A vessel for laying a pipeline includes a plurality of workstations (12) disposed along a pipelaying path that includes an upstream portion away from a first end of the vessel and a plurality of ramps (21, 22) in the region of the first end of the vessel. The plurality of ramps (21, 22) includes a first ramp (21) which is disposed along the pipelaying path, whose inclination is adjustable and which has a first upstream end and a second downstream end, and a second ramp (22) which is disposed along the pipelaying path downstream of the first ramp (21), whose inclination is adjustable and which has a first upstream end and a second downstream end. The downstream end of the first ramp is positioned inboard of the first end of the vessel and above the bottom of the vessel and the upstream end of the second ramp is positioned inboard of the first end of the vessel and above the bottom of the vessel. An external ramp assembly (66) is provided, including ramps (68) and (69) that can be pivoted relative to one another and locked in a selected position by a locking arrangement (88).