Toronto ship financing group PBS Capital says it has increased its funding firepower for 2018.

The company, led by Alexander Christodoulakis, announced in a statement that together with financial and institutional partners, its "syndication power" is estimated to be more than $8.5bn this year.

PBS said it has a long-standing tradition of providing ship finance and global transport capital through commercial financing, corporate finance, access to international capital markets and corporate management services.