Maritime climate
The Bay of Fundy coast is damp and foggy, so ingress protection and corrosion resistance are useful.
The Bay of Fundy never fully freezes, which moderates winters, but the January average is still about minus 8 degrees Celsius and rain and snow total roughly 1,295 mm a year, so outdoor equipment faces cold, wet conditions. Crude arrives by supertanker at the Canaport deep-water terminal, and process units and storage contain classified areas. If you are specifying a rugged smartphone for Saint John, New Brunswick, 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 Saint John, New Brunswick: 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ingress protection | IP65 to IP68 sealing | IP68 design |
| Drop and shock | A stated drop height onto concrete | Specification on request |
| Explosion protection | A separate certificate and marking | In progress; not issued |
| Where it applies | Saint John, New Brunswick: Refinery process units, Crude and product storage, Marine terminal | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Saint John Refinery. 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 Bay of Fundy coast is damp and foggy, so ingress protection and corrosion resistance are useful.
More than 80 per cent of production is reported as exported to the United States.
The Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John was built from 1960 with a California partner and expanded to Canada's largest refinery, processing over 300,000 barrels per day.
The Port of Saint John is Canada's third-largest by tonnage, with a cargo base that includes dry and liquid bulk and break bulk, giving the refinery and terminals deep-water supply routes.
An Irving Oil statement from the Canaport LNG agreements described the refinery as predominantly an export refinery that supplies about half of Canada's petroleum product exports.
Canaport is a deep-water crude oil receiving terminal with one single-point mooring for supertankers, plus a jetty for LNG tankers, so tanker movements are part of the local operating picture.
A rugged phone is built to survive water, dust, drops and rough handling, usually rated by an IP code and a drop specification. Ruggedness is an environmental property: it says nothing about whether a phone may be used where flammable gas or dust is present. That is decided by explosion-protection certification and marking.
The IS-04Z1 combines both: an IP68 sealed rugged build and a design for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4). The explosion-protection certificates are in progress and none has been issued.
In Saint John, New Brunswick. The Bay of Fundy coast is damp and foggy, so ingress protection and corrosion resistance are useful at a coastal site. IP68 helps with water and dust but is not explosion protection and does not remove the need to check salt-air exposure. Ask for the datasheet's environmental details.
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.
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.
It is designed to IP68 sealing, with glove-friendly controls. Ruggedness is not explosion protection: that depends on the certificates, which are in progress.
Likely candidates are refinery process units, crude and product storage, marine terminal. 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.
Large refineries run planned maintenance outages that bring many contractors, with operator-set dates. Ask the operator's contractor team about timing, site induction and which devices are approved for process areas, and book any certified equipment early.
A coastal port brings humidity, salt and fog, and winters are cold, so sealed devices with corrosion-resistant connectors and low-temperature ratings are sensible. Confirm operator guidance on ingress protection and temperature class.
It can. The Bay of Fundy coast is damp and foggy, so ingress protection and corrosion resistance are useful. IP68 describes dust and water protection, not explosion protection. Check the datasheet for environmental limits and ask Irving Oil how long devices stay outdoors on the marine terminal.
More on Saint John Refinery, and on other places in Canada.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.