the advantages/ useful parts of it come in 3.
1) easy early game expansion.
2) free defences at your colonies (i admit they are not that useful but can slow an attacker down)
3) in SP you don't have to worry about pirates. in MP you either don't have to worry about pirate raids or you can lessen the raid options for the opposing teams. (your bounty wont increase after you have it)
in SP i don't worry about it that much considering Pirates are merly annoying and the AI is rarely able to put more bounty on you than you are on it (hard and lower AI only). in MP i either get the research then scuttle my civ labs so i can do titan research (Truce Amoung Rogues is one of the few tecs that once researched is not dependent on how many civ labs you have to stay active). as it stands you can get all 4 civ labs needed on just your HW if you do the logistics slots upgrade.