It was a typical workday on the docks for Gavin Puchinsky on the night that the freighter, the Grande Costa d’Avorio, caught fire. Puchinksy was a “lasher.” His job was to get cars on the 692-foot freighter and secure or lash them to the deck before the ship set sail with its cargo of 1,200 aging and junked vehicles for West Africa. He was behind the wheel of a yellow, 16-year-old Jeep Wrangler he was using to push an inoperable Toyota SUV being steered by his partner up the ramp to Deck 10 when he heard a loud clunk, like a wrench being dropped to the floor. “I didn’t pay any attention to it….
