diff --git a/compute_worker/compute_worker.py b/compute_worker/compute_worker.py
index c02abcb0f..52f2a1e5f 100644
--- a/compute_worker/compute_worker.py
+++ b/compute_worker/compute_worker.py
@@ -505,6 +505,8 @@ def __init__(self, run_args):
             max_retries=Retry(
                 total=3,
                 backoff_factor=1,
+                status_forcelist=[502, 503, 504],
+                allowed_methods=["PATCH", "GET", "PUT"],
             )
         )
         self.requests_session.mount("http://", adapter)
@@ -618,7 +620,7 @@ def _update_submission(self, data):
         url = f"{self.submissions_api_url}/submissions/{self.submission_id}/"
         data["secret"] = self.secret
 
-        logger.info(f"Updating submission @ {url} with data = {data}")
+        logger.info(f"Updating submission @ {url}")
 
         resp = self.requests_session.patch(url, data=data, timeout=150)
         if resp.status_code == 200:
@@ -639,8 +641,10 @@ def _update_status(self, status, extra_information=None):
         try:
             self._update_submission(data)
         except Exception as e:
-            # Always catch exception and never raise error
+            # Re-raise only for terminal statuses so Celery marks the task as failed.
             logger.exception(f"Failed to update submission status to {status}: {e}")
+            if status in ("Finished", "Failed"):
+                raise
 
     def _get_container_image(self, image_name):
         logger.info("Running pull for image: {}".format(image_name))