The Freighter

The Kahana was the 150-foot freighter dispatched to find and recapture the Island three months after the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. It last ported in Suva, Fiji. (“Meet Kevin Johnson”) The Kahana was owned by Charles Widmore. (“The Other Woman”) Among the freighter’s crew was Oceanic Flight 815 survivor Michael Dawson under the alias “Kevin Johnson”. It was destroyed when a C-4 bomb onboard was remotely detonated. (“There’s No Place Like Home, Part 3”) The only survivor was Jin Soo Kwon.

Mission

According to Naomi, who arrived on the Island by parachuting from a helicopter dispatched from the freighter, the crew formed part of a search and recovery team, hired by Penelope Widmore. However, the actual freighter mission was set up by Penny’s father, Charles Widmore, in order to find the Island and capture Benjamin Linus alive. A science team was dispatched to disable the Tempest and prevent an Island-wide counterattack by the Others, while a mercenary team assaulted the Barracks and, later, staked out the Orchid station according to the secondary protocol, in an attempt to capture Ben.

In total, there seem to have been four sets of orders on the Kahana:

Captain Gault and Naomi Dorrit’s mission to locate the Island
The mission of the science team assembled by Matthew Abaddon, which at least in part involved the neutralization of the Tempest on the the Island (“Confirmed Dead”) (“The Other Woman”)
The mercenary team’s mission, acting on Charles Widmore’s orders, to capture Benjamin Linus (“Meet Kevin Johnson”)
Michael’s one-man espionage and sabotage mission, following Ben’s orders and feeding him information (“Meet Kevin Johnson”)

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