An elite team is set to tackle the monumental challenge of freeing the massive container vessel that’s blocking the Suez Canal, as a backlog of ships continued to build up for a third day in what is arguably the world’s most important waterway. Work to re-float the Ever Given and free up oceangoing carriers hauling almost $10 billion of oil and consumer goods was expected to begin early Thursday in Egypt. Tugs and diggers failed to budge the vessel on Wednesday, and dredgers are still trying to loosen the vessel before any attempt to pull it out, the ship’s manager said. Still, the best chance for returning shipping to normal may not come until Sunday or Monday, when the tide will reach a peak, according to Nick Sloane, the salvage master responsible for re-floating the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that capsized on the coast of Italy in 2012. […]