ATHENS – The once dormant port of Piraeus, which struggled under Greek leadership, has risen under the management of the Chinese company COSCO that is the majority stakeholder, now ranked eighth in the world as a shipping center.

Greek oligarch fleets are also being overtaken by China for how much tonnage is being carried and losing a long-prideful position for the tiny Mediterranean country, and bragging rights over the seas.

The Xinhua-Baltic Index from China’s state news agency showed that Singapore kept the title of the world’s largest shipping center in 2023, but Athens and Piraeus had climbed, the port also among the busiest in the European Union.

The 5,500 ships of the world’s largest shipping nation are supported by more than 1,000 offices in the Athens-Piraeus areas, the analysis stated, noted the Greek daily business newspaper Naftemporiki.

The Xinhua-Baltic index takes into consideration port operations by 20 percent, shipping offices and shipping services by 50 percent, and business environment by 20 percent in determining the rankings.

London, the world capital of maritime arbitration and services, has been in second place for the last four years. Shanghai, the shipping capital of China, remains in third place, followed by Hong Kong and Dubai in fifth place.

The first and third busiest ports in Europe, Rotterdam and Hamburg are in sixth and seventh place while Piraeus climbed past New York – which fell to 10th, with . Ningbo – Zhoushan at ninth.