diff --git a/pkg/compose/start.go b/pkg/compose/start.go
index 273fee6ab63..989b77f23e0 100644
--- a/pkg/compose/start.go
+++ b/pkg/compose/start.go
@@ -79,6 +79,12 @@ func (s *composeService) watchContainers(ctx context.Context, projectName string
 	err := s.Events(ctx, projectName, api.EventsOptions{
 		Services: services,
 		Consumer: func(event api.Event) error {
+			if event.Status == "destroy" {
+				// This container can't be inspected, because it's gone.
+				// It's already been removed from the watched map.
+				return nil
+			}
+
 			inspected, err := s.apiClient.ContainerInspect(ctx, event.Container)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err