Security Challenge at Port Everglades turns into Win-Win for Charity, Local Businesses and Ship Crews

About the Program

Category: Transportation (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

When the U.S. government began requiring seaport workers to have nationally standardized security credentials last year, thousands of international seafarers at Port Everglades were left stranded because they did not qualify for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) and therefore could not step onto the dock without a credentialed escort. When oceans and continents separate seafarers from home and loved ones, these crew members want to leave the docked ships quickly because they have limited shore time to contact or buy goods for their families. To do that, they must be transported by vehicles driven by certified individuals to the surrounding cities. In response, Broward County partnered with local non-profit groups to run a free van escort service with a TWIC-carded driver to bring these mariners to destinations in the surrounding community. As a result of the program’s success, and despite shrinking federal security grant funding, Port Everglades sponsored an $82,200 grant from the Department of Homeland Security Port Security Grant Program to purchase two new vans for the Seafarers’ House. A total of 46,132 TWIC escorts were provided during Fiscal Year 2011.