Tranmere supply
Crude oil arrives at Tranmere on the Mersey and travels to Stanlow by pipeline of about 24 km.
Liverpool sits on the Mersey estuary. The Stanlow refinery at Ellesmere Port, on the Manchester Ship Canal, receives crude through the Tranmere Oil Terminal on the Mersey, so Zone 1 areas are found at the refinery, jetties and pipelines around the estuary rather than in the city. Distribution partners for Liverpool and the Mersey are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Liverpool and the Mersey has no appointed SAMS distributor yet: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued, launch planned for Q4 2026), and distributor applications are open.
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 | Liverpool and the Mersey: Product pipelines and pump stations, Tank farms, Refinery process units at Stanlow | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Liverpool. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Who operates there and which kinds of classified area a handset would meet, from the SAMS site research.
Crude oil arrives at Tranmere on the Mersey and travels to Stanlow by pipeline of about 24 km.
Stanlow has been owned by Essar since 2011, was renamed EET Fuels in January 2024, and is reported at about 296,000 barrels a day.
The Port of Liverpool is the UK's fourth busiest by freight tonnage, handling about 33 million tonnes in 2022, and is the largest port on the UK west coast.
The port handles about 45 percent of the UK's trade with the United States, and the city's economy also includes maritime, life sciences and advanced manufacturing sectors.
The Liverpool2 container terminal, completed in 2022, increased the port's capacity and allows it to handle the world's biggest container vessels.
The Royal Seaforth and Liverpool2 terminals handle containers, liquid and dry bulk such as coal, grain and biomass, and roll-on roll-off cargo, so dust and vapour hazards arise at the quayside.
“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 Liverpool and the Mersey. A marking check at Stanlow would compare the zone map for process units, jetties and pump stations with the equipment label. Hydrogen-ready plant planned for 2027 to 2029 could push future areas toward IIC. The IS-04Z1 target marking is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4, pending certification, so confirm suitability with the operator.
Distribution of the IS-04Z1 is by authorised partners only, and SAMS has not yet granted a territory for Liverpool and the Mersey. Each application is reviewed on its merits. Because opening a certified Ex handset in an ordinary workshop invalidates its certificate, the partner must be able to support and service the device locally.
Not today. Until the certificates are issued the IS-04Z1 stays out of classified areas, and until launch there is nothing to purchase. You can ask for the datasheet and the certification schedule, or book a safe-area evaluation unit.
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 refinery process units at stanlow, marine oil terminal jetties, product pipelines and pump stations, tank farms. Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Apply through the distributor page with your company details and the territory you cover. SAMS reviews applications company by company and has not yet granted a territory for Liverpool and the Mersey.
The maritime climate brings frequent rain and sea wind, and salt air affects connectors and charging contacts. Typically devices need good ingress protection and routine cleaning, and users should check ratings against the port's rules.
Liquid bulk handling, dry bulk such as coal, grain and biomass, fuel and chemical storage and vessel operations. Vapour and dust zones can arise at jetties, silos and conveyors, so ask the terminal operator for its zone drawings and portable-device rules.
EET Fuels has announced a decarbonisation programme that includes a hydrogen-ready combined heat and power plant planned for 2027 to 2029, so project work is expected. Plans can change. A buyer should ask the operator or its contractors what equipment and marking they will require for those areas.
More on Liverpool, and on other places in United Kingdom.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.