TWIC card - The Hull Truth

JB2C · 10-14-2008, 06:43 AM

I guess by now all captains have heard about the requirement for them to get a TWIC card in order to keep and renew their captain's license. It's been discussed at length on other boards. But I wonder if ANYONE has bothered to call their US Senator and ask them to support S 3377?? This bill will do away with the TWIC requirement for most of us 'regular' captains. From all the other boards I've read, it seems like everyone is more worried about how to go about getting this card, or how long it will take to get it, than they are about trying to get rid of the requirement.

Does it make more sense to spend five minutes calling your US Senator, or spending an hour (or two or three) getting a card that most captains will never need? And handing TSA and Lockheed Martin $132 of your money every time you need to renew??If you are a USCG captain and do not need access to secure areas of a port (that doesn't include just riding through the port area on your boat), please call your US Senator and ask for their support of S3377. The bill is currently in a sub-committee of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Here are the important guys that especially need to be pressed on passing S 3377:

Cantwell Washington

Snowe Maine

Boxer California

Carper Delaware

Demint South Carolina

Inouye Hawaii

Kerry Mass.

Klobuchar MN

Lautenburg NJ

Nelson Fla

Smith Oregon

Stevens Arkansas

Sununa NH

Vitter LA

Wicker Miss.

Please call your US Senator regardless. But if any of these are your Senator, they are the ones that especially need to hear from captains. Please call them, then post their response here on the board. Calls from their own state mean alot more to them than my calling them from out-of-state.

rodbender bob · 10-19-2008, 06:03 PM

I was told by Ohio Sen. Brown's rep they are very confident charters will be excluded from TWIC requirement.

JB2C · 10-19-2008, 06:14 PM

Bob, thanks very much for the reply. I wonder if the rep knew what he was talking about? Did you get the feeling he did? So many of these aides just tell you what they think you want to hear to get you off the phone. I had one just the other day that did exactly that. When I pushed, he basically admitted he knew nothing about the bill and obviously really didn't have a clue.

rodbender bob · 10-22-2008, 07:28 PM

Yes, I felt he knew what he was talking about. We discussed the issue for several minutes and he was very knowledgable and it was a good discussion. He called me because I had writen the Senator about my concerns about TWIC and they agreed with my concerns and said it needed to be changed. He was pretty confident charters would be exempt.

Little Jack · 10-30-2008, 09:56 AM

Got the TWIC, can't wait to go through the MMC process and spend another $150ish in fees.

NorthEastCaptain13 · 09-23-2011, 04:39 PM

I wish I had known more about this. What I just loved about getting my TWIC was that i lived on Martha's Vineyard at the time. Needed to get off the island $50 drive to get it and then get back on island $50 and then spend the $150. It would have been cheaper for me to get 2 new passports than the TWIC.

erieprowler · 11-15-2011, 02:58 AM

Anyone know the total number of Charter Captains in the U.S. ?

Forcing myself not to make further comments.

Capt. KJB · 11-15-2011, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erieprowler

Anyone know the total number of Charter Captains in the U.S. ?

Forcing myself not to make further comments.

It isn't just charter captains, many licensed personnel that work at dealers, and marinas that have zero use for these cards.

First Light · 11-16-2011, 03:46 PM

I do not frequent this forum often, in fact I've only been on here once (this week) to ask a question, but I do have some experience with TWIC cards in that I work with the CG in helping Capt's renew their License's in SW Florida. So what am I doing on this Forum? God only knows, other than I'm trying to buy a boat with Ohio registration that is currently living in New York state!

Anyway, here's my take on TWIC cards that may not be of much value on Lake Erie or wherever you boat in the mid-west, but in the eyes of Homeland Security, is of value to the coastal states. Why? Because the world has changed, and terrorism against the US is in it's infancy.

Remember the USS Cole and other acts of terrorism against the US?

Ever see an LPG gas ship? Know what would happen if it exploded? - so do the terrorists. Do you know where the six portable (small suitcase size) Atomic Bombs are that are missing from the USSR's arsenal? etc., etc. No one does.

While the above may not be an issue on Lake Erie or where ever you guide in the mid-west, these potential problems are a serious reality in and around our coastal ports (even Tampa, Florida, near where I live). You guys (guides) who are on the water on a regular basis are the eyes and ears who we hope will report anything you see on the water that is of a suspicious nature.

So, would you not report something to the CG or other authorities that you felt was of a suspicious nature if you did not have a TWIC card? No, of course not. But if you have qualified for a TWIC card and you report something suspicious, at least we know you are one of the good guys who we can rely on. I hope this simple explanation will help you to understand a little about the morass of government bureaucracy and the current thinking for the requirement for you who work on the water to have a TWIC card.

Capt. KJB · 11-21-2011, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by First Light

I do not frequent this forum often, in fact I've only been on here once (this week) to ask a question, but I do have some experience with TWIC cards in that I work with the CG in helping Capt's renew their License's in SW Florida. So what am I doing on this Forum? God only knows, other than I'm trying to buy a boat with Ohio registration that is currently living in New York state!

Anyway, here's my take on TWIC cards that may not be of much value on Lake Erie or wherever you boat in the mid-west, but in the eyes of Homeland Security, is of value to the coastal states. Why? Because the world has changed, and terrorism against the US is in it's infancy.

Remember the USS Cole and other acts of terrorism against the US?

Ever see an LPG gas ship? Know what would happen if it exploded? - so do the terrorists. Do you know where the six portable (small suitcase size) Atomic Bombs are that are missing from the USSR's arsenal? etc., etc. No one does.

While the above may not be an issue on Lake Erie or where ever you guide in the mid-west, these potential problems are a serious reality in and around our coastal ports (even Tampa, Florida, near where I live). You guys (guides) who are on the water on a regular basis are the eyes and ears who we hope will report anything you see on the water that is of a suspicious nature.

So, would you not report something to the CG or other authorities that you felt was of a suspicious nature if you did not have a TWIC card? No, of course not. But if you have qualified for a TWIC card and you report something suspicious, at least we know you are one of the good guys who we can rely on. I hope this simple explanation will help you to understand a little about the morass of government bureaucracy and the current thinking for the requirement for you who work on the water to have a TWIC card.

I fail to see how a TWIC card would matter in this type of situation? The requirement to have a TWIC card is for identification purposes within a port or vessel and it is administered by the TSA, if I see something suspicious on the water I am calling the CG, not the TSA and they have my information based upon my credentials they have issued. Again, you seem to be indicating that holding a TWIC card somehow makes the person more credible when they call in suspicious activity, when in fact having mariner credentials will also let the authorities know that "you are one of the good guys who we can rely on."

I have no problem with requiring mariners that will enter secure ports and vessels to obtain a TWIC card but to require that of a charter captain running a vessel out of anywhere is just plain dumb.

Night Crawler · 11-21-2011, 10:32 AM

I agree with the above, if you are a licensed captain you should already know I am the good guy. Basically what you said is my captains license don't mean a hill of crap, you wanna push a TWIC card to get more money out of me, that I am not making.

Thalasso · 11-21-2011, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt. KJB

I fail to see how a TWIC card would matter in this type of situation? The requirement to have a TWIC card is for identification purposes within a port or vessel and it is administered by the TSA, if I see something suspicious on the water I am calling the CG, not the TSA and they have my information based upon my credentials they have issued. Again, you seem to be indicating that holding a TWIC card somehow makes the person more credible when they call in suspicious activity, when in fact having mariner credentials will also let the authorities know that "you are one of the good guys who we can rely on."

I have no problem with requiring mariners that will enter secure ports and vessels to obtain a TWIC card but to require that of a charter captain running a vessel out of anywhere is just plain dumb.

Just more Gov.intervention. I'll bet this gives you some leway when constantly, B.S inspections when they have nothing better to do. Does the terrorists have to have them?The card is just a way of tracking you down.More big brother.If it is to show them you are one of the good guy's why is there a fee. They should pay you.