Traditional suction bucket foundations incur high maintenance costs and are susceptible to corrosion, resulting in a diminished bearing capacity over prolonged service. The suction bucket foundation, constructed with a glass fibre -reinforced polymer (GFRP), introduces a novel approach to iteratively optimise conventional steel bucket foundations. In this study, three-dimensional finite element models of the GFRP bucket -soil interaction were established using the VUMAT subroutine, which incorporates the stress -strain damage relationship of GFRP materials. The mechanical response during installation was analyzed for different fibre -laying angles( A ) and wall thicknesses( t ) of the GFRP bucket, and the results were compared with those of a steel bucket. The results indicated increased circumferential stress, radial deformation, and out -of -roundness of the GFRP bucket as the fibre laying angle increased. Deformation and stress of the bucket skirt remained low at A of 0 - 45 degrees . When A >= 60 degrees , the matrix ' s damage area significantly increases, with the minimum damage occurring at 45 degrees . For A <= 30 degrees , it approaches the maximum radial deformation of an equivalent -sized steel suction bucket. As the wall thickness increased, the circumferential stress, radial deformation, and out -of -roundness of the GFRP bucket skirt gradually decreased. When the GFRP bucket t was four times that of the steel bucket, its radial deformation was approximately equal.