( CNN ) -- The U.S. Navy rescued a survivor from an Iranian cargo vessel that sank in the Persian Gulf , killing at least three other crew members , the military said Sunday . It was the latest incident in a string of rescues since the beginning of the year , against a backdrop of high tensions between the United States and Iran . The coastal patrol boat USS Firebolt and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Maui conducted a search and rescue mission for survivors of the capsized Iranian dhow -- a sailing vessel typically used to haul cargo -- on Saturday and Sunday , the Navy said in a statement . The Firebolt 's crew also recovered the remains of three of those who had died in the sinking , the Navy said . One survivor was recovered and treated for shock and hypothermia . He said the dhow sank in bad weather Friday night with six mariners aboard . The sailor reported that four of his shipmates died and one was missing , according to the Navy . The U.S. ships searched for the possible survivor and the fourth body , in an effort that also included two Seahawk helicopters and the dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor . But they could not find them , and ultimately ended the search due to bad weather , the Navy said . The Iranian mariner was transferred to the Maui , and then to an Iranian Coast Guard vessel . In January , U.S. sailors from a carrier strike group rescued 13 Iranian sailors from a hijacked fishing boat , and the U.S. Coast Guard rescued six Iranian mariners from a flooded vessel at the northern end of the Gulf .
The Iranian ship sank in bad weather , a survivor tells the U.S. Navy . Several ships searched for another possible survivor , to no avail . It was the latest in a series of rescues by naval personnel .