In this paper, we proposed a three-dimensional model for the tension analysis of submarine power cables during laying operations.Both flexural rigidity and axial elasticity were taken into consideration in the form of classical Euler-Bernoulli beam element theory. The governing equations were numerically solved by fourth-order Runge-Kutta methods and the derivatives of the curvature with respect to the cable element arc length can be approximately expressed by the finite difference method. Numerical examples were illustrated to study the influence of some key parameters on the cables and some significant conclusions are drawn.