There will likely be some minor delays."
The process will go faster for those who have registered their TWIC cards with the port, he said. Each registered user receives a separate card detailing where, when and why a worker can access a particular facility. As of Monday morning, 4,300 people had registered, Merkle said.
The p ort of Savannah, Ga., implemented the TWIC program Dec. 1. Security there had to turn away 50 to 100 people the first day because they didn't have cards, said Robert Morris, a spokesman for the Georgia Ports Authority.
"It was surprisingly uneventful," Morris said. "It was a lot like the Y2K scare.... All the problems and concerns that we had anticipated did not play themselves out."
The port of Hampton Roads hopes to turn away even fewer workers, Merkle said. E xtra port police officers will be on hand in case of any problems.
Those who have enrolled for a TWIC card but haven't received it yet may obtain a 30-day pass if they can prove they've completed a security assessment, Merkle said. Everyone else is out of luck.
"If you don't have your TWIC, then you don't enter the port," he said. "The first day with any implementation is always a difficult day."
Kathy Adams, (757) 446-2583, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com
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