IHO 23-4th:

Limits of Oceans and Seas, Special Publication 23, Draft 4th Edition 1986, published by the International Hydrographic Bureau of the International Hydrographic Organization

IHO 23-3rd:

Limits of Oceans and Seas, Special Publication 23, 3rd Edition 1953, published by the International Hydrographic Organization

ACIC M 49-1:

Chart of Limits of Seas and Oceans, revised January 1958, published by the Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC), United States Air Force; note - ACIC is now part of the Defense Mapping Agency

DIAM 65-18:

Geopolitical Data Elements and Related Features, Data Standard No. 4, Defense Intelligence Agency Manual 65-18, December 1994, published by the Defense Intelligence Agency

The US Government has not yet adopted a standard for hydrographic codes similar to the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 10-4 country codes. The names and limits of the following oceans and seas are not always directly comparable because of differences in the customers, needs, and requirements among the individual organizations. Even the number of principal water bodies varies from organization to organization. 

IHO
23-4th

IHO
23-3rd *

ACIC
M 49-1

DIAM
65-18

Arctic Ocean

9

17

A

5A

Atlantic Ocean

-

-

-

-

North Atlantic Ocean

1

23

B

1A

South Atlantic Ocean

4

32

C

2A

Baltic Sea

2

1

B26

7B

Indian Ocean

5

45

F

6A

Mediterranean Sea

3.1

28

B11

-

Eastern Mediterranean

3.1.2

28 B

-

8E

Western Mediterranean

3.1.1

28 A

-

8W

Pacific Ocean

-

-

-

-

North Pacific Ocean

7

57

D

3A

South Pacific Ocean

8

61

E

4A

South China and Eastern Archipelagic Seas

6

49 and 48

D18 plus others

3U plus others

IHO
23-4th

IHO
23-3rd *

ACIC
M 49-1

DIAM
65-18

ARCTIC OCEAN

9

17

A

5A

East Siberian Sea

9.1

11

A6

5S

Laptev Sea

9.2

10

A5

5P

Kara Sea

9.3

9

A4

5K

Barents Sea

9.4

7

A2

5B

White Sea

9.5

8

A3

5W

North Greenland Sea

9.6

-

-

-

Norwegian Sea

9.7

6

B30

5N

Iceland Sea

9.8

-

-

-

Davis Strait

9.9

15

B2

1V

Hudson Strait

9.10

16 A

A15

1U

Hudson Bay

9.11

16

A10

1H

Baffin Bay

9.12

14 A

A12

1P

Lincoln Sea

9.13

17 A

A13

5L

Northwest Passages (Northwest Passage, Northwestern Passages)

9.14

14

A9

5T

Beaufort Sea

9.15

13

A8

5U

Chukchi Sea

9.16

12

A7

5C

James Bay

-

-

A11

-

Kane Basin

-

-

A14

-

ATLANTIC OCEAN

(see North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean)

BALTIC SEA

2

1

B26

7B

Gulf of Bothnia

2.1

1 (a)

B29

7T

Gulf of Finland

2.2

1 (b)

B28

7F

Gulf of Riga

2.3

1 (c)

B27

7H

The Sound

2.4

2

-

-

The Great Belt

2.5

2

-

-

The Little Belt

2.6

2

-

-

Kattegat

2.7

2

B25

7K

INDIAN OCEAN

5

45

F

6A

Mozambique Channel

5.1

45 A

F1

6Z

Gulf of Suez

5.2

35

F5

6W

Gulf of Aqaba

5.3

36

-

6Q

Red Sea

5.4

37

F4

6E

Gulf of Aden

5.5

38

F3

6D

Persian Gulf (Gulf of Iran)

5.6

41

F7

6P

Gulf of Oman

5.7

40

F6

6M

Arabian Sea

5.8

39

F2

6R

Laccadive Sea (Lakshadweep Sea)

5.9

42

F9

6L

Gulf of Mannar

5.10

-

F8

-

Palk Strait and Palk Bay

5.11

-

-

-

Bay of Bengal

5.12

43

F10

6B

Andaman Sea (Burma Sea)

5.13

44

F11

6N

Strait of Malacca (Malacca Strait)

5.14

46 (a)

F12

6C

Great Australian Bight

5.15

62

F21

6G

Suez Canal

-

-

-

6U

MEDITERRANEAN REGION

3

-

-

-

Mediterranean Sea

3.1

28

B11

-

Mediterranean Sea, Western Basin

3.1.1

28 A

-

8W

Strait of Gibraltar

3.1.1.1 28 (a)

B7

8S

Alboran Sea

3.1.1.2

28 (b)

-

8Y

Balearic Sea (Balear Sea, Iberian Sea)

3.1.1.3

28 (c)

B9

8J

Ligurian Sea (Ligure Sea)

3.1.1.4

28 (d)

B10

8L

Tyrrhenian Sea (Tirreno Sea)

3.1.1.5

28 (e)

B12

8T

Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Basin

3.1.2

28 B

-

8E

Adriatic Sea

3.1.2.1

28 (g)

B14

8D

Strait of Sicily (Strait of Sicilia)

3.1.2.2

-

-

-

Ionian Sea

3.1.2.3

28 (f)

B13

8N

Aegean Sea

3.1.2.4

28 (h)

B15

8G

Sea of Marmara

3.2

29

B16

8M

Black Sea

3.3

30

B17

8B

Sea of Azov

3.4

31

B18

8Z

Gulf of Lion (Gulf of Lions)

-

-

B8

8X

Aral Sea

-

-

-

8R

Bosporus

-

-

-

8P

Caspian Sea

-

-

-

8C

Dardanelles

-

-

-

8U

NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN

1

23

B

1A

Skagerrak

1.1

3

B24

1S

North Sea

1.2

4

B23

1N

Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland

1.3

18

-

1K

Irish Sea and Saint Georges Channel

1.4

19

B22

1R,1Q

Bristol Channel

1.5

20

B21

1C

Celtic Sea

1.6

21 A

-

-

English Channel

1.7

21

B20

1E

Bay of Biscay

1.8

22

B19

1B

Canarias Sea

1.9

-

-

-

Gulf of Guinea

1.10

34

C4

1G

Caribbean Sea

1.11

27

B6

1X

Gulf of Mexico

1.12

26

B5

1M

Bay of Fundy

1.13

25

B4

1F

Gulf of Saint Lawrence

1.14

24

B3

1T

Labrador Sea

1.15 15

A

-

1L

Greenland Sea

1.16

5

A1

5G

Denmark Strait

-

-

B1

1D

Lake Erie

-

-

-

9E

Lake Huron

-

-

-

9H

Lake Michigan

-

-

-

9M

Lake Ontario

-

-

-

9N

Lake Superior

-

-

-

9S

Panama Canal

-

-

-

1J

Saint Lawrence Seaway

-

-

-

9L

NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN

7

57

D

3A

Philippine Sea

7.1

56

D26

3P

Taiwan Strait (Formosa Strait)

7.2

-

D17

3F

East China Sea (Tung Hai)

7.3

50

D13

3E

Yellow Sea (Huang Hai, Hwang Hai)

7.4

51

D14

3Y

Bo Hai (Bo Sea, Gulf of Chihli)

7.5

-

D16

3X

Liaodong Wan (Liaodong Gulf)

7.6

-

-

-

Inland Sea of Japan (Seto Naikai)

7.7

53

-

3N

Sea of Japan (Japan Sea)

7.8

52

D11

3J

Gulf of Tartary

7.9

-

D10

-

Sea of Okhotsk

7.10

54

D8

3Q

Bering Sea

7.11

55

D6

5D

Anadyrskiy Zaliv (Anadyrskiy Gulf)

7.12

-

-

5Y

Gulf of Alaska

7.13

58

D4

5F

Coastal Waters of Southeast Alaska and British Columbia

7.14

59

D3

5E

Gulf of California

7.15

60

D2

3L

Gulf of Panama

7.16

-

D1

-

Amurskiy Liman

-

-

D27

-

Bering Strait

-

-

D7

5R

Bristol Bay

-

-

D5

-

Korea Bay

-

-

D15

3R

Korea Strait

-

-

D12

-

Sakhalinskiy Zaliv

-

-

D28

3B

Zaliv Shelikhova (Zaliv Shelekhova)

-

-

D9

3K

Luzon Strait

-

-

-

3I

Tatar Strait

-

-

-

3D

PACIFIC OCEAN

(see North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean)

SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN

4

32

C

2A

Rio de la Plata

4.1

33

C1

2R

Drake Passage

-

-

C5

2D

Golfo San Matias

-

-

C2

2M

Golfo San Jorge

-

-

C3

2J

Scotia Sea

-

-

C6

2S

Weddell Sea

-

-

C7

2W

SOUTH CHINA AND EASTERN ARCHIPELAGIC SEAS

6

49, 48

-

-

South China Sea (Nan Hai)

6.1

49

D18

3U

Gulf of Tonkin

6.2

-

D19

3G

Gulf of Thailand (Gulf of Siam)

6.3

47

D20

3T

Natuna Sea

6.4

-

-

-

Singapore Strait

6.5

46 (b)

-

3Z

Sunda Strait

6.6

-

-

-

Java Sea (Jawa Sea)

6.7

48 (n)

F13

4J

Makassar Strait (Makasar Strait)

6.8

48 (m)

E1

4M

Bali Sea

6.9

48 (l)

F14

4L

Flores Sea

6.10

48 (j)

F16

4F

Sumba Strait

6.11

-

-

-

Savu Sea (Sawu Sea)

6.12

48 (o)

F15

6S

Timor Sea

6.13

48 (i)

F19

6T

Joseph Bonaparte Gulf

6.14

-

F20

-

Gulf of Carpentaria

6.15

-

E4

4P

Arafura Sea

6.16

48 (h)

E3

4U

Aru Sea

6.17

-

-

-

Banda Sea

6.18

48 (g)

E2

4B

Teluk Bone (Gulf of Bone, Gulf of Boni)

6.19

48 (k)

F17

4E

Ceram Sea (Seram Sea)

6.20

48 (f)

D25

4Q

Gulf of Berau

6.21

-

-

-

Halmahera Sea

6.22

48 (e)

D24

3H

Molucca Sea (Molukka Sea, Maluku Sea)

6.23

48 (c)

D23

3M

Teluk Tomini (Gulf of Tomini)6.24

48 (d)

F18

3V

Sulawesi Sea

6.25

-

-

-

Mindanao Sea

6.26

-

-

-

Sulu Sea

6.27

48 (a)

D21

3S

Celebes Sea

-

48 (b)

D22

3C

SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN

8

61

E

4A

Bismarck Sea

8.1

66

E6

4K

Solomon Sea

8.2

65

E7

4S

Torres Strait

8.3

-

E5

-

Coastal Waters of Great Barrier Reefs

8.4

-

-

-

Coral Sea

8.5

64

E9

4C

Tasman Sea

8.6

63

E10

4T

Bass Strait

8.7

62 A

F22

6F

Amundsen Sea

-

-

E12

4D

Bellingshausen Sea

-

-

E13

4G

Cook Strait

-

-

E8

-

Ross Sea

-

-

E11

4R