"Expert assessment of Perevoznaya Bay was carried out on February 3 and an unfavourable opinion communicated to the constructor with respect to his plan to make the bay the terminal of the pipeline," Konstantin Pulikovsky, head of the federal service of ecological, technical and atomic supervision (Rostekhnadzor) was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

The service has already given the green light to plans to run the 4,188 kilometre (2,600 mile) pipeline within 800 metres of Lake Baikal, the world's biggest fresh water reserve.

The area is subject to earthquakes and experts have protested, as has UNESCO which has classed the lake as a World Heritage site.

Many experts attacked earlier this month what they called violations of the assessment procedure and alleged pressure on experts to approve the route close to Lake Baikal, saying they would take the government to court.

Perevoznaya Bay, south of Vladivostock, is at the far southern tip of Russian's far eastern coast and famous for its rare wildlife, rich fish resources and shallow waters.

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