UPDATE, 1/4/12: The Notice of Policy has been published at 77 Federal Register page 232 and is also available online.

A meeting of the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (NMSAC) will be held in Arlington, VA, on January 18th and 19th, according to a US Coast Guard Notice published in the Federal Register on January 9th.

The first morning session of the January meeting of the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (NMSAC) opened with a lengthy Welcome/Farewell Address by NMSAC sponsor, short remarks by the Committee’s Executive Director, and what was labeled a discussion of requirements for vessel guards while in port. These were followed briefings/discussions of Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA)/Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Harmonization, Maritime Domain Awareness and Information Sharing, the long-planned “MTSA II Regulations,” and harmonization of US and Canadian maritime transportation security regimes.

This post covers the second session of the January 2012 meeting of the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (MMSAC). This session, on the afternoon of January 18th, had two topics: a discussion of the Certain Dangerous Cargo Security Initiative and an unscheduled agenda item on using Port Security Grant Program funds to help US vessel operators defray security upgrades for operations in high risk waters.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has, without fanfare, updated its website with the “Latest News” that the cost to get a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) will drop slightly, as of March 19, 2012. At that time, the price of TWIC will drop from $132.50 to $129.75.