diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 785de985387317a63ef37379029a1b604ddca36b..f8b5c7f6635a795da1da5be8774474a9ea75d28d 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ deploy_to_staging:
   - kubectl config use-context ${CHEMBL_NS_STAGING}
   - echo ${CHEMBL_NS_STAGING} ${KUBE_URL_HH} ${KUBE_CLUS_NAME_HH} ${KUBE_USER_HH}
   - kubectl get pods -n ${CHEMBL_NS_STAGING}
-  - kubectl create secret generic ${ENV_SECRET_NAME_STAGING} --from-file=.env=${ENV_STAGING_FILE_PATH} -o yaml -n ${CHEMBL_NS_STAGING} --dry-run=client | kubectl replace -f -
+  - kubectl create secret generic ${ENV_SECRET_NAME_STAGING} --from-file=.env=${ENV_STAGING_FILE_PATH} -o yaml -n ${CHEMBL_NS_STAGING} --dry-run=client | kubectl apply -f -
   - cat ${ENV_STAGING_FILE_PATH}
   - sed -i "s~<NAMESPACE>~${CHEMBL_NS_STAGING}~g" k8s-deployment.yaml
   - sed -i "s~<HTTP_PROXY>~${HTTP_PROXY_HH}~g" k8s-deployment.yaml