Climate
Tropical savanna climate with 24.7 to 30.6 C annual temperature range and monsoon rainfall; the coast is exposed to occasional cyclones.
HPCL's Visakh refinery was the first refinery on India's east coast, commissioned in 1957, and now has a nameplate capacity of 15 million tonnes a year, so liquid-hydrocarbon hazardous areas are extensive and long established. 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 IECEx mobile phone 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.
Status: pre-launch. IECEx, ATEX, UKEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress and no certificate has been issued; launch is planned for Q4 2026. An operator's own vendor approval is a separate step. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of conformity | Number checkable on the IECEx online register | In progress; not issued |
| Standards edition | The IEC 60079 edition the certificate cites | Stated on the certificate when issued |
| Schedule of conditions | Limits of use, batteries and accessories | Published with the certificate |
| 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.
Tropical savanna climate with 24.7 to 30.6 C annual temperature range and monsoon rainfall; the coast is exposed to occasional cyclones.
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.
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.
Visakhapatnam has a tropical savanna climate with mean temperatures from about 25 to 31 degrees Celsius, a record high of 42 degrees, and about 1,119 mm of rain a year from south-west and north-east monsoons.
IECEx is the international scheme for certifying equipment used in explosive atmospheres. A certificate of conformity is issued by an accredited certification body against a specific edition of the IEC 60079 standards and carries a schedule of conditions of safe use. It is not a legal requirement in most countries on its own, but many national schemes accept it as the technical basis.
The IECEx certificate for the IS-04Z1 is in progress and has not been issued. The marking target is Ex ib IIC T4, the intrinsic safety concept for Zone 1 gas with the hardest gas group (IIC) and a 135 °C temperature class.
In Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh. IECEx is the scheme visiting contractors and international engineering firms tend to know when working on east-coast refinery or storage projects. A certificate of conformity plus schedule of conditions would be the reference documents. For the IS-04Z1 neither has been issued, so it cannot yet be written into a specification.
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.
No. The IECEx certificate is in progress and has not been issued. SAMS will publish the number when it exists.
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.
Related guides for Visakhapatnam India and for India.
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.