555s3an Walt
As evidenced by the left ship automatically selecting a target, at least that ship (likely both) is being controlled by the normal AI (If you're using battle helper, this is always the case). As Walt said, the AI will override most inputs you give it, including attack orientation.
If you've been using battle helper, you can manually set (or remove) a ship's AI and team by selecting it, going to the ship overview at the bottom left of the screen, and clicking the button with three bars on it: