Vanderdecken's Neutrality

Phillip Vanderdecken from Castaways of the Flying Dutchman is said to be the villain of the story, but I have several reasons to believe that he is not evil.It is said that he is cruel and harsh, but only towards his crew.Vanderdecken broke the hand of Petros, the ship's cook. This is only because Petros tried to take Vanderdecken's emerald. When Scraggs, Sindh, and Vogel try to kill Vanderdecken, Ben and Ned come to his rescue.Vanderdecken pushes Scraggs overboard and spares Sindh and Vogel. For the rest of the time that Ben and Ned are on The Flying Dutchman, Vanderdecken protects the two.While trying to go around Cape Horn, the food and water supply runs out. Vanderdecken curses God and The Angel appears and curses everyone on The Flying Dutchman, with the exception of Ben and Ned. There is no point in the story where Vanderdecken attempts to hurt or harm Ben and Ned. Vanderdecken only hurt his crew because they plotted against him. These are my reasons why I think Phillip Vanderdecken is a neutral character during the events of Castaways of the Flying Dutchman.