diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 38428df8..9e094c43 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1!5.3.0
+1!5.4.0
diff --git a/pycloudlib/oci/utils.py b/pycloudlib/oci/utils.py
index 5168baa7..42cb62f4 100644
--- a/pycloudlib/oci/utils.py
+++ b/pycloudlib/oci/utils.py
@@ -71,6 +71,10 @@ def get_subnet_id(
     subnets = network_client.list_subnets(compartment_id, vcn_id=vcn_id).data
     subnet_id = None
     for subnet in subnets:
+        if subnet.prohibit_internet_ingress:  # skip subnet if it's private
+            print("Ignoring private subnet: " + subnet.id)
+            continue
+        print("Using public subnet: " + subnet.id)
         if subnet.availability_domain == availability_domain:
             subnet_id = subnet.id
             break