User blog comment:Owlfeathers0117/An idea to make surface ships useful again./@comment-10905876-20141218033707

You know, someone who controls a vent won't even need to mine the planet to get profit from it. They could just say "we control this vent, but we are gonna be nice and let ships through for a fee." Keep the fee reasonable and you have a foothold that is possibly more secure, as navies would hopefully rather pay the fee than attack and suffer casualties.