diff --git a/src/java/htsjdk/samtools/CRAMFileWriter.java b/src/java/htsjdk/samtools/CRAMFileWriter.java
index dc83bc30f8..d4646b9be9 100644
--- a/src/java/htsjdk/samtools/CRAMFileWriter.java
+++ b/src/java/htsjdk/samtools/CRAMFileWriter.java
@@ -379,6 +379,8 @@ protected void finish() {
             outputStream.flush();
             if (indexer != null)
                 indexer.finish();
+        }catch (final RuntimeException re) {
+            throw re;
         } catch (final Exception e) {
             throw new RuntimeException(e);
         }