An improved performance by its containership arm has helped Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) boost its profit for the first nine months by over 53%.

The Japanese shipping giant made JPY 29.2bn ($$258m) for the period against the JPY 19bn seen 12 months earlier.

The containership arm just about broker even for the first nine months of FY2017 compared with a loss of JPY 26.1bn