Port Everglades Association Public Affairs Update
Jan 13, 2009
In this Update:
- U.S. Coast Guard Launches Transportation Worker Identification Credential Program at Port Everglades
- Sun-Sentinel News Coverage: New screening of port workers starts
- Bringer Lines Brings Broward to Brazil — Manaus Memorandum of Understanding Benefits International
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection Issues Notice of Intent to Grant Groundwater Standard Exemption to FPL Port Plant
U.S. Coast Guard Launches Transportation Worker Identification Credential Program at Port Everglades
Beginning Jan. 13, 2009, maritime workers at Port Everglades including terminal employees, longshoremen, truck drivers, agents and contractors must have a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (“TWIC”) to gain unescorted access to all secure areas of any waterfront terminal regulated by the Coast Guard under the Maritime Transportation Security Act (“MTSA”). The United States Coast Guard is responsible for enforcement of the terms and conditions of the TWIC program.
TWIC is federally mandated and enforcement is carried out by the Coast Guard. Information regarding TWIC, can be found on the Coast Guard’s Homeport web site at http://homeport.uscg.mil/twic or the Transportation Security Administration’s web site at http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/twic/index.shtm
Although Port Everglades is not responsible for issuing or enforcing the TWIC, there are some questions specific to the Port that are addressed here:
Answer: Yes. You will still need a Port Everglades ID Badge to enter the Port and you must display the Badge at all times. In addition, you will need a TWIC card to be able to enter and work in secure areas of the Port that are regulated by the Coast Guard, unless you are escorted by someone with a TWIC.
Answer: The Port Everglades ID Badge is mandated by the State of Florida in F.S. 311.12. The TWIC card is not necessary to enter the Port, but is required for unescorted access to MTSA regulated secure areas.
Answer: You will need to be escorted by a person with a TWIC card.
Answer: Seafarers’ House is providing a TWIC escorting service for crewmembers at Port Everglades during their normal business hours, which are Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m, and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Seafarers’ House will pick crewmembers up at their ships and transport them to Seafarers’ House. The number to call is 954-467-7330.
Answer: All waterfront docks and terminals are considered secure areas. This map highlights the secure areas. For a larger, printable pdf version of the map, click here.
Below is a Sun-Sentinel article published today about the new program:
New screening of port workers starts
Sun-Sentinel, 1/13/2009
PORT EVERGLADES – Federal officials begin enforcing a new identification program this morning aimed at boosting security at 10 Florida ports, including Port Everglades, the Port of Palm Beach and the Port of Miami.
The new effort, called the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program, mandates ‘rigorous’ criminal background checks before port workers are issued identification cards granting them the right of unescorted entry, Coast Guard Capt. Chris Roberge said.
At stake, he said, is protecting restricted areas such as docks and cargo areas that could become targets for terrorist attack, including those laden with fuel and other potentially hazardous materials. The program ‘is another layer of security that will make the U.S. more secure,’ Roberge said. The federal program resembles the background checks Florida began making on port workers a year after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, officials said.
Roberge said the new checks, to be carried out by the Transportation Security Administration, should increase scrutiny over whether workers have criminal records or are on government agencies’ anti-terrorism lists.
The Coast Guard estimates 21,000 port workers have enrolled at Port Everglades, Port of Palm Beach and Port of Miami. That’s about 90 percent of those now required to have the card, including merchant sailors, security guards and truck drivers.
Glenn Wiltshire, deputy port director at Port Everglades, said workers without the ID will be prohibited from entering the port or require an escort. Cruise ship passengers and law enforcement officials are exempt.
The new identification card costs $132.50 and must be renewed every five years.
Acknowledging the federal program duplicates some of the state’s efforts, Wiltshire said it would be up to Florida legislators to decide whether to end or alter the state’s credential program.
Bringer Lines Brings Broward to Brazil — Manaus Memorandum of Understanding Benefits International
Broward County Commissioners will formally welcome ocean shipping company Bringer Lines and its partner, “K” Lines, to Port Everglades at the regularly scheduled weekly meeting on Tuesday, January 13, at 10 a.m. in the Commission Chambers, 115 South Andrews Avenue, Room 422, Fort Lauderdale.
Bringer Lines, a Miami-based air and ocean shipping company, began service from Port Everglades to the Amazon region of Brazil in November. It is the first direct ocean containerized-cargo service between South Florida and Manaus, Brazil.
“We have been working for years to establish direct trade between Broward and Manaus, Brazil,” said Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin. “This new service makes trade with Manaus a reality and advances our business relationships in Brazil.”
In 2002, Commissioner Wasserman-Rubin brought the two communities together to sign the Manaus Memorandum of Understanding, an informal agreement that paved the way for future trade.
Commissioners Wasserman-Rubin and Josephus Eggelletion, Jr. have traveled to Brazil on separate trade missions with Port Everglades representatives and the Broward County Office of Economic Development to stimulate international trade and bring shipping service to South Florida.
“We want to capitalize on the tremendous trade opportunities available in Brazil, and in particular in Manaus because of the free trade zone there and Foreign-Trade Zone No. 25 located at Port Everglades,” said Commissioner Eggelletion.
Partnered with “K” Line, a Japan-based shipping line, Bringer Lines provides a bi-weekly service between the U.S. East Coast and the Amazon region of Brazil. Future plans call for weekly service. Ports of call for the service include Savannah, Port Everglades, Manaus, and Vila do Conde.
Brazil ranks as one of Florida’s top trading partners, according to Enterprise Florida, Florida’s primary organization devoted to statewide economic development. During 2007, approximately $13 billion worth of merchandise was exported and imported between Florida and Brazil. Brazil is one of the top 10 trading partners for Port Everglades, generating approximately 400,000 tons of containerized cargo annually.
Port Everglades is Florida’s No. 1 container port and is ranked as the 11th busiest container seaport in the United States according to the PIERS import/export database. A world-class cargo handling facility, Port Everglades serves as the ideal point of entry for products shipped to and from Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe and the Far East. Port Everglades has direct access to the interstate highway system, is within two miles of the FEC rail hub and is just one mile from the Atlantic Shipping Lanes. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion ensure that Port Everglades will have the ability to handle the Port’s growing container traffic.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection Issues Notice of Intent to Grant Groundwater Standard Exemption to FPL Port Plant
During early October, 2008, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection gave notice of its intent to grant (renew) an exemption from the Class G-II ground water standard for sodium pursuant to Rule 62-520.500, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), as part of industrial wastewater Permit No. FL0001538 to the Florida Power and Light Company’s, Port Everglades Power Plant, 8100 Eisenhower Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33316. The exemption is for the permitted discharge of treated industrial wastewater to Class G‑II ground water. The exemption is granted for the duration of FPL’s industrial wastewater Permit No. FL0001538, and made a part of said permit.