AMO Currents - Important information about the 'merchant mariner credential' final rule and TWIC

AMO Currents - Posted: March 19, 2009

Important information about the 'merchant mariner credential' final rule and TWIC

A recent bulletin from National Maritime Center Commanding Officer Capt. David Stalfort highlights important aspects of the relationship between the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) and the final rule on the "merchant mariner credential," which will combine the license, merchant mariner document, STCW endorsement and certificate of registry (if applicable) into one passport-style document.

The complete bulletin is available online on the Coast Guard Web site. Some key points of the bulletin include:

Anyone holding a Coast Guard merchant mariner license or credential is required to obtain a TWIC by April 15, 2009, in order to continue working under the authority of that license or credential.
If you are applying for a merchant mariner credential, you must have at least applied for your TWIC before the Coast Guard will accept your application. Your credential will not be issued until your TWIC is approved.
A TWIC is not required in order to apply for or receive a document of continuity.
You will need to ensure that the biographical data you supply to TSA is the same as that which you provide the Coast Guard on your merchant mariner credential application. If the Coast Guard cannot reconcile the data provided by TSA, you may be asked to work with TSA to update your information.
You will need to be identified as a "Merchant Mariner" in the TWIC system. This triggers TSA to provide your TWIC data to the Coast Guard. When you enroll/pre-enroll for a TWIC with TSA, you need to select "Merchant Mariner" as your occupation. Sometime this month, TSA will be adding a radio button to their kiosks that will force the TSA employee to ask you if you are or contemplate becoming, at any time in the next five years, a merchant mariner. Additionally, the disclosure form that you will fill out at the enrollment center will ask the same question.
For those who have already received their TWIC and did not “Self Identify” as a "Merchant Mariner," the NMC is working with TSA to automatically change your occupation field. The NMC anticipates that this will cover the vast majority of current mariners.
For those not covered in the automatic correction, TSA is setting up a help desk number that you will be able to call in order to manually switch your occupation field. This should only impact a small percentage of mariners and only when applying for their next Coast Guard issued credential.

If you carry a valid TWIC while serving on a valid Merchant Mariner Credential you will not be impacted while sailing, regardless of whether you hold any of the four previously issued credentials, the MMC or any combination thereof.