The ships cannot be controlled by the keys, A, S, D, W, and in 1.5.2 if one could. I hope that they arrange it for that it is very unconfortable
Linked issues
Comments

yeah, its to match the horse controls.
Not the best method but it is intentional
Dublicate of MC-14521.
Works as intended. You should read the wiki first before reporting things like that: http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Upcoming_features#Improvements_.26_changes_2