Honestly I don't know, I've seen an LLM do it too in BC so it's not specific to the Maltese.
I know that it has something to do with fighting in melee and killing the admiral, you should not steer when leaving the fight and maybe it happens. (I had it happen a couple times while farming a fleet)
This happens to me a lot. It does it when finishing a battle in melee as you said. Has happened in esf and BC as well during the battle and is often handy to avoid situations since you don't need to turn and accelerate quickly.
I just figured out it hasn't anything to do with melee, it's when the battle ends and your ship is sailing into another ship, usually the ship does a 180 turn but instead it decides to drift away.
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My bad
Fight me easy rig lol
Just teasing dodo
Has happened in esf and BC as well during the battle and is often handy to avoid situations since you don't need to turn and accelerate quickly.