Can confirm this. The concept is not as weird as it sounds once you consider that the ship's captain is a naval officer who has duties and a social role roughly similar to that of a doctor. For any task related to navigating/operating the vessel (emergency or not), the captain's word is final and there are penalties for negligent behavior that are determined completely outside of the "corporate" chain of command. Decisions of whether or not to ditch a block of unstable containers are made with 0 interference from commercial interests.

The captain is also the one responsible for upholding the laws of whatever flag the vessel flies under.