US Coast Guard Proposes New TWIC Delay

The U.S. Coast Guard announced in the Federal Register that it proposes to further delay the effective date for certain facilities affected by the final rule entitled “Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)—Reader Requirements,” published in the Federal Register on August 23, 2016.

The current effective date for the final rule is May 8, 2023. The Coast Guard proposes delaying the effective date for: facilities that handle certain dangerous cargoes in bulk, but do not transfer those cargoes to or from a vessel; facilities that handle certain dangerous cargoes in bulk, and do transfer those cargoes to or from a vessel; and facilities that receive vessels carrying certain dangerous cargoes in bulk, but do not, during that vessel-to-facility interface, transfer those bulk cargoes to or from those vessels.

Specifically, the Coast Guard proposes to delay the effective date for these facilities for three years from the original delay expiration date of May 8, 2023 to May 8, 2026, but is inviting comments as well on possibly extending the delay through as late as May 8, 2029.

The delay will give the Coast Guard time to further analyze the potential effectiveness of the reader requirement in general as well as at these facilities, the agency said.

The Coast Guard said it will consider comments and material received on or before January 5, 2023 to help shape the outcome of this rulemaking.