Process structures and operational vulnerability in RoPax terminals: A qualitative analysis

RoPax terminals play a critical role in European short sea shipping and intermodal transport systems, yet research on their internal operational processes remains limited. This paper reconstructs the process structures of RoPax terminals and analyses how differences between accompanied and unaccompanied traffic flows generate operational interdependencies and vulnerability. The study adopts a qualitative, process-oriented research design based on 29 semi-structured expert interviews with stakeholders involved in RoPax terminal operations. The interview data are analysed through inductive qualitative content analysis and iterative process reconstruction to identify recurring process structures, functional areas, control mechanisms, and bottlenecks. The findings show that RoPax terminal operations are organised around tightly connected functional areas, including gate and check-in, pre-staging areas, trailer yards, internal transport, ramps, and the vessel interface. Accompanied and unaccompanied traffic flows follow different process logics in terms of controllability, buffering capacity, sequencing requirements, and dependence on terminal-controlled resources. These differences create strong interdependencies between gate operations, yard management, internal transport, and ramp usage, leading to recurrent bottlenecks and coordination challenges under fixed sailing schedules and short port stays. The paper conceptualises RoPax terminals as coupled process systems in which operational vulnerability emerges from the interaction of heterogeneous traffic flows, shared interfaces, temporal compression, and soft control mechanisms. It clarifies why container-centric assumptions are only partially transferable to RoPax terminals and demonstrates how qualitative process reconstruction complements quantitative modelling by making implicit operational logics visible where empirical process-level analysis remains limited.