U.S. Navy spotted near Nord Stream blasts - Danish media --American warships were operating in the area with their transponders switched off, Politiken has reported | 9 Oct 2024 | U.S. Navy vessels were operating near the Nord Stream pipelines shortly before the explosions that crippled the connectors in the Baltic Sea, Danish newspaper Politiken has reported, citing a local harbormaster. The newspaper added that their transponders -- used to locate vessels for safety purposes -- had been switched off. The crucial energy infrastructure, built to deliver Russian gas to Germany and the rest of Europe, was ruptured by underwater blasts in September 2022. According to the article, published on September 26, American warships had been operating in the area east of the Danish island of Bornholm a few days before the explosions with their transponders off. The circumstances prompted a local harbormaster at the nearby Danish port of Christianso, John Anker Nielsen, to launch a rescue mission. However, upon reaching the scene they saw that the vessels in question were U.S. Navy ships, Nielsen said. The Naval Command then told Nielsen and his colleagues to turn back, the harbormaster recounted.