diff --git a/ur_driver/src/ur_driver/driver.py b/ur_driver/src/ur_driver/driver.py
index 39f54ad6d85e3a9eac7cc8a73b6593b108b2b1ad..32eb70c359f56f147f86338b587fe8f2b9f950dd 100755
--- a/ur_driver/src/ur_driver/driver.py
+++ b/ur_driver/src/ur_driver/driver.py
@@ -673,7 +673,7 @@ def main():
         reverse_port = REVERSE_PORT
     elif len(args) == 2:
         robot_hostname = args[0]
-        reverse_port = args[1]
+        reverse_port = int(args[1])
     else:
         parser.error("Wrong number of parameters")