So the card says,"Have an encounter with the player who has the fewest ships in the warp (other than you). In the event of a tie, break the tie to your left.

The encounter takes place in the other player's home system."

So my group was having a discussion on whether someone with 0 ships in the warp constitutes having the fewest ships in the warp or if you must have ships in the warp and from there whoever has the least number of ships.

Thanks for any help.

0 ships would be the fewest, or tied for the fewest. It's the player with the fewest ships in the warp., not the player with the fewest ships in the warp from those that have ships in the warp.