MISC has announced a fall in third quarter earnings and legal action against Shell in a suit worth more than $200m.

The Malaysian shipowner reported net profit of MYR 143.4m ($34.2m) for the three months to the end of September, compared to MYR 504.1m a year earlier.

Operating profit was almost halved to MYR 310.8m while revenue fell from MYR 2.5bn to MYR 2.29bn.

MISC attributed its latest performance to weak LNG and petroleum markets, which have been facing lower freight rates.

The Kuala Lumpur-listed company has also revised the estimated useful life (EUL) of its ships.

EUL for MISC’s petroleum and chemical carriers has been reduced to 20 years while LNG carriers now have an EUL of more than 25 years.

Meanwhile, MISC has initiated legal proceedings against a subsidiary of Shell over a lease agreement from 2012.

A subsidiary is asking Shell’s SSPC for around $245m and the case will be heard tomorrow.