On the 13th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, America’s tugboat, towboat and barge industry pauses to remember the nearly 3,000 Americans who lost their lives, and also to acknowledge the inspiring bravery shown by first responders and everyday citizens on that tragic day. One of the most notable acts of valor was the maritime evacuation of Lower Manhattan – the largest water evacuation in American history – in which 500,000 people were transported to safety by hundreds of vessels which answered a call from the U.S.

Last week, the Transportation Security Administration began nationwide implementation of a highly anticipated program that reforms the unnecessarily burdensome process by which mariners and other transportation workers receive required Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC). The TWIC OneVisit program eliminates the requirement that workers make two trips to a TWIC enrollment center to pick up and then activate their TWIC.