Regional market
The port is positioned to serve the Cardiff Capital Region, about 1.5 million people or roughly half of Wales.
Cardiff has a maritime climate with an average annual temperature of about 11 degrees Celsius and about 1,200 mm of rain on 153 days a year, with more than 100 mm a month from October to January. Zone 1 work arises at fuel handling and storage, while Wales' refining is at Pembroke rather than Cardiff. This page explains what to look for in an Ex-proof mobile phone for Cardiff and Roath Dock, and where the IS-04Z1 stands against that list today.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Cardiff and Roath Dock: 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. A buyer's engineering review is separate from the certificate. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Ex marking | Group, category, protection concept, gas group, temperature class | II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 (target) |
| Gas group | IIA, IIB or IIC matched to the area drawing | IIC (target) |
| Temperature class | T-class below the ignition temperature of the gas | T4, 135 °C (target) |
| Where it applies | Cardiff and Roath Dock: Fuel storage and distribution terminal, Marine jetty and tanker discharge, Road tanker loading | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Cardiff. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
A short profile of the site and the kinds of classified area that matter for portable equipment.
The port is positioned to serve the Cardiff Capital Region, about 1.5 million people or roughly half of Wales.
Valero imports petrol, ultra low sulphur diesel, biofuels and heating fuels through Cardiff for distribution to the south Wales market.
The East Moors Steelworks closed in 1978, and Cardiff Bay was later regenerated under a development corporation, so the city's economy is now centred on commerce, media and public administration rather than heavy industry.
Cardiff became the main port for coal exports from the Cynon, Rhondda and Rhymney valleys after the Marquess of Bute built a dock in the 1830s linked to the Taff Vale Railway.
Cardiff is the capital of Wales, with 381,516 residents in 2025, and sits in the Cardiff Capital Region of 1.5 million people, roughly half the nation's population.
In 2021 about 12.2 percent of residents aged three and over could speak Welsh, double the 1991 share, so bilingual signage and Welsh-language materials are common in public and some workplace settings.
“Ex-proof” is shorthand for equipment carrying an explosion-protection marking (the Ex mark) that matches the area it enters. The marking states the protection concept, gas or dust group and temperature class, and it must be backed by a certificate issued by a recognised body, so a phone described as Ex-proof should come with a certificate number you can check.
The IS-04Z1 is designed to carry the marking II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4. That is a target: certification is in progress, no certificate has been issued, and SAMS will publish the certificate numbers when they exist.
In Cardiff and Roath Dock. A marking check at Roath Dock would compare the employer's zone map with the equipment label, covering zone, gas group and temperature class for petrol, ultra low sulphur diesel and heating fuels. Fuel vapour is normally in a lower gas group than hydrogen, so IIC marking is conservative. The IS-04Z1 target is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4, pending certification.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
Not yet. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and its certification is still in progress ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. No unit goes into a classified area before the certificate covering it exists. The datasheet, the certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
SAMS has not published a price. Any figure you are offered for an uncertified Ex phone should be treated with caution; written indicative pricing is available for a defined quantity and site.
The marking target is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4. It becomes a marking only when the certificate is issued; until then it is a design target.
Likely candidates are fuel storage and distribution terminal, marine jetty and tanker discharge, road tanker loading. 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.
The maritime climate is mild but wet, with rain on about 153 days a year and persistent wind from the Bristol Channel. Typically users want good water ingress protection and routine drying and cleaning of connectors, and should check the device rating against the site.
Not mainly. The city is Wales's commercial and administrative centre, and the old steelworks closed in 1978, though the wider Severn Estuary and South Wales coast host fuel, energy and processing sites. Confirm the operator and site classification for the actual place you will work.
Under DSEAR, the employer assesses hazardous zones and chooses suitable equipment, so the terminal operator and its safety adviser decide. Valero occupies the terminal and Associated British Ports runs the dock. Confirm requirements with the site operator before specifying any handheld device.
Related guides for Cardiff and for United Kingdom.
Share the site details and quantity. You will get the datasheet and the certification schedule back by email; pricing is indicative only until launch.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.