*NOL says Q3 net profit falls 82 pct to $35 mln

*NOL expects more prolonged and pronounced downturn

*NOL expects operating loss for Q4

Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines posted on Wednesday an 82 percent plunge in third-quarter net profit and saw a pronounced downturn for shipping leading to an operating loss in the fourth quarter.

The world's seventh-largest container line painted a bleak picture for the shipping industry, saying it could mothball ships and cut jobs as a drop-off in global trade would get worse.

"The next couple of years has nothing to do with growth," CEO Ron Widdows told a results briefing. "The downturn that we are in is going to last for a while."

The firm, whose APL unit is the world's seventh-largest container line, earned $35 million in the three months ended Sept 30, compared with $191 million a year earlier.

NOL, which is 66 percent held by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings said earlier this month it would reduce capacity on its Asia-Europe and Transpacific routes by 25 percent and 20 percent respectively, in response to "increasingly challenging conditions".