diff --git a/docker-entrypoint.sh b/docker-entrypoint.sh
index 7bc2b51..71b227a 100755
--- a/docker-entrypoint.sh
+++ b/docker-entrypoint.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,15 @@ fi
 
 if [ "$1" = 'bin/catalina.sh' ]; then
 
+    echo
+    echo '**************************************'
+    echo "Waiting for Postgress to start "
+    echo '**************************************'
+    echo
+    while ! nc -z "${DB_HOST:-db}" "${DB_PORT:-5432}"; do
+      sleep 0.1
+    done
+
 
     METACAT_DEFAULT_WAR=/usr/local/tomcat/webapps/metacat.war
     METACAT_DIR=/usr/local/tomcat/webapps/${METACAT_APP_CONTEXT}