diff --git a/launch_ros/launch_ros/actions/composable_node_container.py b/launch_ros/launch_ros/actions/composable_node_container.py
index d96cedd8..f278d91b 100644
--- a/launch_ros/launch_ros/actions/composable_node_container.py
+++ b/launch_ros/launch_ros/actions/composable_node_container.py
@@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ def __init__(
                 )
             namespace = node_namespace
 
+        if not namespace:
+            namespace = '/'
         super().__init__(name=name, namespace=namespace, **kwargs)
         self.__composable_node_descriptions = composable_node_descriptions