Falling utilisation, vessel oversupply, lagging demand and a disappointing third quarter have all prompted US-listed GulfMark to scale down its previous optimism and to prepare investors for more potential weakness in the offshore sector.

The US owner and global operator of 75 offshore support vessels (OSVs) has trimmed its full-year outlook on earnings by about 4.8%, down to between $490m and $495m from its previous estimate of $510m to $525m for 2014.

Despite