Patent ID: 7909538

Claim:
A pipelaying vessel comprising: storage for a number of pipe units to be assembled into a pipeline for laying; S-lay apparatus for fabricating and paying out of a pipeline by repeated addition of new pipeline sections to the end of the pipeline being laid, the end of said pipeline being held aligned with a fabrication axis closer to horizontal than vertical, the S-lay apparatus including a stinger for supporting the fabricated pipeline in an arcuate path between said fabrication axis and a departure axis which is substantially vertical; and auxiliary apparatus for use in fitting singular items to at least one end of the pipeline and including a supporting structure for supporting said items while they are connected to the pipeline at a location above a lower end of the stinger of the S-lay apparatus, substantially aligned with said departure axis, so as to facilitate handing over of the suspended pipeline and singular item from one of said apparatuses to the other.