Over the last five years Latvia witnessed a silent decline in the number of seafarers, while shipping companies have been desperately roaming the world for competent officers. Apparently this paradox has happened relatively unnoticed by the public opinion and is therefore in itself a clear signal for the underestimation of the maritime industry in Latvia, including maritime education. The cluster theory, based on Porter’s diamond model is used as a framework to understand the maritime cluster. The Netherlands have been one of the first to build their maritime policy on the cluster approach. This research paper draws parallels between the current challenges of the maritime cluster in Latvia and those of the Netherlands in the mid-nineties. Conclusions are drawn on possible strategies to be pursued for sustainable human resource development in the maritime cluster in Latvia.