Assessment of existing offshore structures for life extension

In decision making under uncertainty there are two main questions that need to be evaluated:i) What are the future consequences and associated uncertainties of an action, and ii) what isa good (or right) decision or action. Philosophically these issues are categorised as epistemicquestions (i.e. questions of knowledge) and ethical questions (i.e. questions of moral andnorms). This paper discusses the second issue, and evaluates different bases for a gooddecision, using different ethical theories as a starting point. This includes the utilitarian ethicsof Bentley and Mills, and deontological ethics of Kant, Rawls and Habermas. The paperaddresses various principles in risk management and risk related decision making, includingcost benefit analysis, minimum safety criterion, the ALARP principle and the precautionaryprinciple.