diff --git a/modules/scala/integration/src/main/scala/almond/integration/KernelLauncher.scala b/modules/scala/integration/src/main/scala/almond/integration/KernelLauncher.scala
index 0d0251a22..dd5d567ba 100644
--- a/modules/scala/integration/src/main/scala/almond/integration/KernelLauncher.scala
+++ b/modules/scala/integration/src/main/scala/almond/integration/KernelLauncher.scala
@@ -469,6 +469,7 @@ class KernelLauncher(
           else
             Map.empty[String, String]
 
+        assert(proc == null)
         proc = os.proc(command).spawn(
           cwd = dir,
           env = extraEnv ++ specExtraEnv,
diff --git a/modules/scala/launcher/src/main/scala/almond/launcher/Launcher.scala b/modules/scala/launcher/src/main/scala/almond/launcher/Launcher.scala
index e20f86c99..bf705c7c8 100644
--- a/modules/scala/launcher/src/main/scala/almond/launcher/Launcher.scala
+++ b/modules/scala/launcher/src/main/scala/almond/launcher/Launcher.scala
@@ -198,6 +198,7 @@ object Launcher extends CaseApp[LauncherOptions] {
         setDaemon(true)
         override def run(): Unit =
           if (p.isAlive()) {
+            System.err.println("Shutting down underlying kernel")
             p.close()
             val timeout = 500.millis
             if (!p.waitFor(timeout.toMillis)) {
@@ -206,6 +207,7 @@ object Launcher extends CaseApp[LauncherOptions] {
               )
               p.destroyForcibly()
             }
+            System.err.println("Shut down underlying kernel")
           }
       }
     Runtime.getRuntime.addShutdownHook(hook)