Russia's biggest shipping company has posted a massive loss running into millions of pounds for the first quarter of 2025, as the country's economic crisis gathers pace. Businesses across the country have been hit with a double whammy of high interest rates and swinging Western sanctions, that have left many fighting for their survival.

Companies are struggling to pay back bank loans, with interest rates at 21% - the highest they have been in some 20 years. Sergey Chemezov, a close ally of and the CEO of Rostec, has warned the Kremlin that hundreds of businesses could go bust if Russia's Central Bank refuses to ease its tight monetary controls.

The latest company to feel the harsh winds of the economic winter is the shipping giant Sovcomflot.

Before Putin's disastrous war in Ukraine, the company operated the world's largest fleet of Aframax-class tankers and owned 10 icebreakers.

The firm's latest financial reports show it made a whopping loss of US$393 million (£290m) in the first three months of this year.

This represents a stunning reversal from the US$216 million (£159m) profit it reported during the same period last year.

The losses exceeded the total revenue, which fell 48% to US$278.5 million (£206m).

Sovcomflot's management blamed the imposition of "unprecedented sanctions" for its poor financial performance, but insisted there was enough cash reserves to weather the downturn.

Before he left office in January, the then US President Joe Biden blacklisted 54 Sovcomflot tankers and four of its gas carriers.

The move was an attempt to clamp down on Russia's exports of fossil fuels, a key source of income for the Kremlin.

Additionally, in February, the European Union sanctioned Sovcomflot's subsidiary, SCF Arctica, along with 74 other Russian-linked tankers.

It comes as some of Russia's largest exporters have slashed their planned volume of railway shipments for 2025.

The volume of freight transportation provides a valuable insight into the health of Russia's manufacturing sector. Last year it hit a 15-year low.

Documents seen by forecast that Russia's railways will transport 36.7 million tonnes less than the initially planned 1.24 billion tonnes for 2025.

From January to April 2025, the total volume of freight transportation decreased by 6.8% year-on-year.