The paper describes the practical applications of radar imagery from a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite to support ice cover monitoring in the Kara and Pechora Seas along the western part of the Northern Sea Route. Of particular interest is the description of a comprehensive joint program of ice cover monitoring supported by the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (Norway), the Nansen International Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (St. Petersburg), and the Murmansk Maritime Shipping Administration (Murmansk). An active side‐looking radar, supplemented by a passive microwave radiometer, supplied imagery to icebreakers leading convoys along various portions of the Northern Sea Route during 1993 and 1994. Particular attention is devoted to exploring the potential of such imagery for the optimal selection of navigation routes and determination of the age of sea ice.