Refinery
HPCL describes Visakh as India's first east-coast refinery (1957), with a single point mooring for crude carriers, and reports a record 16.04 million tonne throughput in 2025-26 after a residue upgradation facility was commissioned.
Visakhapatnam is a major east-coast port city in Andhra Pradesh. HPCL's Visakh Refinery, rated at 15 million tonnes a year after its modernisation, and an underground strategic crude reserve operated by ISPRL create Zone 1 areas in process units, tank farms and storage caverns. If you are specifying an ATEX and IECEx smartphone for Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh, this page covers the markings, the approvals and the current certification status of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
For the record, no certificate exists for the IS-04Z1 today. The programme is under way ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. Operator approval runs on its own timeline. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Marking | II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 on the rating plate | Design target; not yet marked |
| EU-type examination certificate | Notified body number and certificate ID | In progress with TÜV; not issued |
| IECEx certificate of conformity | Number listed on the IECEx online register | In progress; not issued |
| Where it applies | Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh: Refinery process units, Crude and product tank farms, Underground strategic crude storage | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Visakhapatnam India. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The companies on site and the hazardous-area types a handset is likely to meet there.
HPCL describes Visakh as India's first east-coast refinery (1957), with a single point mooring for crude carriers, and reports a record 16.04 million tonne throughput in 2025-26 after a residue upgradation facility was commissioned.
ISPRL's Visakhapatnam facility, with 1.33 million tonnes of crude storage in rock caverns and tanks, was built under India's phase-I strategic reserve programme.
The city is known as India's shipbuilding capital, with Hindustan Shipyard and the Naval Dockyard on the harbour, and it is the headquarters of the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command.
Institutions in the city include the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy and the Indian Maritime University, which feed a local pool of petroleum and marine engineers for plant and shipyard work.
Vizag is described as India's largest all-weather port on the east coast, handling roughly 65 to 70 million tonnes of cargo a year, with dry bulk carriers making up nearly two thirds of ship calls.
The Visakh refinery set a record crude throughput of 16.04 million tonnes in 2025-26, and a Residual Upgradation Facility was commissioned in the same year, adding new process-unit areas to be classified.
ATEX is the European legal framework for equipment used in explosive atmospheres (Directive 2014/34/EU). IECEx is the international certification scheme built on the IEC 60079 standards. Buyers outside Europe often ask for both: an IECEx certificate is the technical evidence most national regimes build on, while ATEX is the legal route into the European market.
For the IS-04Z1 both routes are in progress with TÜV in Germany and neither certificate has been issued. The marking target is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4: equipment Group II (surface industry), Category 2 (Zone 1 gas), protection concept ib (intrinsic safety), gas group IIC and temperature class T4.
In Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh. A reviewer at the Visakh refinery or the strategic reserve would expect certificate evidence that can be traced to a marking, with its schedule of conditions. For the IS-04Z1 that evidence is in progress. A dual ATEX and IECEx route helps engineering contractors who move between public-sector refineries and international projects.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
No. Nothing can be bought or taken into a classified area today: certification is in progress and launch is planned for Q4 2026. What is available now is the datasheet, the written certification schedule and evaluation units for safe-area use.
There is no list price yet. SAMS gives indicative pre-launch pricing in writing, against a stated quantity and site, and does not commit to a lead time before certification completes.
Not yet. Both routes are in progress with TÜV in Germany and no certificate has been issued. Any listing that says otherwise is wrong.
Likely candidates are refinery process units, crude and product tank farms, underground strategic crude storage, port petroleum berths and single point mooring. Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Not exactly. Explosion proof is a broad everyday term; intrinsic safety is one protection concept, which limits energy so ignition cannot occur. Flameproof (Ex d) is a different concept that contains an explosion. The IS-04Z1 is intrinsically safe by design.
It is a sensible base because the refinery, port, rail zone headquarters and a large engineering workforce are all in one metropolitan area. Shutdown timing is set by the operator, so ask the plant for its turnaround plan and contractor induction rules.
Yes. Tank cleaning, fuel and cargo tank work, paint stores and hot-work areas on ships and in dry docks can all be treated as hazardous locations. Shipyards typically issue gas-free and hot-work permits, so check how portable devices are controlled.
Heat, humidity and salt air are the practical concerns, along with monsoon rain. Check the rated operating temperature range and the sealing of ports and charging contacts. Charging should happen in a safe area. Confirm any site-specific rules with the operator.
Other guides for Visakhapatnam India, other places in India, and the pages behind them.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.