Shanghai Yangshan Deepwater Port, one of the world's largest deep-water ports, launched two-way navigation of its main channel on Tuesday in a bid to better serve the demands in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Chen Rongyuan, chairman of Shanghai International Port (Group) Co Ltd, said the launch will foster Shanghai's position as one of the most important ports in the world and will better serve the demands of enterprises in the recently launched Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Two-way navigation will increase Yangshan Port's capacity, reduce costs for shipping enterprises and improve safety.

Some 123 ships participated in trial navigations by the end of August as a part of preparations for the two-way navigation at the port, said Xu Guoyi, head of Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration.

Registration system rules will be relaxed for shipping enterprises in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, Xu said.

Container handling capacity of Yangshan Deepwater Port in 2012 was 14.15 million twenty-foot equivalent unit in 2012 and is expected to grow to 15 million TEU in 2013, Chen said.