Mobile, AL – Some 6,000 seaport workers in Mobile, the Florida Panhandle and coastal Mississippi have yet to pick up security cards required for entry to ports.
Federal officials say there's a Dec. 30 deadline for workers in this area to pick up the cards being phased in around the country. By April 15, 2009, all ports must be in compliance and all credentialed mariners must be in a possession of the card.
The Transportation Worker Identification Credential is available for pickup in Mobile at 250 North Water Street. Under federal law, any unescorted person entering restricted seaport facilities must possess the card.
Authorities say about 96 percent of the workers accessing the Ports of Mobile, Pascagoula, Miss. and Pensacola, Fla. have enrolled for the card, but about 6,000 cards still await pickup at the Mobile center.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)