Command authority and the chiefs' leadership network

Does the ship's real power lie with non-commissioned officers and chiefs rather than commissioned officers?

Not exclusively: officers command, while chiefs exercise personal leadership and maintain a dense network that gives them real but limited influence.

Officers are trained and authorized to command ships and formations, but chiefs usually know sailors more personally and greatly outnumber senior officers aboard. Their network can therefore coordinate information and action in ways that rival the officers' network. This is influence rather than ownership of the ship: exercising it openly creates consequences and can cause the institution to restrict it. A competent officer nevertheless ignores that influence at considerable risk.